Leaderboard

Chapter 4: THE STORE WAS about a ten-minute drive, and I was locked in the car seat again. It gave me time to ponder not only my safety but also my students’ safety. I considered trying to leave early, but we only had that one-day window to return to our dimension. Something about their rotation through other dimensions and power needs had seemed like a lot of mumbo-jumbo to me. Still, I wished I had paid a little closer attention now! When the car eventually stopped, she came around to the side of the car I was in but didn’t unbuckle me right away. “Is something wrong?” I asked her, seeing an odd look on her face. She looked torn but said, “I want to ensure we have a game plan before we go inside?” “A game plan? It’s just a store?” “Katie, it is just a store… but it’s a store in our dimension. I don’t want you to run into any issues with… causing a scene?” I was offended, “I wouldn’t cause a scene?” “I hope not, but I want to make sure you understand what everyone will see when we go inside?” “And that is?” “A mommy taking her daughter shopping?” “A… what?!?” I said. I didn’t shout, but it was an intense hiss in my sound. “That’s what I mean,” she said. “So… what? Why would they think that?” “So, right now, I see a little girl wearing a pair of toddler pants, a clear diaper bulge, and she’s the size of my sixteen-month-old nephew.” I blushed, looking down at my body, still held in by the harness. “So what does that mean?” “In our dimension, as long as you don’t do anything to fight that impression we’ll have an easy shopping trip?” “Easy?” I asked nervously. “And if I don’t?” “Then probably everyone in the store will tell me how to be a better mommy, suggest spanking you, and who knows what else? They may even insist on demonstrating their parenting skills?” I felt sick at that, knowing without a doubt that there was no chance to fight back at my size. “So what do you want me to do?” “Smile at people who smile at you, say ‘hi’ back to anyone who says ‘hi’ to you, wave back, but don’t really talk?” I looked at her for a long second and nodded, “Okay, I can do that. Now, can you get me out of this?” I pointed to the harness. “One second, I almost forgot my purse.” A moment later, she had her ‘purse’ in hand, and I had a feeling it wasn’t an ordinary purse. Even with the size differences, I could tell that it was an oversized bag, and based on everything so far, I feared it was probably serving a purpose as a diaper bag! As she unbuckled the seat, she shocked me by placing me on her hip like a toddler. She then walked to the store entryway and selected a cart while holding onto me. I was utterly unprepared for her to push the baby seat down, set her ‘purse’ behind it, and be set down in the cart seat! I opened my mouth to object, but she just pressed a finger to her lips to remind me of our agreement. “We need some cups first,” she said, looking at a list projected from her watch. It distracted me briefly, but she turned it off before I could read the list. It was disconcerting to be pushed backward down aisles as she began in the store housewares. She found a few plastic cups, but nothing small enough to handle easily. “We’ll have to look in the other part of the store,” she said as much to herself as anyone. While she pushed me down the next few aisles to the clothes area, I noted that others in the store gave me lots of approving looks. Mommies pushing their own babies, grandmothers, and others all looked at me as if I were the cutest creature. It was creepy! What was even creepier was realizing the rumors and stories weren’t just tabloid fiction. All around me were adults dressed as babies who were being pushed in carts like me! They were clearly shorter, so I knew they were ‘Littles’ too. As I looked around the store, I was bothered most by the reality that I didn’t see anyone my size walking alone. Most of them were clearly diapered, sucking on bottles, pacifiers, or thumbs. One ‘mother’ seemed to have her ‘baby’ nursing from her as she held him. I would have thought it was a baby, but the big muscles on the man were definitely not things that belonged to a baby! ‘I know this was rumored, but I never dreamed it would be this common!’ When we pulled into the clothing section, my nerves fried more every second. ‘Houston, we have a problem!’ I heard in my head. “The baby clothes section?” I asked quietly. “Sweetie, except for a few rare stores that we’ll try and find this weekend, you’re not going to find much in your size that doesn’t come from the baby section.” She hesitated, “Well, this is actually the Little section.” “What’s the difference?” I asked. “Characters,” she said, pointing across the racks, and I realized there was a dividing line in the section. Both sides were equally babyish, but some unique characters were on the Little side. “Also, Little’s clothes tend to be a bit better made,” she added. “We’ll look through the whole section, though.” I feared she would start with the odd characters wearing diapers and jumping up and down with ‘Naomi and Oliver’ underneath them, but she kept moving. Another character reminded me of the old Doc McStuffin cartoon, wearing a white doctor’s coat and examining a doll as a patient. I saw ‘Doc McSweetie’ below the picture. Some sweaters she found were a bit too colorful for my tastes but relatively tame compared to the crazy frilly dresses nearby! Leggings and blouses were added to the cart before she pushed me to the changing room. An attendant looked at us, “New wardrobe time?” She asked. “Something like that,” Erica agreed. “Number five is empty,” she said. “Thanks!” I felt another cramp as she opened the curtain and placed me on the floor in the changing room, where she hung up a pile of clothes. “I may need the potty here soon,” I told her quietly. “Okay,” she said casually. “Let’s try these on. I think you’re an eighteen-month for sizes, but I have a twenty-four-month set here and a twelve-month set if we need them.” I blushed profusely but took the offered pale pink blouse and black leggings. As I put the blouse on, I saw it hung low and long. “This one’s too big?” I said. She laughed, “Here,” she said, quickly showing me it was a onesie and buttoning it up under the leggings. My face burned, but I didn’t usually wear many body suits! ‘And definitely not baby onesies!’ I thought. “It’s not that bad,” she told me, “look!” I turned in the mirror and felt my blood turn to ice. It wasn’t me in that mirror. It was a toddler!!! The girl in the mirror still had more in common with the infant phase of life than she did with her upcoming preschool years. Worse yet, right as I looked, I felt another cramp in my stomach. “Noooo…” I whined! “What’s wrong, Katie?” She said, even as she saw the same sight I did in the mirror of that toddler’s body, forcing them to squat and push out a big mess into their diaper. Watching my reflection poop my pants was even worse than doing it in the high chair earlier! “Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry,” she said a moment later, giving me a hug and rubbing my back. “I haven’t pooped myself since I was a kid!” I told her with tears in my eyes. “I told you something you encountered today is causing this, Katie. At least this time, you were wearing something meant to contain the mess.” I wanted to crawl under a rock and die right then, but she wasn’t going to let me do that. “We’ll get you all cleaned up; just give me a moment here,” she told me. I stood still like a statue as she dug through the ‘purse’ she’d brought, and it confirmed to me that it was definitely more of a diaper bag! A large changing pad was laid on the bench above me, and a packet of baby wipes, a new diaper, and a sack appeared before she gently picked me up. “I’m going to do my best not to spread this around,” she told me. I nodded, “Just please get this off of me; it’s disgusting!” She placed me on the mat, and I noticed it was padded and not horrible to lay on. I sat absolutely still as she pulled the leggings down my legs and stared at the inside of them for a second, “We got lucky here, kiddo; I’m planning to buy them anyway, but no mess on them!” I didn’t respond. She sighed, unbuttoned the onesie she had only snapped up moments before, and slid it up so that my arms ended up trapped inside it. “You’re being very brave, Katie,” she said with a smile. As she pulled open the diaper tapes, the stench made its way to my nose and made me want to puke! It took all of my medical experience to not, and I was impressed she didn’t show any signs of being bothered! Over the next few moments, she used the front of that diaper that was cleaner to wipe some of the poop off me before using a large number of wipes to finish the job. When she was done, a new diaper was on me, and she pulled the leggings and blouse off me. “Thanks,” I said, mortified. “No worries,” she said, giving me a sideways hug after she finished tying off the diaper sack with the disgusting mess inside. I watched her use a wipe on her hand before a squirt of something I assumed was hand sanitizer. “Let’s try on the rest of this. Now that we know your size, we’ll look for more, too,” she told me. “Great,” I said without much enthusiasm. She ran a hand through my hair like my mom used to as a kid and led me to the clothing racks. In the Littles section, a literal horror show of outfits was available for women my size. Still, we eventually made off with a week’s worth of black leggings that could come off professionally with a nicer blouse and my doctor’s coat. Unfortunately, most of the blouses were onesies, and then a couple of sweaters. She also helped me pick out a few pairs of jeans and insisted I needed some pajamas. One set was pink with Naomi and Oliver show characters on them, and the other was a purple-footed pajama set featuring another cartoon that looked close to a princess character back home. I was grateful she didn’t grab anything with the doctor character on it. ‘Having a children’s cartoon character who is a doctor on my clothes might be worse than wearing a diaper,’ I worried. We also found a few sets of shoes that would work for work, running, and being around the house. Really, the basket would have been great if I was the age they were meant for! “What about panties?” I asked her quietly. “And bras?” She bent down and whispered, “They have diaper covers in your size but no panties. Bras aren’t a thing for babies your size, so you can’t usually find them easily for Littles. We’ll check out a mall store on Saturday–I think they usually have some. For now, we’ll find something else…” I felt a black hole of dread in my stomach as I saw that the ‘something else’ was a box of pink Pull-Ups in my size. Erica walked over to some diapers and added a box of them, too. “I don’t need diapers,” I hissed at her. “Did you just have two poopy accidents in the last few hours?” She asked me. I blushed and turned my eyes to the ground. “Did you?” After the accident, I felt like a dog with its nose rubbed into the carpet, and I nodded. “Yes,” I said quietly. “Until I’m sure your system is cleared of whatever is affecting you, you must wear something to hold the accidents. I don’t want to clean up more furniture,” Erica added to my embarrassment. At that point, I shut down and didn’t say anything when the ‘cups’ she bought were more sippy cups. I was grateful at least to see the baby bottles, pacifiers, bibs, and everything else were left alone on the shelves. Watching Erica’s gaze made me worry she wanted to buy some of those things, though! She did buy a few step stools to help me get onto my bed and to the height I needed for the closet and my dresser. ‘I owe her quite a bit of money right now,’ I thought. ‘And most of it I would never want to use!’ I was exhausted and stressed when we finally made it through the checkout lanes. Back at the car, Erica unbuckled me from the cart seat and placed me down in the car seat. “You did great in there, Katie. I know that wasn’t easy.” I nodded, “Thanks,” was all I could say though. I sat quietly strapped into the seat as she loaded the bags into the back and drove back to her house. Everything I had seen so far made me sure that I had probably made the biggest mistake in my life! Back at her house, she insisted she’d wash everything and instead sent me to my room so I could finish settling in. I placed my cosmetics on the dresser and my bathroom stuff went to the bathroom. After Erica brought the stools up, I climbed onto the bed with Honey and just sat. “She’s cute, what’s her name?” Erica asked me, surprising me. “Honey,” I told her. “She looks well loved?” I shrugged, “I’ve had her since I was a baby…” At that, my emotions kicked in the rest of the way, and I started bawling for no reason. ‘What’s wrong with me?!?’ I complained. Massive arms encircled me, and I felt the bed lower with Erica’s giant frame sitting beside me. She pulled me into her, saying, “It’s okay, Katie. I know this world is a bit much, but I’ll help you get through this.” I was nearly falling asleep by the time I felt my emotions cool. “Why don’t you let me take that diaper off, use the potty, and then I’ll put you in another diaper for the night?” “Do I have to wear a diaper?” I asked, “You bought the Pull-Ups too?” She shook her head. “Until your system returns to normal, I want us to be safe. Pull-ups are not nearly as trustworthy. Those diapers will get a ba... someone through a sixteen-hour night of sleep with no problems!” I didn’t love her reasoning, but I nodded. She followed me to the bathroom. Once I pulled off the pants I was wearing, she pulled the diaper off for me, examined it to find it was still clean and dry, and then balled it up while I climbed the steps onto the potty seat. It was designed for toddlers’ potty training so they would not feel like they would fall in, but I was small enough that I still didn’t feel that confident I wouldn’t! She had left the room momentarily before returning as I washed my hands. “Here,” she said, lifting me onto the counter. I didn’t realize how long the counter was or how short I was because she could use it as an impromptu changing table to put a new diaper on me. She handed me one of the few shirts we decided would work for sleeping in. I pulled it over my head and brushed my teeth. “Ready for bed?” She asked me as I left the room and headed to my borrowed room. “Yes…” I said. I turned to her once I was in bed, and she was at the light switch by the door. “Umm… Erica?” “Yes?” “Thanks,” I told her. “Today was one of the worst days of my life, but I really appreciated your help.” “You’re very welcome, Katie. I’m looking forward to getting to know you!” “Good night,” I told her. “Good night,” she said and turned the light off, closing the door behind her. I burrowed into the sheets and blankets, noticing how weird the diaper felt. It took me a moment to get comfortable with my grip around Honey, but I was soon deep in slumber. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the 'Like' button and comment! I will be traveling for the holidays this weekend, so I will likely not be around for a week or so starting Sunday. I'm considering a Christmas gift of two chapters this week, Wednesday and Friday, but I confess I'm greedy. 25 likes on this chapter...? Otherwise, I'll post on Friday! 😈 Thanks again everyone who comments, it makes my day to see them! 💜

Chapter 23: THE NEXT MORNING came, and after I recognized I had returned to Erica’s home, I sighed, hugged Honey, and began evaluating my surroundings. It was clearly daylight from the light around the window curtains. I looked down and saw I was dressed in a light purple footed pajama set with a series of pink and white hearts. That made me realize Erica must have just about emptied out the Valentine’s Day outfits from the stores this week! I didn’t mind cutesy Valentine’s Day outfits as a little girl. Still, I had avoided them as an adult… especially as the holiday just became another singles appreciation day each year! I noticed my diaper was soaked, but I wasn’t surprised, given that I had nursed from Erica as I went to sleep. I let the pacifier in my mouth fall to hang from a clip she had attached to my clothes and stood up to stretch. Right then, on cue, Erica entered the room. “Morning, Sweetie!” she said with a smile. “How do you know I’m up?” I asked curiously. “Baby monitor,” she told me frankly, nodding towards a cabinet where I looked for a camera but only saw a teddy bear. I didn’t respond as I looked closely at it, even as she picked me up and laid me on the changing table. “Let’s just leave your PJs on until after breakfast,” she told me as she pulled them back on after the necessary diaper change. I sleepily complied and leaned against her shoulder as she carried me downstairs. I was settled in my highchair with a bib before she spoon-fed me an alternating meal of oatmeal and scrambled eggs. I was slowly waking up, and I couldn’t help but feel jealous of her coffee on the table. “Could I please have some coffee?” I asked her. She looked a bit surprised at the request. “I don’t think you’ll like it,” she replied. “Why not?” I asked. “Describe coffee back home for you?” she asked. I shrugged, “Bitter? I always add cream and sugar to it to make it better. I miss the caffeine?” She smiled, “Tell you what, I’ll give you a chance to try it; it’s only fair… but I want to warn you you’ll probably hate it?” She shook her head, “I’m surprised you hadn’t asked before, though.” She poured a small amount into her tiniest teacup a few minutes later. It reminded me of a gigantic soup bowl I had back home at one point, but I could manage it, I hoped! I added some cream and sugar she had, making it look the right color, then took a sip. “Yuck!” I said aloud, even as I spit the sip back in the cup and began coughing! “That’s horrible!!!!” She giggled, “Sorry, Katie, I did warn you?” “I even added extra sugar! That’s like… I don’t even know…? You drink that?” “I warned you early on that our taste palates are different?” I shrugged, “I wonder if there’s any way to get some from home…?” She giggled again and kissed my head, “I know our icky coffee doesn’t taste good, but let’s get you some nummies that do taste extra good to your tummy!” I blushed but complied as she gathered me out of the high chair and carried me to the recliner in the living room. She must have decided skin-to-skin was too much trouble right then, as she didn’t pull me out of my sleeper. Her top was a cute purple tunic draped nicely over her body. As she sat me down on her lap, I watched her separate the top into two separate layers, pulling up the top layer to reveal her breast exposed below. ‘That’s a clever design,’ I thought as I watched her move a little flap of fabric out of the way, put my face to her breast, and then let the fabric drape over me. It was a bit claustrophobic at first, but after I got into my suckling rhythm, the world mostly tuned out anyway! I was full from breakfast, but the taste was so addictive I kept sucking regardless of how full I felt! After a while, she switched me to the other breast, and then I heard her phone ring. She shifted just slightly and said, “Hello?” I couldn’t hear the other person because her phone connected directly to her through the contacts she wore. She’d explained the neural transducer implanted to transmit the audio to her brain. Still, nothing of it seemed like something I wanted! “Oh, hi, Ivy, how are you doing?” “Oh?” She patted me on my back, “Well, you saw the rules we agreed to with each other?” “Yeah, so far, so good, I think?” I kept sucking milk and swallowing, even as I tried to focus on her words. “Shopping trip?” I heard her say. “Sure, that sounds like fun!” she patted my diaper lightly as I continued to nurse. We’ll see you there in three hours—hopefully, we can get some other cute outfits for my Katie here! We’ve got another stop before then, and we’ll meet you in front of Littletude.” I was not getting much milk anymore, but my body was on autopilot with nursing. I continued that for several minutes before Erica broke the latch, burped me, and said, “Are you good with a shopping trip with Ivy and Holly?” I nodded, “Sure.” She sighed heavily, “They don’t trust me, so I’m sure they want to check on you. That said, I don’t blame them and appreciate them looking out for you.” I sat quietly in her lap for a moment while she used some baby wipes to clean her breasts of drips of milk and my slobber before she carried me upstairs. “Are you okay for real with a haircut?” she asked me. I froze. “Depending?” “Well, Katie, you have hair down almost halfway down your back… it’s a lot to take care of?” I shrugged, “It’s never bothered me?” She nodded, “I’m sure it hasn’t, but it kind of worries me?” “How?” “Well… hair that long is easy to get things stuck into if you’re around any other regressed Littles.” “Like…?” “Gum, paint, who knows?” “Huh?” “Just trust me, I’ve seen it all, I think!” I felt queasy, “How short do you want me to go?” “Just to a bob above your shoulders?” She smiled, “It’ll be easier to take care of, and I can still put your hair up in pigtails?” I shuddered at losing my hair but nodded, “I guess that’s fine.” “I’d like to do one other thing?” she asked. I steeled myself for something worse, “Yes?” “Can I have them dye your hair just a little lighter to match mine better?” I’d never considered that we both had brown hair, but mine was darker than hers by a couple of shades from the dye used back home. “It’s bottle-colored anyway,” I told Erica with a shrug. “Huh?” she asked. “Dyed from a bottle? I have some gray hairs that I don’t like seeing?” I noted she looked closer at my hair, “I can see the roots actually… I’ve heard about using dyes.” “Wait, don’t you mean a dye?” “Sort of… it’s using nanites, though?” “Just do it,” I told her, closing my eyes. The milk was beginning to make me sleepy. A short while later, I discovered I’d slept through a wet diaper change and had been dressed in leggings and a dress that didn’t feature a onesie built-in for once. I woke up as she was checking me in at a stylist. “Hi, I’ve got an appointment for Katie here?” Erica was telling the woman. “Oh, what a cutie!” the woman cooed. “Let me get Tawny; she’ll be your stylist today.” I looked around, and Erica patted me on the diaper a bit. “Woke up finally?” “Sorry, your milk makes me sleepy most of the time,” I told her, realizing I had a pacifier in my mouth. “An extra nap isn’t a bad thing,” she told me with a squeeze and a kiss on my forehead. I debated spitting the pacifier out, but it was comforting, so I just kept nursing it occasionally. “Katie?” A friendly-looking woman in her late forties asked. “Right here,” Erica said, carrying me after her. I was placed in a chair resembling a princess’s throne. Soon, I looked passively at my reflection in the mirror, my pacifier bobbing up and down in my mouth nervously. “So, Mommy, what are we doing today?” I wanted to argue that Erica wasn’t my mommy, but that seemed pointless, so I just kept nursing on the pacifier. “I want you to cut her hair shorter up to here?” Erica held her hand at the level we’d agreed to. Also, can you give her a treatment to match my hair?” “Of course, that’s simple. Do you want me to curl the hair under for the bob?” “Just a light curl, don’t go crazy. I’m not a big fan of over-the-top curls on babies.” She laughed, “Neither am I.” The woman finally addressed me, “Now, I know this is going to make you have some big feelings to have this much hair come off, so feel free to keep your eyes closed, Sweetie. I promise you’ll be even more beautiful when we’re done because that hairstyle doesn’t really suit your face as it is.” I blushed but followed her advice to shut my eyes tightly as I saw the scissors come into view. She began to snip at my hair and chop it shorter than I’d had since I was seven or eight! I felt tears in my eyes and sucked on the pacifier for all I could throughout the experience. Just when I thought Tawny was finally done, she sprayed my hair with something again and said, “Just sit still, baby, almost done! You’ve done sooo good you’ve earned a treat afterward!” The woman said to me. Five minutes later, I was told to open my eyes. If the image in the mirrors had been that of an older toddler before, I had slipped below two now with my hair so short. The color now perfectly matched Erica’s, which made her smile as she talked about it on the way out to the car with a sucker in my mouth that the stylist had given me. As she buckled me into my seat, I pulled the sucker out by the white stick and asked, “How long does the dye last?” She smiled, “It’s an amazing product; unless we want to change hair colors, it doesn’t ever fade?” “Never?” I asked. “Never,” she told me. “Unless we change our mind on hair colors. That might be fun to be blondes or redheads at some point,” she said as she squeezed my diaper. “We’ll change you when we get to the mall. I think you’ll be fine until then,” she added. I only then noticed my diaper was squishy and soaked. With a sigh, I sat patiently as we were driven by the car to the local mall I’d been to with her. I was strapped into my stroller again, with the safety harness entirely preventing me from doing anything more than moving just a tiny amount in the seat. Fortunately, it was soft, but my diaper was cooling and clammy when she made it to the restroom and changed me. “Feel better?” She asked me. I nodded, even as I felt like my stomach was kind of gassy and overfull. ‘I haven’t had a bowel movement today,’ I thought to myself and groaned at the high likelihood that it would happen in this public space! “Let’s go find Ivy and Holly!” she said with a smile, buckling me back into the cushy stroller. As she pushed me through the mall, I felt like a bystander, and I looked at other people coming and going. The large teenagers hitting the sales, hanging out with their friends, shopping, and having a good time seemed normal. Frequent mothers with children or Littles would be moving about. I noted some of the Littles did seem happy, while many others scowled or struggled in their strollers or carriers. One Little was being pulled by a backpack leash as they sat on the floor in protest. Their ‘mother’ just kept walking as they slid on their diaper backward, wailing the whole time… Those scenes were horrible! Eventually, we made our way to a bench in front of Littletude, which I could see from my low position was essentially a version of tweeny children’s store with bright pink and purple outfits, glittery embellishments, and seemingly a bit ‘cool’ of designs that kids might want to wear into their early teens. I noted, though, that they were definitely designed for Littles, with the mannequins displaying diaper bulges visible even from where I sat dozens of feet away. As I sat there, I noted that you didn’t see many Little families out shopping. It was conspicuous to me, as I knew they had to be out there living freely still. The only free Littles I saw were maybe some college kids darting around, but even then, most of them seemed to have found a Big to be their bodyguard. ‘Babysitter more likely,’ I thought. Erica sat on the bench and began annoyingly pushing the stroller back and forth as if she needed to calm a fussy baby. I was just about to say to stop when I heard, “Hi, Ivy,” from her. The stroller suddenly turned, and I was face to face with another stroller containing Holly inside. I felt my face flush but realized she was dressed as juvenilely as I was. ‘I wonder how that works if patients see her outside the hospital?’ I wondered. “Hi, ladies,” Ivy said to us. “How are you doing today?” She asked, bending down in front of my stroller. The sudden invasion of her face was a bit off-putting, but I just shrugged and said, “We’re doing okay.” “She’s holding to her end of the bargain?” she asked me. I nodded, “Yes, as am I?” She smiled, “Good!” “Any particular place you wanted to shop?” Erica asked Ivy when she stood up. “Let’s look in Littletude first. I sometimes find some really cute and adorable sparkly outfits for the princess here. She doesn’t wear them much since she has to be a big adult at work, but I get to have fun on weekends!” Holly blushed, “Too much fun,” she said to me. The ‘mothers’ pushed us into the store and surprised me by releasing both of us to walk on our own. Holly and I talked quietly about how things were going down on our level, even as the ‘moms’ talked and ran hands through clothing racks. Most of the clothing was apparently ‘too mature’ for their liking, so I only had a couple of outfits to try on. Erica bought one romper for me that she said might work for at work. It was black, with tiny embroidered sparkly hearts and stars that did not seem appropriate, but I just shrugged it off. Holly gained a few dresses that weren’t horrible except for the bright pink and purple colors that said ‘still just a little girl’ in most people’s eyes. Erica seemed to lose all shopping self-control in a store I’d heard mentioned with my dress the previous night, Kelly and Killian’s. It reminded me of an upscale children’s boutique chain back home specializing in luxury children’s clothes. I ended up with a dozen dresses from there by the time we left, all quite fussy with organza overlays, tulle skirts, or more frills and bows than had any business being on one outfit! Holly looked sympathetic there, fortunately only ending up with one dress that Ivy just couldn’t put down. “I’ve always dreamed of having a little girl to shop for in that store,” Erica told Ivy. Ivy laughed, “I understand; I only picked up that one dress today, but Holly probably has a hundred like them back home. Since she never outgrows her baby clothes, keeping track of her outfits is challenging!” I saw Holly sigh beside me, our strollers again clacking along the floor together. We made a little bit of chat here and there before hearing, “Doctor Nickerson?” I noted the voice sounded vaguely familiar and sat still as the stroller turned to reveal a mom holding the hands of a girl Holly had cared for a few days prior. The fact that she could have a heart condition treated and be walking about the mall so quickly in a couple of days was incredible to me! I noted the tall woman had a double stroller she was pushing that only had one occupant in the front right then, a Little girl dressed in only a onesie, sucking on a pacifier, and watching a screen. She seemed oblivious to the world. “How are you doing?” Holly asked from her stroller. “Great!!!” the girl’s mom said. “Jemma could never have walked this much of the mall last week!!!” The girl smiled and hid behind her mom, clearly still shy. “That’s fantastic,” Holly said. “Hopefully, we don’t need to see her for anything else in the hospital again.” “I hope not. Oh, is this your friend that was with you too?” She said, moving the stroller closer to me as she closed the gap. “Yes,” I heard, “this is Doctor Benson, she’s an exchange doctor…” I heard, even as the tablet the Little was watching came into my view. I giggled, “Doc!!!!!” I smiled, “It’s Doc, Mommy!” I said, pointing to the colorful screen displaying my favorite show! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like Button and Leave a Comment!!! Next week, my work will take me out of town, so I won't be able to post on Friday. I'm intending to post Tuesday and then Sunday. I might be coerced into giving you a bonus chapter this Sunday to make up for the extra time between Tuesday and Sunday, but it'll take 35 likes this time to bribe me! 😎 PS Rings told me I have been far too stingy on providing cliffhangers for a while! 😈

Chapter 20: THE EVENING THAT followed after we picked up Holly from the hospital was… jarring. Ivy was perfectly kind and respectful and treated Holly like the adult doctor she was in the hospital. As soon as she was in the car, though? Holly was her baby girl! That night, I fed myself mac and cheese with a miniature fork in one of Holly’s highchairs while Ivy fed Holly every bite in a newer highchair. Ivy had offered me a regular glass to drink the sweet tea she served me, but I’d suggested a sippy cup, which was still a good plan. In the meantime I watched as Holly was served her drink in a baby bottle, like I’d been using. There was no self-consciousness in the actions of the two. I knew they’d been doing the same roles for decades, but it seemed so… loving. As Ivy changed my diaper before bed that night, I smelled milk. I noticed her shirt showed a spot where her nipple was, and I blushed, even as I felt a painful craving. She followed my gaze, “Sorry Katherine, I know that can’t be helping your craving. I’ll put you to bed, and hopefully, you can get past this in a couple of days.” I nodded and felt better after she turned the lights out and left me in bed. I tossed and turned for a long time that night – already having been conditioned so quickly that milk was the best way to sleep! Thursday found me following Holly around on her rounds, and I had to admit I was impressed by how she dealt with handsy Bigs and those who would suddenly try to baby her or me! Her nurses clearly loved her, as they were usually the ones to quickly talk sense into the errant mommies. Throughout our rounds, I was amazed at her ability to understand patients’ issues. They weren’t easy patients either, and throughout the day, I learned that most were referrals to her when the lower-level doctors couldn’t solve the problem. “You’re a real-life Doc McSweetie!” a mother said to her, hugging her after she solved Jemma, her five-year-old daughter’s heart issue, which she had experienced after a viral infection. Thank you!!!” When my once-favorite hypnotic TV show was mentioned, I felt a pulse in my heart that made me cringe, even though I agreed with the mother’s sentiments. When I ate dinner at their house that night, I was exhausted and nearly shaking from my cravings for Erica’s milk. I was almost ready to sneak into the supply I saw Ivy had in the fridge for Holly, but I resisted and went to bed early instead. That night, I just wished I could have what those two had! ‘The babying wouldn’t be so bad if Erica was like Ivy…’ I thought. BY FRIDAY MORNING, as I sat in on two surgeries that Holly completed, I couldn’t help but feel more and more lonely. For lunch, I managed to get my colleague Matthew to come to the hospital dining room to eat with me. He was already in line when Holly led me inside. “Hi, Katherine!” he said with a smile. “How are you doing?” I shrugged, “It’s been a long couple of weeks…?” He nodded, “I bet. Our students have had a bunch of issues, but you haven’t been able to help?” I blushed, “It’s been a long couple of weeks… we definitely need to talk!” “Who’s this?” he asked, noting Holly behind me. “Oh, Doctor Matthew Owens, this is Doctor Holly Nickerson. She’s the head of pediatrics here and overseeing my internship right now.” “Nice to meet you,” Matthew said to her. “I’m a little surprised you’re in that job?” “My size?” She asked. He nodded, “I’m double your height and have trouble being taken seriously?” “It’s not easy,” she told him. “Really long story! Katherine, you good here?” She asked me. I nodded, “I think so?” “Come by my office when you’re done with Doctor Owens,” she paused, “I have some things to take care of real quick.” “You don’t need any help?” I asked. She shook her head and said, “You need this; spend time with someone from back home.” Then she turned and left. After we grabbed lunch, we found a booth, which he helped me climb into, and then we started talking. Matthew told me about the research he had completed so far and how fascinating the divergence of the three races of humans found in this dimension. Littles, in particular, had some weird emergence in the world, and the codependency on Bigs was implausible to him. After listening to him, he asked, “So… how’s it going with you? You’re still staying with Erica?” I blushed but shook my head, “It’s been complicated…” “Complicated?” I debated how much to tell him, but something about the connection to home meant I trusted him. I ended up unloading everything on him. “I don’t know what to do?” I told him, doing everything I could not to suddenly put my thumb in my mouth! He shrugged, “I wish I had answers for you, Katherine. You and I both knew that this trip might be a one-way?” I shook my head, “I never accepted that though…” “Do you think you can stay with Ivy until the end of the semester?” He asked me. I shrugged, “They’d probably be willing, but I don’t know what Emerson will say?” He nodded, “They do seem to be going back on the previous deals…” “What do you mean?” I asked. “You know we closed our portal for many years, right?” he whispered. I nodded. “Our government only reopened relations after they agreed to some reforms. To be frank, they shouldn’t have already adopted out as many of our students as they have…” “What?” “Those were the problems I needed your help with,” he sighed. “Nothing we could do, though; their cases were open and shut in two seconds.” He shook his head, “If it wasn’t for what she did to you, Erica might be one of the safest Bigs you could have from what I’ve seen.” “I know,” I found myself saying. He looked thoughtful for a moment, “Look, Erica, something has changed here, and I’m afraid we were sold a fake bill of goods. Of the fourteen of us who came, I’ll be surprised if six go home… Maybe it’s time to make the best out of a bad situation?” “You figure you’ll be one of the ones to go home,” I breathed, trying to avoid tears leaking from my eyes, “and I won’t?” He nodded, “You’re too short… and cute. You should have seen how some of their professors spoke of you when you weren’t there that day. Especially since you’re essentially homeless right now, you’re very… ‘adoptable’ to them.” I fish-mouthed for a moment, “Thanks, Matthew, for the honest conversation,” I told him. We were done with our lunches, so I asked him, “Would you be willing to walk me to Doctor Nickerson’s office?” “Sure,” he told me. It was a silent walk, and I couldn’t help but note the hungry looks from many hospital staff and patients as we passed. We said our goodbyes as I opened her office door and saw Holly sitting in her modified office chair that had been pulled to a little lounge in her office. What surprised me, though, was Erica seated in another chair, Ivy across from her, and Mindy. I felt like I should have run into Erica’s arms, as a part of me missed her more than I realized! Especially when I realized she was hugging Honey in her lap. ‘I should run after Matthew and see what he can do!’ part of my brain screamed as the fight or flight responses took effect. “Umm… Holly?” I said instead, turning to her. “Sorry for the ambush here, Katherine, but we five need to chat. Would you please have a seat? You can sit next to my mommy if you feel safer?” she suggested. Ivy patted an open seat on the couch beside her, and after a moment’s hesitation, I walked over to her. She gently lifted me beside her and put an arm protectively around me. I noticed that Erica’s face seemed hurt when she did it, and a very selfish and vindictive part of me was thrilled to see that, even as I wanted to go over and yank Honey from her hands! Holly started, “Before we begin, Erica, you asked if you could say something?” Erica took a deep breath and sighed, “Katherine… Again, I want to say how sorry I am for losing my mind like I did. I know now some of the reasons behind it… but I really am sorry.” Her body language seemed like that was the genuine truth, “Thanks for the apology.” “Now, we need to discuss moving forward,” Holly said. “Forward?” I asked, finding Erica’s voice mixed in. Holly sighed, “As much as I doubt Katherine is going to trust you again – and for good reason easily – I received some information from Emerson about the possibility of rehoming Doctor Benson to a new apartment or maybe even coming home with us full-time until she leaves.” “And…?” I asked. “They said no,” she told me with a sad look. “Not only did they say, ‘no,’ but if they inspect Erica’s house and you’re not there, work, or with another temporary caregiver, they’ll have to place you into their demerit system.” “What?” I heard my voice and several others exclaim. “Don’t shoot the messenger?” Holly said sadly. “So… I have no option?” I asked her. She shook her head, “No.” With that, she turned to Erica, “We all know you went full psycho-mommy on Katherine. Will you do it again?” Erica looked at her hands, then did the thing with her hair again, “Not intentionally…” “Not intentionally? That’s the best you can give me?” I asked. “Hold on one second, Katherine,” Mindy said. “I think you need to know that there’s something else we didn’t know about at work.” “What?” I asked her, turning to her then. “That movie you went to see… It turns out there was a part of the movie designed for Bigs…” “Meaning?” “Meaning Erica had her own conditioning from that movie.” “Wait, you said the other day the hypnosis would only have affected me because she was wearing the glasses?!?” “Normally, yes,” she agreed. “This week, a friend of mine pointed out that there have been some cases, just like the one with Erica here, so I dug around. Apparently, the film is causing mommies to imprint even stronger on their Littles than normal.” “What does that mean?” I asked. “You understand the concept?” “Baby birds do it with their moms when they hatch?” I said. “Other creatures do, too?” She nodded, “It happens naturally for most in this dimension, but this was more extreme. Two Littles were admitted to this hospital for injuries, and five mothers were arrested.” I felt my jaw drop as I looked at Erica, tears streaming down her face. “I am so sorry, Katherine.” “So… what now? Can you treat Erica like you did me?” I asked. “Get rid of the conditioning?” “We already did,” Mindy told me. “But, I have to be honest, it’s not foolproof, given her natural instincts. Hopefully, it’s likely to prevent the desire to push you as hard and not get physically abusive.” “So what… I just go home with her? Then?” “Then you come back on Monday and work,” Holly told me. “You and Erica will have counseling sessions twice a week with Mindy to help keep her on track.” “And me?” “You?” “I just get to be normal? No babying?” “Is that what you want?” Ivy asked beside me. I looked up at the woman as she gently squeezed my shoulder. “I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Erica told me. “I promise not to force anything else on you.” “No more hypnosis?” I asked her. She shook her head. “I’ve already had someone come and completely lock all of my devices out of being able to show you Doc, Naomi and Oliver, or any other show known to have it.” I sighed, knowing I was between a rock and a hard place. “Fine, I’m obviously trapped by Emerson and this dimension either way.” “Maybe some ground rules would help?” Ivy suggested. “Like?” I asked. “Like Holly and I set long ago,” she said. “She can baby me at home like you do, Holly, but I get to be me at work?” I asked, looking up at her. She nodded, “It’s worked for us?” “And what would that entail?” Erica asked. “Well, obviously, my little girl has to have her wet and messy pants changed; she eats in a highchair, and I often feed her – but it’s always real food, not Little food or baby food?” I blushed, “That’s okay,” I agreed. “Katherine, I’ve seen you showing withdrawal symptoms. Do you want Erica to promise not to feed you any more of her milk?” Holly asked then. I squirmed. “Will she dry up?” I asked nervously. Erica shook her head. “Not likely. I’ve been lactating most of my life whenever I’ve been around a Little. There’s rarely been a time since I was fifteen when I didn’t have milk.” I felt stunned by that. “That’s horrible,” I said. “Yeah, the first time was only a few weeks after my first period…” she said. “My mom had to deal with the bitchiest teenage girl ever that week.” “Can you resist the urge?” Mindy asked me. I shrugged, “I don’t know. It was hard just even smelling Ivy’s.” I sighed, “I’m probably already incontinent. I haven’t had any improvement today?” I said. I noted that my diaper was definitely soaked right then. “We don’t have to,” Erica said. “Maybe establish some limits?” Holly suggested. “Limits?” I asked. “Maybe you’re willing to have it at bedtime and after you’ve had a chance to eat a solid breakfast?” “Not the rest of the time?” I asked. She shrugged, “Up to you. Personally, I used to limit things more. Still, after decades of nursing, it doesn’t matter if I skip time or not to help my bowels not move at embarrassing times.” I blushed. “You don’t have to,” Erica said again. “I…” I sighed, “I’m not completely opposed to it, but you can’t ever spank me again. If I say no, you have to take it as a final no until I change my mind?” The look on her face was one of surprise, tinged with a thin smile, “Deal.” “Erica, you must do your absolute best to prevent Katherine from seeing or hearing any other hypnotic content! As long as she doesn’t, she should be able to continue working like Holly,” Mindy told her. “I won’t show her anything,” she promised again. “But… what happens if she comes across something? There’s so much out there?” Mindy sighed, “I know, and it will be tough. Do your best.” “If she does?” “She’ll probably revert to all the conditioning she had before the treatment.” I felt sick at that. “All of it?” “All of it,” she repeated. “You were exposed to some of the most potent legal conditioning. I could easily see all of it being illegal, but getting a court to agree with that will be nearly impossible.” We spoke for a few more minutes before Mindy asked, “Katherine, do you have anything else to add?” I looked up at Erica, and something inside me broke, “Can I have a hug?” Erica was up in a flash; she picked me up and gave me the biggest, warmest, most comforting hug I could have imagined, even as she handed me Honey. “Thank you for giving me another chance,” she told me. We stayed with her, embracing me and rubbing her hand up and down my back for a moment before she noted, “Someone needs a change?” I blushed, feeling that the leggings I was wearing were soaked. “Yeah, I do.” “Am I good to take her?” Erica asked the group. “I have her bag in my car.” I looked down at Holly, “Up to you, Katherine.” At that moment, I knew a few things. Erica’s arms were comfy and warm… and I had really missed her embrace. With a sigh, “We’ll try it.” Erica squeezed me, “Then let’s get you in a clean diapee, and we’ll go home to talk some more.” “Okay,” I said simply. Back at her car, I thought we’d grab the diaper bag and head inside for a bathroom, but she opened the other door from the side my car seat sat in and laid out a changing pad. “Do we have to do this here?” I asked as she placed me down on the changing mat. “We can go inside if you want…?” She told me, “But no one will see or care? I can’t put you in your car seat in this diapee; it’s leaking already!” Turning redder, I said, “Fine, please be quick.” Quick, she was. In what was probably record time for her, she removed my leggings, removed the diaper, wiped me clean, and fastened a new diaper. “I don’t have any pants here; when we get home, we’ll get you in something else,” she told me. I was moderately mortified to be carried outside the car and around to the seat in only a diaper and my shirt. Still, I knew nothing I said would change that by the time it registered. As she drove off, I nervously squeezed Honey with my left hand, even as I involuntarily found my right thumb poking at the edge of my lips, having to really focus not to stick it into my mouth and suck on it as I worried if I had made the right choice… +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the 'Like' Button and leave a comment! For those eagle eyed readers this is now the Friday before the Tuesday of the student meeting in LCW. There are eight more chapters and an epilogue to go in this story. I'm currently one chapter of LCW in the can, I need to get five more done before I feel ready to begin posting. Please keep the comments up, as they're a great motivation to get my brain in gear! It's been a long week in the real world, but hoping tomorrow night to begin a weekend with at least a little bit of time to write! Edit: You all got this on the front page of results sorted by replies with this chapter, if you get it up to 30 likes or more by tomorrow night I might just decide to throw a bonus in this weekend...

Chapter 7: “NOT AS MATURE…?” I found myself echoing her. The inside of the mystery room was revealed, and it was most definitely not the kind of room I wanted to find myself in after seeing the horrors of KiKi earlier! To my right was a crib. Not just any crib! One that would easily fit me and keep me inside until someone bigger let me out! Beside it was a changing table that matched the light maple wood and was stocked with a package of the same diapers I’d worn before at night. To my left, a bit less disturbing, stood a cheaper pink toddler bed that looked to be for the princess fans out there. I noted a rail that extended about halfway down the side to prevent a toddler from falling out of bed. It was also much lower to the ground than the bed I’d been sleeping in. I turned and looked at her, “Not the crib?” I said quietly. She had the decency to laugh, “Definitely not the crib, silly! That’s just for babies you can’t trust to not stay in bed! The big kid bed over there, though, will keep you from rolling out, and even if you somehow do, it’s a much shorter fall!” I felt my entire life crumbling before my eyes, but at least she wasn’t sending me for those procedures. “Come on, let’s go ahead and get your stuff and move it into this room. There’s another bathroom attached to this room, too, so you can use it now. I’ll just have to move the stools and the potty seat over.” I grimaced, but there was little I could do to argue. Erica obviously wasn’t wrong about the safety concern, but I was horrified to sleep in that room! I couldn’t help but notice the other nursery touches as we moved my clothes to that closet. A rocking chair sat in the corner with a bottle warmer beside it. A blue blanket, which looked fuzzy and comfy, was draped across the back. There was a shelving unit containing dolls, stuffed animals, and other baby toys, which made me wonder how much time she spent looking after her nieces and nephews? We had a quiet dinner from the AmeniTea that night, and I discovered the pizza it made was up there with the better ones back home. There was something about the sauce that just tasted really good! Erica and I hadn’t been able to agree on a set of toppings, so I’d had a smaller separate one that was still a bit big for me. We both sighed afterward, “Do you work this weekend?” I asked her. “No, I’ve made it sufficiently far up the food chain that unless a weird emergency happens, I only work Monday through Friday.” “That’s nice,” I said. “You have anything else that needs to be done?” I shrugged, “I was talking with Matt yesterday, and we’re both going to try and check in with the group once a week. I picked Sunday for dinner with them at the dining hall there?” She nodded, “That’ll be a good way to check in with them!” “Yeah, I hope they’re safe…” She gave me a look doubtful of that, and I couldn’t help but be afraid for myself, too. “So, two single ladies with nothing else to do tonight?” I smirked. “Clubbing’s probably not a good idea,” she laughed. “I was thinking more of movie night. One of our students came specifically to be able to study that here?” “That sounds like fun! Why don’t you hit the restroom while I clean up here, and then we’ll go pick something out?” I was a bit annoyed at being picked up out of the highchair and sent to go potty like a good girl, but given some close calls that day, I didn’t complain. Truthfully, I was dying to pee by the time I made it up the stairs! Fortunately, I made it! Back downstairs, Erica taught me how to use the navigation system. “I don’t know any of your movies here. Do you have any suggestions?” “Umm… how about this one? It’s a romantic comedy I haven’t seen yet?” I shrugged, “Sure!” She started the movie, and I was amazed by how the living room practically became the scene, with the Holo screen taking over the entire space. It felt more like being in a theater for a play but mere feet from the stage! The film, though, was… Odd! The plot involved a pair of Bigs whose littles meet in a waiting room and recognize each other as their long-lost sibling! They initially get them together to have a play date, then work on getting the ‘parents’ to like each other so they can be a family again. It was unbelievable to me just how many scenes involved showing the Littles acting like babies, having their poopy diapers changed, mommies nursing their Littles, and all of that while dressing them to be as cute as they could be. The Littles pretended to hate it for much of the movie but professed their love for being Mommy and Daddy’s babies at the end. “That was really good!” Erica said at the end. I just stared at her. “Don’t you think…?” I sighed, “Honestly, it didn’t do much for me?” “Hmm… we don’t have anywhere to go tomorrow; how about something else?” “Sure, maybe an adventure or action film instead?” I hoped those would be less... doting... on Littles, perhaps? “Sounds good! I’m going to hit the potty first. Do you need to?” I nodded. “Here, I’ll give you a lift!” she said, surprising me by picking me up. As she did so, I felt some pee spurt out. Her hand settled on my butt to hold me on her side, and her face let me know she felt it. “Did you have an accident?” “Just now, a little got out… I wasn’t expecting you to pick me up?” Upstairs, she took me to the bathroom and pulled down my leggings without warning, pulling up the snaps of the onesie since I hadn’t changed from work. “Yes, just a little oopsie; sit down and finish, then we’ll get you cleaned up,” she told me as she surprised me by ripping the sides of the Pull-Up off, too. ‘A little oopsie?’ I thought to myself as I sat down on the toddler potty seat. Just as I held that internal conversation in my head, my bladder, and bowels both released into the bowl with a vengeance! “I haven’t had an accident in over twenty years!!! Why am I suddenly having problems?” I said aloud. Erica heard me but waited until I’d wiped before answering. “Look, there’s nothing wrong with an occasional accident, Katie. From what I understand, this is a common side effect for those arriving from your dimension. It’s a cultural shock to see you all use the potty so well when you arrive.” “When we arrive?” I asked, stomach dropping. She shrugged, “I don’t know if it’s the food, water, air, radiation, or something else, but most Littles tend to need to wear protection for a reason. As long as they’re just small blips like you had, a Pull-Up will do fine for you, though!” She patted my back, “But, that being said, I figure you’re also probably going to fall asleep during the next movie. Just in case you do, how about you put your jammies on after you wash your hands?” I turned red but said, “You could always wake me up?” “I’m not so sure of that. You were dead to the world this morning and didn’t wake up last night?” You could probably cook an egg on my face then, but I just shrugged, “Okay.” She watched me wash my hands. I’d pulled the leggings up to give myself some modesty but left the onesie unsnapped. The view in the mirror as I stared at my face made me sick. I wasn’t KiKi by any stretch, but the distance was not as far as I believed it should have been! After I dried my hands, I followed Erica to the changing table, which she lifted me onto. She rubbed a bit of rash cream into my skin, and she quickly had me diapered and zipped up into another set of footie pajamas I didn’t remember buying. “Where’d these come from?” I asked. She blushed, “I bought them yesterday on my way home. We can switch to something else if you want to?” I shook my head, “They’re fine.” Once she sat me down, I gathered my hair into a ponytail with a scrunchie, and we were soon downstairs deciding on another movie. “What do you want to watch now?” She asked. I shrugged, “Maybe an action movie? Maybe something science-fiction?” She looked thoughtful, “Okay, I know a good one!” As she started the movie, she turned the lights out. “Would you want hot chocolate?” “Sure, but we’ll have to take the diaper off before I go to bed so I can pee?” “That’s fine. We have plenty of diapers, and you’re hopefully only using them at night for a couple more nights anyway?” With a shrug, I nodded and watched the movie begin with a futuristic space battle. It was something like the classic old movies of Star Wars or maybe Battlestar Galactica that my dad had loved repeatedly showing my siblings and me as kids. It seemed more realistic, though, and with the technology, it felt like I was actually flying through space at times! The effects were so amazing I almost missed Erica handing me the small mug. It was a little cooler than I preferred but still warm, and it had a couple of marshmallows on top! I took a sip and said, “Oh my god, you all have the best hot chocolate!” “The key is to use real milk,” she told me. “The packet stuff or the stuff from AmeniTea just doesn’t cut it for me.” We clinked our glasses as a cheer, even as I found myself rapidly downing the cup. “More?” She asked me. She looked excited about something, and I assumed it was the compliments. I felt a little bloated but had no self-control. “I shouldn’t… but I will if you do?” She smiled, “Sure. I’ll get another round!” I had just as little self-control as I drank the second cup but was bloated enough then that there was no way I would do a third. Instead, I focused on the movie and the soundtrack and, at some point, found myself leaning on Erica, who made a comfy pillow. It was so comfy that I must have passed out asleep before the movie reached its’ final act! THE NEXT MORNING, I discovered I had been carried and put to bed again, and I had no idea that had happened! Light came through a couple of windows above the shelves of toys and was just hitting me in the eye. I looked over and realized I was squeezing Honey like usual, even though the bed was not normal! The small rail did come up a fair way on my torso as I stood up, but I could crawl through the opening by where my feet had been. I stretched out and felt some pops and cracks in my joints. The toddler bed clearly had an inferior mattress, and I felt that right then! I was walking to the bathroom and realized something felt… strange. Same pajamas. My hair was in a sleep braid… I thought I remembered Erica getting bored after the hot chocolate and doing that. My feet were warm. Diaper… My diaper was… wet?!? I jumped when the bedroom door opened, and Erica came in. “I heard you getting up; how’d you sleep?” I blushed. “Umm… well, the bed’s definitely not as comfortable?” I told her. “Sorry about that; that toddler bed was a cheap buy, so I’d have somewhere for Amber and later Everly to nap or sleep at night if they stayed over.” I nodded, “No one plans to have an adult houseguest use the children’s furniture,” I laughed nervously. “I don’t know that it would interest you at all, but the crib actually has a better mattress in it. Amber prefers to take a nap in there sometimes with Arthur instead of sharing the toddler bed with Everly.” I blushed, “How old is Amber?” “Oh, she’s six. She’s just not a gigantic six-year-old yet. Her mom is pretty short for a Big, and she was always a little shorter growing up until she hit puberty.” “How tall is she?” I asked nervously. “Oh, she’s only six-foot-three?” “Only…?” I sputtered, “She’s SIX?” “You saw kids like that yesterday?” “I guess it’s too early to think about things like that.” I gazed at the crib and shuddered that a six-foot kid could still comfortably fit. Looking at the mattress, I actually thought the truth was that I could probably almost stack two of me head to foot and not be too long. “I can imagine. I guess I never thought about it, but how tall would a six-year-old be in your dimension?” I did some mental math in my head, “About forty-five inches? A bit shorter than four feet?” “Yeah, we have six-month-old babies that are taller than that!” I shook my head. “So… I guess I should ask again… How did you sleep?” “What do you mean?” She sighed, “Sorry to ask bluntly, is your diaper dry or wet?” I hung my head lower, “Wet.” She didn’t say anything to me then; she just came over and knelt down to hug me. “I’m sorry, Katie. I hate to see that happen to you.” I shrugged, “You said last night that it’s normal. We have adults back home who sometimes lose control; they get on with life; I’ll have to do so, too. It shouldn’t be the end of the world?” “That’s the spirit!” she told me. “Why don’t I help you get that wet diapee off, and we’ll get you a bath?” “A bath?” I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t know how I’d possibly reach your bathtub sides?” She smiled, “But think of having your own private pool? You can swim, right? I know most of you all from your world, can?” I nodded, “Yes, my parents had a pool while we grew up.” “Great! Tell you what, let’s get you set up with a bubble bath; it’ll help you feel all better. I’ll come help you out when you’re done!” I felt that I should hate this idea, but for some reason, her extra ‘support’ didn’t feel wrong. Instead, it gave me a positive, warm tingly feeling. Ten minutes later, she placed me in the too-tall tub, where I could stand up and still have water to my shoulders as high as she had drawn the bath. It was pretty much the antithesis of how you should do a bath for someone the age of my size, so I appreciated the treatment as an ‘adult’ who wouldn’t drown. That said, I watched her come and check on me a few times as I floated on my back. “About ready to get out?” She asked me. “Umm… I still haven’t really washed,” I said. “I can help?” She suggested. “Umm…” “Least I can do since you’re having so many challenges? I know I love to have my hair washed by someone else?” I nodded. Mom, my sister, or my hairdresser—it didn’t matter which it was; it felt nice. “Okay,” I said. “Here, let’s drain some of this,” She said. The water had drained to just above my breasts, and she got to work with shampoo that was definitely not my usual product. It smelled like berries. “That’s not my normal shampoo?” “You have to try this; it’s a brand infused with nanites. It helps tame your hair better and even strengthens the hair follicles. I lose much less hair during the day to shedding with this stuff!” With a shrug, I let her go to work, closing my eyes and enjoying what had become a bit of a massage. Luckily, there were still some bubbles in the water a moment later, though, because my eyes shot open as I peed uncontrollably in the tub! ‘Gross!’ I thought, even as I was not about to tell on myself. Fortunately, she was done rinsing my hair out. She handed me a loofa that I scrubbed my body off quickly and then let her pull me out. As she did so, I was sure I could not get in and out of the tub on my own. I also noted there was no stand-alone shower in this bathroom. “I can still use the other bathroom for showers, right?” “Sure you can. This was just convenient for letting you relax,” Erica told me as she stood me on the ground, wrapped in a towel. I took it in stride as she handed me a Pull-Up, one of the sweaters, and a pair of jeans before offering to do my hair. Fortunately for me, she didn’t take advantage of the hair to make it look like I was a little girl; instead, she braided a pretty cool fish along the back and left me looking like the miniature adult I was. “So what’s the plan?” I asked her at breakfast. “We’re going to my mom’s house so they can meet you. My sister and brother will be there with their families, too.” “Oh, that’s nice. My family always likes to get together like that one weekend, too.” “Yeah, it’s great for the cousins to get a chance to play together!” As she strapped me in the car seat, placing an obvious diaper bag beside me, I just hoped I wouldn’t be seen as ‘one of the cousins!’ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks everyone for reading! Please press the Like button and leave a comment! I haven't decided for sure when I will post this week, but I may give you a second chapter this next week... or maybe a second and third? It depends on my happiness from likes and how my muse behaves here! Theoretically, I've written through Chapter 15. There were a few holes here and there that I was chasing. We'll see where it all goes from here! I've sketched 20 chapters, plus an epilogue to this part of Katie's story. Being done this week is my goal! Anyway, I hope you all had a great set of Holidays! 🙂

Chapter 6: I OPENED MY eyes slowly and realized I was back at Erica’s house. ‘Was that whole thing a dream?’ I wondered as I looked at my wrist and couldn’t see anything wrong. I rolled upright in bed and realized an addition had been made to the bed of a bunch of towels to encircle the edge of the bed. “Not a dream,” I decided. “What happened after that shot?” I was just climbing out of the covers when Erica came in. “Good morning, Katie, how’s the arm?” “It doesn’t hurt at all now… what did that shot do?” “Well, the nanites are cool little machines. I got them to set the bone back in place. Then, they create this calcium titanium composite that weaves the bone pieces back together even stronger than they were before. Nerve damage that’s sensed also gets fixed.” “Why did I conk out?” “Stress, fatigue, and shock, I think?” I nodded, “I guess that would do it.” “Do you still feel like going into the hospital with me today? You could stay home today if you want?” I flexed my hand in shock that it had been broken only hours before. Not a bit of pain or sense that it had been either! “Actually, I think I’m probably good to go still?” “If you’re sure,” Erica said. “I’m sure,” I told her. “Okay, well, let’s get you to the shower. I’ll help you out of that wet diapee, and you can get going.” My brain went to a screeching halt. “Wet…?” I looked down at the footed pajamas I’d worn the night before. You couldn’t physically see the diaper, but you could easily tell there was a diaper hanging very low within it. “When…?” “It’s a side effect sometimes,” Erica said reassuringly. “I changed you from another one when we got home too.” “I wet… and slept through you changing me?” I said, suddenly alarmed. “You’ll be fine. Just let me know if you have an issue in your Pull-Ups today. I’ll take some spares just in case.” I couldn’t help but note she had a... worried look? On her face as she stared at me. Before I could ask her about that, she unexpectedly picked me up and carried me to the bathroom. Before I could reach for the zipper, she was already pulling it down and the sleeper from my shoulders. “Step out,” she told me kindly. In shock, I complied, even as my brain went, ‘What’s happening?!?’ I watched her turn the shower on, and then she returned. After two ‘scritch’ sounds, the diaper was in her hand, being balled up. I could tell the padding was nearly completely soaked, too! I hopped into the shower and scrubbed the lower part of my body several times, hoping to remove all of the pee. As I was scrubbing my legs, I noticed something odd. “Should I have to shave my legs again today…?” I usually shaved my legs every few days because I hated stubble. Even in the winter, I would keep them clean so that my tights and leggings would look and feel right. I ran my hands up and down my legs and couldn’t find a bit of stubble. Shocked, I checked my armpits next… ‘nothing there either…’ I thought. I usually kept my lady parts waxed, so it wasn’t a surprise there was no hair there, but I was genuinely curious about what was going on! My arms still had a bit of the blonde hair they always had. I rarely bothered to shave them, so I at least knew it wasn’t all of my hair suddenly falling out or something. Right? With a shake of my head, I got moving and soon was dressed in a set of Pull-Ups, a pair of black leggings, and an embarrassing onesie blouse that did at least look professional tucked into my leggings. Well, except for the padding, that was evident. I put my white coat on over it and noted that it disguised the padding well enough that I didn’t feel completely mortified then. “Look at you!” Erica said as I ran into her at the top of the stairs. Without warning, she picked me up and said, “Let me give you a ride down to breakfast. You don’t want any more falls, right?” “Umm… thanks,” I told her, even as her overprotectiveness seemed a lot different than before. We were soon sitting, me in the high chair and her in her preferred chair, eating a plate of eggs and bacon apiece. Her portions were, of course, much larger than mine! I noted she kept looking at me to check on me, almost as if she worried I would fall out of the chair. I tuned it out, though, and continued enjoying the enormous pieces of bacon she had cooked! TWO HOURS LATER, I was standing to the side watching Erica give an exam to an eight-year-old girl complaining of stomach cramps. “When did this start?” Erica asked the little girl and her mother. “Four days ago?” Her mom said. “Honestly, I thought she might just be getting her period early?” “No menses, though?” “No,” her mom said. “What’s that?” the girl asked. “It’s just a more polite name for the discharge when you get your period, honey,” her mom told her. “Oh… You thought I was doing that?!?” She asked, even as she groaned. “Let’s give her a scan,” Erica said, and I watched her activate the scanner. It was like having a hologram of each part of her body to look through, and I was absolutely captivated by it. I noted, “Her gallbladder?” “It looks like that might be it,” Erica agreed. “Bring your daughter to work day?” the mother asked, smiling at me with the look usually reserved for an adorable toddler playing pretend. “Oh, no, this is Doctor Benson. She’s here on an exchange program with the hospital from one of the other dimensions.” “Really? A Portal Little?” the mom asked excitedly. “Yes, and she’s quite bright. I think she’s right, though I’m also wondering if that large mass in her bowels is not helping, either. When was the last time you went poopy?” Erica asked the girl. I noticed the girl was slightly defensive about the babyish name for her bowel movements. “I don’t know? I’m not a Little, though. Why does it matter?” “It can sometimes.” Erica told her before turning to her mom, “Okay, I will suggest we treat both issues right now. I’ll give her a nanite treatment that should alleviate the gallbladder issue we’re seeing. I’m also going to institute a bit of a flush for her, too. I’ll put that on a delay so you can get home before it starts.” “Any suggestions with that?” “I’ll prescribe some underpants to get her through it.” “Under…?!?” Suddenly the girl was furious! Even as she winced, she shouted, “I’m NOT wearing a DIAPER like some LITTLE!” Her mom suddenly grabbed the daughter by the chin, “If the doctor says you are, you are. IF you give us any more grief about a good idea like this to deal with what’s coming to your body, we’ll make it more than until it clears! Your friend Haley is still wearing them, right?” I simultaneously watched the girl turn red and white and wondered if what I saw justified a call to child services! “Yes, ma’am,” the child said. I watched everyone deflate as Erica prepped a syringe-like she had the night before and injected the girl in the fatty tissue on her rear. “She should feel relief on the gallbladder in a few minutes. If she’s still in pain after she passes the mass from her colon after a day, please come back and see us, and we’ll explore a couple other issues.” “Thanks,” the mom said. “Would you please ensure the prescription is for diapers, not Pull-Ups? She’s not behaving like that’s the better option, not to mention diapers work better for poopies.” The girl looked like she wanted to sink into the floor, even as she gave her mom a look of wanting to kill her. “Sure!” Erica said, seemingly unphased by the attitudes of either the girl or the mom. “They do definitely work better to control things. These are special ones, so please register the code on the package. They will tell us how much she expels by volume and sample some possible signs of other issues. She should wear them for at least twenty-four hours to get a good reading.” “Thanks! Nice to meet you, Sweetie,” the woman said as she pulled her daughter from the room. I pondered that an elementary school child was multiple times my size! “What was that about those readings?” I asked her as we walked down to another room. “Oh, it’s an easier version of doing stool sampling. Personally, I prefer to prescribe those diapers to anyone under twelve so they and their parents don’t have to deal with collecting stool samples. It’ll test for a wider range of bacteria, infections, sugars, sodium levels, etc.” “Huh,” I said, knowing that while mortifying, that was kind of clever! We saw her entire patient load of the morning together, and it was impressive to see every case resolved within a fifteen-minute appointment without sending them off to another floor for scans, specialists, etc. The nanite treatments were just as amazing as I had heard! At lunchtime, we ate in the cafeteria, and as I was getting my food, I heard, “Hello?” I turned and saw another woman, dressed like a doctor, even shorter than me! Her coat read, ‘Dr. Holly Nickerson, Chief of Pediatrics.’ “Hi,” I said back to her. “You must be the exchange doc I heard we were getting?” She smiled, “I’m Holly, the head of pediatrics here.” “Head?” I asked. “Yep, long story to get here…” “I bet,” I said, noting her youthful appearance in spite of her title. “Sorry, I’m Katherine Benson,” I told her. A much taller woman came over then, dressed like a CEO. “Did you make a new friend, Holly?” The woman gave a very youthful giggle, “Maybe?” Erica said, “Oh, Doctor Nickerson, I see you’ve met our new exchange doctor!” “Hi, Doctor Daniels,” Holly said formally. “Oh, Katherine, this is Doctor Ivy Nickerson.” “Any relation?” I asked, curious. “Oh, she’s my mommy,” she said nonchalantly. “What?” “Why don’t you join us for lunch?” the taller woman said. “Sure,” Erica answered for us. A short while later, I learned how Holly had come to this dimension. I felt my stomach twist and turn at some of the blunt information she shared about her mommy wanting a baby but, in the end, deciding she was too talented to stay at home in a crib or a daycare all day. “I’ve been a doctor here ever since,” she told me. “And she became the head of the department when I became the CEO,” her mom added. “You’re still here then too?” I asked. She shook her head, “I took a private sector job for a bit in a similar role before retiring a few years ago. Now I can just pop in and check on Holly for lunch each day!” Fortunately for my nerves, the conversation switched to the differences in nanite treatment in this dimension. We were starting to get some ideas back home with it, but our implementations were slow. The reproduction of the nanites within systems was our big logjam, and I was absolutely enthralled by my conversation about the building that theirs did to expand. Eventually, though, we all had to leave, Holly to surgery and Erica to her afternoon caseload. Just after lunch, I had a really close call getting to the restroom on time. I wasn’t sure why my bladder gave me such a late warning, but fortunately, I’d still made it! Immediately after that, though, we saw a patient who made me believe I had most definitely made a mistake! “Hi, I’m Doctor Daniels,” Erica introduced herself to the parent already waiting in the room. Their child was covered in a blanket and cuddled up to them in a chair. “This is Doctor Benson; she’s shadowing me today.” “Hi,” the woman said to her and gave me a skeptical look. She just shook her head, though. “What seems to be going on with Miss KiKi today?” Erica asked. ‘Kiki?’ I thought. ‘I sure hope that’s a nickname!’ “She just refuses to eat right now! I adopted her a couple weeks ago and had the normal procedures done on her to make sure she would be a happy baby. Still, it doesn’t matter how much I try, KiKi won’t eat her baby food, drink her babas, or nurse her nummies from me!” My brain came screeching to a halt as I evaluated each piece of information. Horrible name – what’s wrong with mom? Adopted? That’s kind of her? Or...? Wait, ‘normal procedures?’ Baby food? She looks almost as big as me, so she probably shouldn’t still be eating that. Nurse her nummies? Breastfeed? Didn’t she just say she adopted her? I knew you could lactate as a woman even without childbirth, but it seemed odd to start for a child as old as she had. “Just so I can confirm, what procedures did the clinic do on her?” “Oh, well, first was obviously the body hair treatment. Nothing is worse on a Little than having hair on their body to spoil the image! I had her teeth covered. You can’t remove them anymore because of that stupid law. Still, those new over-the-top implants don’t technically remove them?” ‘What the fuck?!?’ I thought to myself. “I also had her hair color changed to match mommy’s, and then treatments to help encourage proper crawling behavior.” I looked up at Erica in horror, expecting her to say all this was wrong! Instead, she merely said, “So, how long has it been since she ate?” “Seven days!” “You’re sure you’re lactating?” “Yes, since she’s not drinking, I have to pump - it’s gotten painful otherwise.” “Let’s rule out medical things, but I think you may need to have a session with a psychiatrist. Sometimes, new mommies need some help guiding their Littles to accept their new homes. Can you put KiKi on the bed so I can scan her?” A moment later, I could see from the countertop I’d climbed on that ‘KiKi was emaciated, with her ribs sticking out. The scanner couldn’t find anything preventing her from processing her food. “Have you considered removing the teeth covers and see if she’ll eat solid food?” Erica suggested. “But I want her to be healthy! Breast is best, they say!” Erica shrugged, “Maybe make a deal with Miss Kiki that you do that and let her have a solid meal a day?” I noticed she was looking at KiKi and not her mom, “In exchange, she’ll make sure she never bites mommy and always nurses her nummies like a good baby?” “I don’t know about that…” Her mom said. “Well, just a thought, I’m writing you a referral to a behavioral counselor. I’ll message her and see if she can see you before you’re discharged. If she doesn’t eat today, though, she will need to be admitted and given a feeding tube.” Erica seemed to be looking at the girl again. “Please, Mommy, I promise?” I heard the girl whimper. We left before another doctor came to remove whatever that implant was. ‘The girl was on a total hunger strike,’ I thought. ‘Probably her only thing she could control.’ ‘Why the hell did I come here?!?’ As we drove home, I couldn’t help but be horrified and slightly hopeful because of Holly Nickerson’s tale. While it was nice to see someone could make it, it was more than a little disheartening that she wasn’t on her own but instead had been adopted and lived as a baby all of the time away from work! ‘That at least might be okay,’ a little voice said in my head, ‘no stresses…’ I had no idea where that idea came from, but I felt like vomiting after seeing KiKi’s fate!!! When we reached Erica’s house, she carried me up the stairs and sat on the floor so we were closer to eye level. “Umm… Katie?” “Yes?” “Look, I’ve been trying to think about how to say this all day without it coming across with a creepy mommy vibe…?” My neck hairs raised as I wondered if a predator was about to eat me or if lightning was about to strike! “What?” She gave a big sigh, “Okay, so you living with me is great, and I don’t want to jeopardize it. Truth be told, I’m rather lonely in this big house by myself, so it’s nice to have you!” I smiled, “It’s kind of nice to have company,” I agreed. “Okay… but what happened last night is an issue neither of us can afford to happen again.” “Last night?” “You falling out of bed and breaking your wrist?” “It was a fluke? I don’t normally have nightmares like that?” She nodded, “I believe you, but if it were to happen again, we’d have an issue.” “So…” She looked nervous, “So, I think we’re going to have to change your room?” “How?” “To the room I have for my nieces and nephew when they visit?” I pictured the house, considered its layout, and then realized there was one room I hadn’t seen. The door was directly behind me, and Erica was blocking the stairwell with her body. “Why…?” “I’m just going to rip the bandaid off here,” she told me, “it’s not as mature.” She opened the door, and I saw exactly what she meant by that! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like Button and leave a comment! I can't post next week due to holiday travel, but I should be able to post again next Saturday or Sunday, the 28th or 29th, depending on when I get home. I appreciate all of you who push the like button and leave comments! I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, etc.!

Chapter 132: Sliders I WOKE THE following day to the sounds of a giggling grandmother and babied aunt. I opened my eyes to realize I was being cuddled tightly by Beth. It was nothing new, but a giant Charlotte had wrapped an arm protectively around both of us! “Do you want to go swimming before we wake this crew up?” Grandma asked me softly. “Please,” I said. “If I can wriggle out!” I whispered back. Between my sleeping bag, Beth, and Charlotte, getting myself loose without waking them up was a bit of a squirm. Everyone else seemed dead to the world, but I knew I wanted to swim before everyone got up! I was a little surprised at how quickly I was waking up compared to normal, especially with the late night! When I eventually wriggled free of the two girls, I tiptoed around the puppy piles of my friends and was gathered in Grandma’s arms. Once upstairs in my room, she commented, “That was quite the little cuddle you three have going on there?” I blushed. “Not sure why Charlotte joined in,” I sighed. “At least you two stayed in your own sleeping bags this week?” Grandma told me. I turned even redder as she laid me on the changing table and unzipped my sleeper. “Well… would be a little awkward with our friends there?” She laughed and quickly changed me into a swim diaper and one-piece suit, “Don’t plan on staying out there all morning. I’m guessing you all will end up there together at some point later.” I nodded, “Probably, it was one of the things I suggested to the girls.” Grandma touched my hair, “This is really cute! I hope the swim cap keeps it?” I laughed as she gently did her best to get it all under the tight swim cap, “It is cute; I think Livy and Reila got a couple of pictures of Charlotte and Beth sitting together since we matched.” “Seemed like everyone has had a pretty good time?” She said, quieter as she carried me down the stairs. I nodded, “Yes, thanks for having everyone over.” She smiled, “I was just glad to see Shelby join in with you all. She really has missed out on these kinds of things.” “Hopefully, she’ll get some more when she goes off to college next year,” I told her. Grandma nodded, gave me a squeeze, and tossed me into the pool to start my morning laps. I tuned out any thoughts of the rest of the world as I swam from end to end repeatedly, enjoying the ability to just swim! Eventually, I realized that Grandpa had taken over to watch me from Grandma and was joined by Charlotte. “Oh, time to get out?” asked. Charlotte just stared at me as Grandpa nodded, “Yes, the dead have mostly awakened, so your Grandma is going to make breakfast. It’ll be ready in about thirty minutes.” “Thanks,” I said as I swam to the side and climbed out. Grandpa walked away when I was out, leaving Charlotte there staring. “You can swim?” she asked in shock. “Yeah?” I smirked, “I think so, at least?” “I’ve never seen a Little swim like that?!?” I laughed, “I’ve been swimming since before I could walk back home. It’s the most relaxing thing I can do.” “You’re probably the fastest swimming Little in existence she said,” even as I dried myself off and wrapped my body in my towel. “I don’t know about anything with that? I just like swimming?” She shook her head, “You’re a very unusual Little, Carly.” I laughed, “That I’ll agree with you on!” Surprisingly, Charlotte controlled whatever maternal urges must have flared in her sleep last night and let me mountain climb the stairs! I took a quick shower and pulled the swim cap off, smiling when I saw it had mostly survived. Beth and the girls were all downstairs in the kitchen. I again found myself in ‘my’ highchair and was joined by Amy, Everly, and Mia in them. We were the smallest girls, so I knew it made sense, but I still blushed as Willow gave us looks that were clearly grateful it was us! Before long, we made a pact to start working on homework together, spreading it out with our tablets and other study supplies in the living room. I found myself sitting between Livy and Beth, with Charlotte not far away. “Ugh!!!! I hate math!!!!” Livy complained. “Same,” Reila sighed. “You won’t catch any argument from me,” Beth agreed before patting me on the head, “this one, though, she likes math!” “Really?” Reila asked. I shrugged, “It’s just kind of fun?” “What math are you taking?” Charlotte asked, and upon my response, gave me the alien look again. “You are so weird…” “So weird, but so helping me!” Livy said! “I can finally steal Beth’s tutor!” I laughed, “Let me know what you’re having problems with, I’ll try to help.” Before long, I was the unofficial math TA in the room. I discovered my friends in the nest hadn’t realized I could help with math before that. I snuck in some time on HoloFields and started brainstorming on the final screenwriting assignment we’d been given. Just before lunch, Charlotte nudged me, “What’s your schedule like this week?” “Huh?” “I’m texting with Sebastian. Trying to set up a shooting schedule?” I’d almost forgotten with the sleepover that we needed to finish our short film. “I don’t have anything major?” “How late can you be out?” “Ten O’clock? We’re supposed to be in our dorm rooms by then?” “So you could probably work until nine safely?” I nodded, “Yeah, under the new rules, that should be fine.” “So Tuesday after Narratives, Thursday, and maybe Saturday to finish?” she asked. I shrugged, “I don’t know anything else I know of going on. They don’t exactly let us Littles have much of a social life?” She made a face at that, “That’s unfortunate…” “This is by far the most I’ve gotten out in two years,” Everly commented from her prone position on her stomach nearby. “Thanks again, Carly, for making this happen!” “You’re welcome,” I told her, even as I watched Charlotte start jotting some notes down in a scheduling app that wasn’t from Emerson’s class. “What’s that?” I asked her. “This?” She looked up, “Oh, that’s right, Wyler hasn’t used something like this with us for some reason. This is a shooting scheduling app I’ve used with most studios. It’s handy for coordinating schedules. No one else has it, but I can at least create the schedule and send it to Sebastian to send it out.” I saw it allowed for some pretty cool features with who was available, spaces, and scenery, and it just seemed genuinely handy. “Can you buy it?” She shook her head, “No, it’s proprietary to the studios.” “Hmm… I wonder if I could code something similar….” Beth tickled me, “Less distractions…” “But you are my biggest distraction.” With that, she really began tickling me non-stop until I noticed my diaper was nearly about to burst as she stopped. “I need a change…” “Oh, and that’s something you need a distraction from?” She kidded me even as she stood up. “Fine, I probably am a little at fault, let’s go change the wet diapee, and then maybe it’s about time for lunch?” I nodded at that, feeling my stomach growling. “That sounds like a plan, I wonder what Grandma has planned?” “I think she mentioned pasta…” she told me as she carried me up the stairs. After a diaper change, I was grateful Grandma had lunch ready because studying definitely made me hungry! BETH WATCHED THE group gather around the table again and thought it was kind of Amanda to feed this small army of locusts! Fred, Bella, and Ryan made an appearance at the meal of a pasta bake with chicken and alfredo sauce topped with a heavy amount of melted mozzarella cheese! Afterward, the group resumed studying for a bit, and Charlotte convinced Beth and Carly to go through their lines together for the short film. Shelby was hanging around during that time, working on her own homework, and made a face when she discovered what the film was about. Carly had told Beth about the idea coming from her situation, and she’d been a little unsure if they should have found another place to work on it. In the end, they made pretty good progress in building on their chemistry from the previous project. Beth even thought she had most of her lines down well enough to go from scene to scene with a review and get them right. As they finished the run-through, she watched Shelby go up to Carly and hug her, tears in her eyes. “Thank you,” was all Beth could hear. Charlotte leaned over to her, “What’s that about?” “Carly got the idea of the script from what happened to one of her best friends a couple weeks ago.” “Oh,” Charlotte said. “Maybe we should have gone somewhere else?” “I think Shelby saw it for the advocacy Carly meant it to be.” “It is different than a script from Kelly that way,” Charlotte agreed. When the group had enough studying, the decision was made to go hang out in the pool for the rest of the afternoon! In addition to having most of the littles in life jackets, Reila also found herself blushing in a pair of water wings since she didn’t swim either! Amanda had a nice pool, with a great area set aside for Littles and babies, and that was where most of the group ended up hanging out, even as Carly, Charlotte, and Livy started racing each other in laps after Charlotte mentioned Carly’s speed! Beth found herself at the water’s edge with her feet in the pool, watching them, even as a feature she’d never seen on the wall was timing their laps. Charlotte was no slouch of a swimmer, but Carly was somehow ahead of her by more than a lap after the thirty laps they had agreed to – the equivalent of the three thousand meter race she’d watched that past summer in the Olympics. Livy was only five laps behind, which was still pretty good, as Beth knew she wanted to look up school and Olympic times later – she wondered how close Carly was. It should have been impossible, but she had been told about the nanites and knew there had to be some play there. Charlotte saw Carly resting as she looked up at the wall in disbelief, “How the hell can you swim like that, Carly?” Carly, for her part, just giggled, not even winded by the effort. At the same time, Livy finally swam up, and Charlotte and she clearly grasped at the effort. She just shrugged and told her, “Like I said, I’ve been swimming since before I could walk?” “A piece of advice,” Charlotte told me, “don’t ever let others know you can swim.” “Little late in the nest,” she told her. “How?” “I go swimming every morning with my nest mother.” “Carly, you’re living a charmed life, I hope you know it?” Livy told her. She nodded, “All you can do sometimes?” “What now?” Livy asked. “I’m going to keep swimming unless that makes me a bad host?” Carly suggested. “You’re not tired?” Livy asked. “Nope!” Beth watched the little girl turn and start racing across the pool some more, even as the clock on the wall restarted. “Is she for real?” Charlotte asked. Beth giggled, “Yes, she is. And she’s the sweetest girl I’ve ever met,” she added. “You love her, don’t you?” Charlotte asked her. Beth shrugged and nodded, “Yeah, I do. Not quite sure how we will make a transdimensional relationship work after the semester, but we’ll enjoy each other’s company until then.” “Wait, are you two…?” Livy asked. “Beth?!?” “No, we are both still virgins, thank you very much,” she glared at her friend. “Sorry…” she apologized. “I mean… you have to admit it’s kind of weird to think about?” “My parents make it work?” Beth told her. “They have nearly the same proportions to each other.” “That’s weird,” Livy said, “Come on, let’s go join the others in the jacuzzi so I can stop feeling like my arms and legs are jelly.” Beth laughed and followed her and Charlotte to the jacuzzi, where they relaxed. Eventually, when the other girls had enough of the water, Beth sat in front of the wall Carly was aiming for, even as the lap counter showed she’d gone more than triple what she’d raced with Charlotte and Livy. Her pace was even higher for the distance! She pulled the girl from the pool, and everyone showered and dressed for dinner. Fred was the cook that night – something she hadn’t seen before from him. That being said, he’d made some sliders that were absolutely phenomenal! He’d even found some sort of crazy Xenoim Pepper hybrids somewhere for Carly to put on hers. “Maybe a little bit of a jalapeno flavor?” one of the other girls got out of her when asked how hot they were. “Don’t trust her!” Beth told them. “Why?” “She’s kind of not normal… if she was a normal Little, she’d be on the ground in pain,” Beth warned them. “I don’t think I could eat them,” she added. As a typical Amazon, Charlotte felt the need to try her luck. “Holy crap, this is spicy!” she complained, looking at Carly. The brat just shrugged, grabbed another whole pepper, bit the meat off the stem, and smiled as she chewed it up. “Grandpa, you’ll have to do better than this?” He laughed, “We’ll see what we can find; the store I bought these at couldn’t believe I was buying so many. He couldn’t imagine anyone using more than one or two in a batch of salsa.” “People need to get out more,” Carly responded. “Is she the only one like this?” Charlotte asked curiously. “Here, hand me a little,” Willow said, putting it on her slider. For Beth, the sliders were like junior cheeseburgers; for Amanda, Charlotte, and Fred, they were like little mini appetizers they could swallow in two or three bites. In the Little’s case, they might have been regular-sized hamburgers. She watched Willow chew, “You’re right, Carly, not too bad. I think it’s hotter than a jalapeno, though, to me.” Amy went onto the crazy train too to see what the fuss was about but regretted it, “It’s not going to make me cry, but I think you guys are nuts to think they’re mild!” she said. Beth noted she still finished what she’d taken; she just had a bit more water with her meal. “Portal Littles are weird,” Everly said, “you won’t catch me doing that!” “A single voice of reason,” Charlotte said with a smile. After dinner, everyone made an unspoken decision to change into their jammies. The Littles got their diapers changed, and they started looking through some board games that the Westerfields had. The night began with a few different games being played. Beth, of course, was drawn beside Carly, where they played a fairly complex game involving resources, building towns and roads up while finding new ways to mess with your opponents. Ryan had invited himself to this part of the night and was having a good time playing with Carly, Charlotte, Livy, Willow, Reila, and herself. When they finished the game, and the others wanted to watch another movie, Ryan told Carly, “I still haven’t had a chance to spar against you?” “Next weekend,” Carly promised him. “This isn’t the time…” Beth noted that Charlotte looked at them weirdly but never asked about it. It was good that Charlotte had earned their trust because she was certainly getting an inside look at many things about Carly and her extended family that probably shouldn’t be known. As if knowing it was a good idea to make sure it was a good idea for Amanda to seem like a capable mother, she nursed Bella in front of everyone while they watched a movie together later that night. She and the larger members of their group helped get everyone into fresh diapers before bed, too. In the end, they didn’t stay up nearly as late the second night; everyone was worn out from the fun of the day, but Beth did make sure she got to cuddle Carly close to her as they fell asleep that night. “I love you,” she heard Carly say as she was falling asleep. “Love you too,” she told her. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading!!! Please press the Like Button, and leave me a comment! Not saying I will for sure do so, but if there were enough Likes on this (28 or more?), I might be incentivized to consider an extra chapter this weekend. Especially if it helps me feel more motivated to write this weekend!

Epilogue IT WAS FRIDAY afternoon after my adoption, and Mindy was carrying me on her hip. I was dressed in a comfy onesie and leggings combo that I had decided was about as good as it got for baby clothes. I liked that it supported my diaper while also allowing as much movement as possible. I was nursing on a pacifier, which had been my constant friend for the past couple of days. It hadn’t been easy; my cravings for milk were painful, but the latest formula, which only tasted slightly nasty, had helped a little as long as I drank five or more bottles daily. Mindy opened the conference room door, and the lights turned on, “Surprise!!!!!” I blushed and turned my head into her, even as I saw she was just as red. Her husband Keanan was somehow already in the room. I could see several dozen hospital staff members and a pile of presents on the table. “You shouldn’t have!” Mindy exclaimed, even as we all had to think, ‘We just went through this at the police station a couple hours before this!’ “Doctor Fairbanks, you’ve been like the most awesome therapist ever here. We love you and are happy you finally have your very own baby girl to love!” a scrubbed nurse said. “Here, here!” A doctor beside her said. “Come sit down over here! I’ll take the baby!” Ivy said, motioning to a chair at the head of a conference table that reminded me of the one I’d been at before traveling to this dimension at my send-off party. “No’ a baby,” I complained to her mildly. She smirked, and then quietly whispered, “Today you are. Be happy for Mindy! This is the kind of thing we dream of from our childhoods!” I sighed, “Kay.” She bounced me in her arms, leaned over to Mindy, and said, “Amanda Westerfield had Tessa scan everything already; it’s safe to take home.” “Thanks,” she looked up at her. ‘Definitely a good thing after what that bitch did to Honey!’ My beloved stuffed bear had been dropped off after surgery performed by Amanda to remove some malicious hardware. ‘Apparently, hypnotic electronics in stuffed animals was a thing here!’ She had her adopted daughter help fix the damage afterward. Fortunately, I could only identify the repair marks using the slightly different colored thread. I’d held onto her tightly the day before when she’d finally been returned! As much as I hated it, I was now in the middle of a ‘pass the cute baby’ game as the special guest in the conference room for the next hour. During which Mindy opened a crazy baby shower worth of presents that probably covered two or three showers back home! We were given enough boxes of diapers to last for over a year! Long beyond when I was supposed to be there, wipes and lotions were the most practical gifts to me besides them. They would join the vast pile already accumulated from Keanan’s people at the station. The number of varieties of baby bottles, pacifiers, bibs, clothes, and more would sadly get used, too. When they got to the toys, I was placed on the table and told to unwrap the presents since they were for me. I stayed a shade of tomato for that part, as I got more wooden play blocks, a standing activity seat, plush toys, teething toys - do they think my teeth need that?!? - baby dolls, and finally, some coloring books formed another large pile, even as my diaper grew soggier. Eventually, the party was fading, and a few people helped gather an enormous load of gifts into the back of Mindy’s car. One of the women was talking to her as Keanan sat me in my car seat after a quick diaper change she’d performed in the conference room. “So, how is it really going?” Mindy sighed, “That woman did a load of things to her. Not the least of which is that she addicted Katie to her milk. It’s been four days now, and she’s still craving it despite me trying eighteen different brands of formulas.” “Why not nurse her yourself?” “My milk doesn’t just drop like everyone else’s?” I heard her say. “And, even if it did, I’m trying to get her weaned so she can go home.” “If she’s uncomfortable, will she progress with her therapy as much as she could?” the woman responded. “Probably not… but I don’t think my body will produce it without giving birth. I’ve never been like the other girls with that?” She blushed, “I’ve never actually had my milk come in?” “Put her there and see what happens. If it doesn’t work, you know that you do know a lactation specialist who can probably help you?” ‘I’m guessing that’s a hint that she could help?’ I wondered as I sat and absently adjusted my feet. “Okay, I get it… I’ll think about it.” “Enjoy your leave! Seriously, call me if you need help. I’d try it; it’ll save you both some headaches and a fortune on formula!” Keanan shut the door right then, even as he held open the passenger side for her as she sat down, and he drove off. When Mindy picked me up from the car seat, I held onto her when she tried putting me down. “Why won’ you fee me?” She made a face… “Don’t you want to go home?” “That won ma’er?” “If you go home addicted, what are you going to do?” I shrugged, “I don’ know I’ll be able ‘o.” She hugged me, “We’ll do our best.” “Pwease?” I found myself asking. She slightly pushed me away from her chest before sighing, “If we do try this, I’m not even sure something will happen.” “I’ll twy ‘o grow up, if you twy?” She laughed, “Fine, we’ll try. I’m just pretty sure it won’t work…” I was carried to her favorite recliner and sat still as she unbuttoned her blouse and then shrugged her bra completely off since it wasn’t a nursing bra. She tried to protect her modesty with a blanket over one shoulder even as she exposed one breast to me. There was no need to tell me what to do! My drooling mouth knew how to get milky!!! I began nursing and found it was only as good as my paci for a long while, feeling my stomach begging for actual sustenance! She seemed to fidget a little as I did so, but let me continue to try to nurse. I had just about given up hope when a small spurt of milk finally landed in my mouth! She gasped, feeling the difference, “That actually worked?” She asked. I nodded. “More?” “You can try, Katie,” she said. Sadly, I didn’t get more than a taste from both of her breasts, but it was much better than formula, “Thank you, Mommy!” I told her. “You don’t have to call me that,” she said. I just snuggled into her embrace then and snuggled. Erica had tried to force me to be her baby, but I’d never felt one hundred percent like I had a choice in much of anything. Mindy was stubborn in trying not to force me, and it was making me feel comfortable with her in a way I’d never felt with Erica! OVER THE WEEKS that followed, I began to enjoy the most loving adoptive ‘parents’ I could have dreamed of! Mommy and Daddy became genuinely that to me, and both helped me progress through milestone after milestone in my recovery. I found I felt loved even when Mommy was a big meanie and wouldn’t let me nurse until after therapy! Time ran together, and before I knew it, I was meeting with Judge Price again in his courtroom with just the court staff, Mr. Freeman, and my adoptive parents present. “Well, Doctor Benson, you look a lot better than the last time I saw you!” Judge Price said to me. Mommy had dressed me in a pantsuit that matched what she wore. My type of underwear remained the same taped-on padding, but at least I wasn’t dressed in that hideous dress! We’d held a burning ceremony of that in their backyard the weekend after I was adopted!!! “Thank you, Your Honor,” I said deliberately. Although my speech had improved, it still wasn’t perfect. “I set milestones you had to meet, and according to these reports, you have met all of them. According to everything I read, you’ve exceeded the language, cognitive, and physical benchmarks I laid out. Therefore, I happily grant you permission to return…” “Excuse me, Your Honor?” I interrupted. He gave me a look, “Yes?” I looked at Mindy and Keanan… or Mommy and Daddy, as I thought of them now. They were the two most important people who had cared for me, brought me from the depths of my despair, and never given up on me. During that time we’d spoken with my family once a week over a HoloLink, and I’d had time to think about why I had been crazy enough to come to this dimension - about the lack of real connections back home. With one last smile at Mommy and Daddy, I turned to Judge Price and made known the most important decision of my life! The End +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thank you so much for reading through this tale! Please consider giving this Epilogue one last like!!!!! I also appreciate any comments you have! This was supposed to be a 20k, two to four-day-and-done tale. Instead, it continued to be a project that reached over 90k words into a proper novel! I'm curious: What do you think about the ending? I could have written another 100k to describe everything, but we've seen what being a babied Little in the dimension is, and the time skip was appropriate? She would have been pretty insulated from everything with Erica to avoid relapses, so we don't see her result. Plus, given justice can move slowly, I'm not sure that by this time of the story, she would have been brought to trial yet. I've had a rough couple of months here with only one weekend without illness or another chronic health issue of pain, so I'm only a few chapters now into LCW past what you've read. I'll hopefully be able to start posting new chapters in a few weeks, though, for that too. Thanks as always for your kind words, comments, feeding me of nummy Likes, and everything!

Chapter 25: I WOKE UP to a hand gently rubbing my back. I opened my eyes to see Erica holding me on her lap in Mindy’s office. “You awake now, Katie?” Erica asked me. I nodded, “Sowwy, tha’ was har.” She hugged me, “I know, Sweetie.” Mindy, Holly, Ivy, and Kyle were all in the office, sitting beside and across from us. “Okay, so I want to preface our findings, Katherine, by stating that this is a baseline assessment. You will likely improve your skills with time and some therapy. I don’t want you to despair because it could have been so much worse if the procedure hadn’t worked as well as it did.” “How ba’ was I?” I groaned, “I ha’ tha’ t..t… tees, and d… d… dees are so haw!” She smiled, “Keep struggling; you’ll get there. To answer your question, Katherine, you were basically at the newborn level after the hypnosis reset. Watching your skills drop so rapidly and beyond what they had been before was terrifying.” I felt my stomach turn at that, “An’ now?” She breathed, “I’m going to break it down by a few categories as everything is different. With your motor skills, you are at the level of an average eighteen-month-old, if I had to guess. Running is definitely a weak area, but you can at least walk. It seemed that dressing yourself is about impossible, but you could feed yourself with just a little help! The rest of your gross motor skills coordination is definitely low; you can throw a ball but have no control over the direction. I think we can say without a doubt that even if the breastmilk hadn’t caused problems, I don’t see any signs of you being able to potty train again.” I nodded, accepting the assessment as the same as mine as we did it. Kyle took over, discussed my fine motor skill issues, and tag-teamed through my problems with reading and writing. With the cognitive and academic skills that were read to me, I was successful at what Kyle considered a middle school level. That was the only bright spot of the assessment, though, as when we began discussing my social and emotional skillset, I was at best at the preschool level. My general life skills like cleaning up, brushing my teeth, washing my hands, or situational awareness were down at the eighteen-month level, too. “Will I… im… improve?” I asked. “I think so,” Kyle said. “We’ll have to wait and see, though. I think Mindy and I have a rough sketch of a plan we can implement to try to get you as much as possible. It’ll be hard work, though?” “I can d… do… har wor…k,” I told them. “Wha’ now?” I looked at Holly and glanced back at Erica. “We didn’t want to have her do it until you had whatever improvements we could hope for,” Holly told me, “But, I think for your own safety, you need to have Erica adopt you.” Adopt. Adopt me. From everything I’d learned, it was a clear sign I would never return home, and it left me feeling numb and cold right then. Erica and I faced each other. She wasn’t responsible for this latest fall, but she had been responsible for allowing the initial hypnosis for sure. I still hated that she’d done so many things to trick me, and I wasn’t sure I could ever completely trust her again. That said, I’d seen others of her kind in the past few weeks and knew I could end up with way worse. Even Holly had some level of babying despite her professional adult role. I could say, outside of losing her mind with the spanking, Erica had never been anything but kind and gentle with me. I looked Erica in the eyes, “Mommy?” “You don’t have to call me that if you don’t want to?” she told me. I sighed and repeated, “Mommy.” She was crying then, even as she squeezed me into a hug. “Erica, you’re going to officially adopt Katherine tomorrow. When you do so, you’ll be on sixteen weeks of maternity leave.” “But…” She started to argue. “There is no room for discussion here. You will spend those sixteen weeks seeing if there is any way to get Katherine back to a higher skill set. I don’t see any way she’ll be able to return home, but if you could get her back to only having accidents as her main problem, there might be a way to get her working again.” Holly told her. “We will be checking in on you periodically, beyond the therapy sessions.” “Fair enough,” Erica said. “You’ll handle getting my caseload covered?” “Consider it done already,” Holly told her. I have an experienced doctor who can fill in for a few weeks until I get someone else on board. “She nodded at Ivy. “Wait… how am I having to work again?” Ivy asked with a laugh. “You’re welcome, Mommy; you told me you were bored last week!” “I…” she shook her head and looked at Erica. “Congratulations on getting your own baby girl, but be warned, they tend to wrap you around their finger sometimes!” There was some lighthearted laughter and a few hugs, and then I was carried back to the room to be discharged from the hospital. It was late when we reached home, but Erica made a quick meal of chicken nuggets and fries with the AmeniTea. After a badly needed bath, she settled me into a pair of fleecy pajama bottoms and a t-shirt top over a fresh diaper. In the rocking chair, she just held me for several minutes. “Katie, I am so sorry about all of this,” she said after rocking silently for a moment. I looked at her, “I bewiev you.” I hated my speech issues then but took my time, “Jus…t pwomise to be kind, pwease?” She hugged me tightly, “I promise!” “Other thin,” I said, “nee t…to mee with Ma...thoo tomowow. Wan t… tell him.” “I actually checked your emails, and there’s supposed to be a meeting with your students tomorrow because of a problem at Emerson today.” “Ki..d..ds okay?” I asked. “Sounded like it?” She replied. “I’ll call him after you go to sleep and set up a meeting with you two before they come in.” I nodded, “Tha’ll be hawd.” She hugged me and sat with me, cuddled into her arms for a bit before I felt more than ready for sleep. “Nummies?” I asked. “Sure, Katie girl,” she told me. Nursing from her was becoming common, but that night felt slightly different. It was no longer something I was forced to do or even coerced to do… it was something I wanted. ‘If I’m stuck like this, at the very least she can do is feed me,’ I thought as I nursed from her. Simultaneously, she rubbed my back, ran her hands through my hair, and sang a lullaby. All those things, plus the warmth from her skin against my face, left me feeling more content than I’d felt in years. At this point, there was nothing to be nervous about; I would be adopted the next day. While waiting for my hospital discharge, Erica made an appointment at a local adoption center that Ivy and Mindy had recommended as the most humane. It would be in the afternoon as soon as I saw the students and Matthew. We even discussed telling my family I wouldn’t be returning home. That had been difficult due to the issues with my speech, but we’d devised a plan. Erica would try to get a video call with them in a few weeks after I had hopefully recovered some skills. My mind drifted for a while before I was switched to the other breast and found my eyes staring at Erica’s… at my Mommy’s eyes. Like most every time I nursed, I was out, changed, and placed into bed without stirring until the morning. “GOOD MORNING, KATIE,” Mommy said as she entered my nursery and found me sleepily wiping my eyes. “Mornin’ Mommy,” I managed to say. She smiled at that, and it was beginning to dawn on me just how powerful that word could be to get her to be happy to do things! She reached down into the crib and pulled down my pants a little. “I think we can make it through breakfast before we change you. Are you okay with that?” I looked at her and shrugged, “Kay.” Truth be told, I didn’t feel gross or even wet, most of the time, unless I had a poopy diaper. Even then, I wasn’t noticing that all the time right away the previous week, so I figured I’d live with a bit of extended time in the diaper. She carried me downstairs, and I smiled when I realized there were pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon! “It’s a special day!” she told me, hugging me as she sat me in the highchair and buckled me up. Erica put a big bib on me that extended over my shoulders, then set the tray in place with the eggies, bacon, and pancakes all cut into bite-sized pieces. “Syrup?” She asked me. I looked at her and nodded. A moment later, she said, “Dig in!” “No for?” I asked her. “No fork,” she said, emphasizing the ‘k.’ “We want you to use your little handsies as much as we can on everything so they can get better.” “Is sicky?” I replied. “It’ll clean off,” she smiled. I reached in with my right hand, took a big fistful of eggies, and brought them to my face. I opened my mouth and stuffed them inside, enjoying the taste and texture. I ate some bacon next, and then more eggies. “Are you not going to eat your pancakes?” Erica asked. I nodded, “Am! Save for en!” She smiled, and I started shoving syrup-covered pancake pieces inside my mouth. At first, I tried not to make a mess, but eventually, I just accepted my lack of coordination; it was inevitable, and I tried to have fun with it! “Wow, what a messy little girl!” Mommy cooed at me with a big smile. I was nearly coated from nose to arms, all of my bib, and the tray with syrup! “Sowwy,” I said. She laughed, “There’s nothing to be sorry for, Katie. It looked like you were having fun! At this point, I want you to find joy anywhere you can.” I nodded and sat still while she tried to start cleaning me off with baby wipes. “Let’s get some nummies now?” She said. I nodded and leaned into her as she carried me to the living room and sat in her recliner. As soon as my mouth went around her nipple, I heard, “Eeeww…” The taste had not stopped being amazing, so it was with a lot of effort that I stopped and looked up, concerned, “Is okay?” She laughed, “Mommy just didn’t think about your lips still being completely coated in syrup! It’s a little sticky on her skin. It’s okay, baby. Maybe we’ll take a quick bath together to clean us both up!” I was really full from the breakfast, so I only made it through one of her breasts and had to say, “Full, Mommy.” “Shouldn’t have fed you such a big breakfast!” She told me. I watched her drag out a pump that I’d never seen her use, even though I was sure she had to have been doing it to get me milk before. It popped on her breast and stayed there on its own. After starting the pump, she said, “Okay, bath time for this messy girl!” True to her word, Erica hopped into the bathtub with me. Midway through the bath, she pulled off the pump and set it aside, along with the milk it contained. I was a little shocked to see just how much she had pumped! She gently washed me from head to toe, maintaining contact with me throughout the bath. I watched as she especially scrubbed her breast free from my sticky lip residue and laughed. “I’d like to see how you’d like that,” she smiled at me. Eventually, she dressed me in a diaper and one of my ‘work’ outfits. I gave her a perplexed look, saying, “No cu... t... cute close?” “I thought you would like one last time being the professor?” She said with a smile. I shrugged, “Kay.” Erica had donned a pair of scrubs for the meeting. A WHILE LATER, we met Matthew in a conference room he’d reserved for the students’ meeting. It honestly didn’t affect me at this point, but he explained some shenanigans and protests that had led to the ouster of several of the administrators in charge of our students. Additionally, there was some hypnotic device they’d been exposed to. Matthew wanted to check in on everyone with the many changes and unrest. “What about you?” He asked, noting that I hadn’t said much. I’d pretty much let Erica speak for me. I sighed, “No good. Sa..Sa..t…” I looked at Erica, “Help?” “Saturday, we were at the mall with the Nickersons shopping. Things were going well, but then Katherine caught a glimpse of a Little’s screen watching her ‘favorite’ hypnotic TV show.” “Shit…” he said, “You said if that happened again?” Erica nodded, “It was immediately apparent she’d regressed to somewhere between a newborn and a year-old baby then. We treated her with a protocol for the next two evenings, and fortunately, she has mostly come out of it.” “Mostly?” He asked me. I nodded, “I can’ speak well…” I tried to calm my frustration, “moving is har, and I’m pretty helless sill. Only goo thin is I have min’?” He looked shocked. “I’m sorry about this, Katherine. So what now?” I noted that he looked at Erica for that. “Her Living Will is being invoked here after your meeting. I’ll adopt her; it’s the only way to keep her safe and prevent her from being sent to an orphanage or worse.” “Damn,” he said, looking scared and agitated. After a moment of pause, he asked, “What do we do about telling the group?” I looked at Erica, “I dunno?” “You want more students to make it back, right?” She asked after a second. “Uh-huh?” “Then I have an idea. If you both can play along, we can get them to be more careful than our princess here was. After a few more minutes, he looked at the clock and said, “I’ll be back with the students. They probably think they have a Little’s Seminar, but they won’t. Oliver and Asher may get here earlier. Tell them to have a seat if they do.” The two taller boys who weren’t a part of the Littles group due to whatever quirk was in play came in, and I could tell they were a little scared of Erica. “Everyone, you needed, Professor Owens?” Erica asked. “Yes, Doctor Daniels, we can take it from here?” He said a little nervously, it seemed. “I’ll be back in a half-hour. Please take good care of Katie while I’m gone?” “Umm… certainly,” he told her, unclear of the role now. When the door closed, Oliver swore, “What the fuck?!?” “Couldn’t have said it better,” Avery added. Willow looked over and said, “Not without getting another mouthful of soap and another spanking!” Avery blushed brightly. “Are you okay, Doctor Benson?” Connor asked me. “Of couse! I just ha’ nummies, and Mommy made me all dwy now!” I had to force my words out, but it was clear I was semi-understood, at least. “Okay, we don’t have much time, but I wanted to check on you,” Professor Owens started speaking. “Umm… I think we all knew of the rumors and likely issues here. Still, I think some of the potential consequences were understated. A level of protection was promised that obviously you haven’t been given.” Oliver raised his hand, “Professor, this isn’t everyone that came. Where are Tatum, Noah, and Luca?” Connor responded to him, “Probably adopted or in an orphanage.” Knowing Erica’s suggestion, I forced out, “Ooh, Mommy was ‘awking abou’ adop’ing me la’er! Dey so lu-cky!” I giggled, then put my thumb back into my mouth where it had been sitting. “So… umm… What do you want to do?” Ava asked. “I definitely didn’t sign up to be in diapers or have to have ‘mummies’ from a mommy.” “There’s not much we can do. We can’t go home until our date at the end of the semester. I have contacted our embassy, though, and they’re lodging a complaint with the government about the poisonings and hypnosis that have been administered to you all.” Doctor Owens said it in a matter-of-fact tone. Right then, I could feel something in my tummy; I wasn’t sure if it was hunger or any other feeling anymore. It wasn’t comfy, I knew that! “Wait! What?” Oliver showed his cluelessness. “Oliver, have you like paid no attention to anything else around you these past few weeks?” Mia prodded him. “Not really? I’ve been going to class, then to the library, studying until I can’t stay awake anymore, then repeating? These guys have weird terminology, and catching up has been hard!” “Well, you idiot, things aren’t going well for most of our group,” Asher told him. “I’m just glad I didn’t end up at Little Height. Sorry guys, but that seems horrible!” “That’s putting it lightly,” Liam said, shaking his head. “So what do we do now?” Avery asked. “Well, first of all, if you have any more poisonings or run-ins with the illegal hypnosis, you need to contact me ASAP. I’ll act as a liaison with the university as we planned.” Professor Owens said with a severe expression. “What good will that do?” Willow asked. He shrugged, “It’s something at least.” Connor asked, “And what about Katie here?” He turned white, “I don’t think we’re able to do much there,” he said quietly. Right then, after a fart, I found myself squatting and pooping my diapee! Knowing I couldn’t have planned this better for our desired effect, I sat down and smushed it, forcing a big smile as I said, “Poopies!!!” “No, I don’t think there is…” Connor replied. I sat there, forcing a smile, even as my diaper felt yucky. Matthew gave suggestions and warnings not to get in trouble before Erica returned. She made a pretty big deal as she sniffed the air and picked me up, placing her nose on the pungent diaper under my skirt. ‘Eeew… why would she do that?’ I wondered in my head. “Well, seems like I have a stinky whittle girl now, huh? None of that big girl doctor stuff now, huh?” Erica giggled. She pulled my slobbery thumb out of my mouth and replaced it with a pacifier that she clipped to my outfit. “I hope you don’t mind if I change her here?” Erica wasted no time laying out the supplies as the room grew more awkward for a public diaper change in front of my former students… ‘Please don’t…?’ I thought, but I knew we were trying to help scare the others into being more careful. “Anything else?” Connor asked. “No, I think that’s all; good luck,” Matthew replied as Erica pulled the first tape open. It was almost humorous how quickly the room cleared then! “Did that warn them adequately?” Erica asked him after finishing my change. “It sure did me…” he said. “Are you okay, Katherine?” I nodded, “As goo as poss… ible.” “Well, we’ll still see you around, Matthew, but Katherine will officially be removed from the exchange faculty today.” He gave me a look of pity, “Please take good care of her at least!” “I promise,” Erica said, carrying me out of the room and the building toward my final fate. “Bye,” I said in my final moment. I could see him sitting there, his face white with a frozen look of terror. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like Button and leave a comment! So it's crazy to me that in such a short time that this is the 500th reply to the thread! Thank you all so much for your kind words and Likes! I had at least one person who wondered if there would be a difference on the other side of the final encounter Doctor Benson has had with her students - good guess to that person! Some may note that the language she spoke with was different than initially in LCW; I have edited that to line things up better. (I honestly don't consider LCW to be a fully final version as I post it - there will be edits before I eventually publish the entire work in 3 or 4 separate books.) I have a work trip I'm leaving tomorrow with no privacy and some late nights. I'll post the next chapter on Sunday - Saturday evening if I get home early enough. (I have proofed all the chapters but always go through them again).

You all made it! 💜 Chapter 24: THE GROWNUPS WERE suddenly shouting and hissing a whole bunch of naughty words around me. I didn’t know what was happening, so I put my thumb in my mouth as my stroller seemed to race out of the mall. As we came to a stop by Mommy’s car, I burst into tears, unable to deal with the shock of whatever upset her! Just as suddenly, Mommy filled my view as she unbuckled me, and I grabbed onto her and cried. She was comforting me enough that I made out some voices saying words I didn’t understand. “Just seeing the screen did that to her?” a small voice asked. “She should have been a little more resistant than that!” “I told you it’s a powerful one,” a big voice, not mommy’s but like hers said. “We need to see if something can be done to get warning labels on that show. I bet Littles aren’t the only ones harmed since Erica got hit.” “What do we do now?” Mommy asked, hugging me, even as my tears wouldn’t stop. “Meet us at the hospital - we’ll get Mindy to meet us there. I’ll see if I can pull in a favor with someone else, too,” Holly said. “I didn’t mean to!” I heard Mommy say. “We know… probably good that two of her four people on her Living Will were here, or we wouldn’t have believed it,” Ivy said with a sigh. “Get her in the car. It’s imperative she gets there quickly if we’re going to do anything!” I was crying my eyes out still as Mommy pushed me into the car seat, “No, wan you!” I cried. She stuffed a pacifier in my mouth, but I spit it out as she connected the harness in the car seat, trapping me. “Mommy!!!” I cried. ‘I can’t believe she’s just leaving me like this!’ The car started moving, and at some point, I must have cried myself to sleep. THE NEXT TIME I became aware, I was comforted by Mommy’s heartbeat as she held me. My diaper felt squishy, but I trusted her to take care of it. She saw my eyes open, “There’s our little Doc!” I smiled, “Mommy!” I said, squirming to get closer to her. “Should we try the headset again?” I heard Miss Mindy ask Holly. “I don’t think it’ll work a second time,” Holly said. “What do you think, Amanda?” “I doubt it, but it wouldn’t do any harm? Before you do that, let’s have Tessa scan her. That room has one of the stations, right?” “Yes,” Holly said. A moment later, I heard a new female voice and looked up to see a tall woman standing there—but I hadn’t heard the door open! “Who’s dat?” I asked after seeing her. “I’m Tessa, Katherine,” the tall woman said. “I’m here to look at you to see if you have a boo-boo we can fix.” “Boo-boo?” I asked, “Those hurt.” She nodded, “Yep, they do! But I’m pretty good at helping others fix them.” She turned her gaze from my face higher, “Would you please place her down on the table?” “No, Mommy! No, put down!” I cried as Mommy placed me on the table. “It’s okay, baby, it’s just for a moment,” she said soothingly. I looked at her in betrayal, even as a bright blue light blinded my eyes! I closed them quickly and could tell it was over because I had seen it even with my eyes closed. I opened my eyes and said, “Mommy, bight!” Then, I devolved into another meltdown. “Why don’t you try nursing her to calm her for now,” Miss Mindy said. As soon as Mommy sat down and started pulling at her top to open the flap to her nummies, my mouth watered. I cried until I felt her nipple enter my mouth, and I started to suck on it, swallow milk, on repeat over and over again. “Definitely got a set of lungs on her,” I heard a voice say. “Yeah,” Mommy agreed. “So, anything, Tessa?” “I’m comparing my scan just now with Doctor Fairbanks, the one she entered the dimension with, and another Doctor Daniels completed last week… give me just a minute.” I continued to nurse from Mommy; she was more important than whatever else was going on. Her hug and diaper pats felt good and made me calm down. “Okay, I’ve finished my analysis, Doctors. Unfortunately, it’s not great?” I felt Mommy sigh, and she shifted, almost pulling her nipple from my mouth. I whined and leaped back on! “Sorry, Katie,” she told me. “So?” Mommy asked. “This is the scan from when Doctor Benson arrived. Her brain shows the typical adult readings we expect from a Portal Little. Full control over nervous systems, bladder, bowels, etc. When you did your scan, Doctor Daniels, it was clear that she had plaque on the Micturition center, most likely from breast milk since you are nursing her. I believe her current level of build-up will prevent her from ever being potty trained again.” Mommy squeezed me then, and I heard her cry. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. I whined because she moved the nipple back out of my mouth for a second. I rooted for it again and noted it produced fewer milkies, so I started kneading her skin again. “What about her neural scan?” I heard the smaller voice say. “Well, you can see the clear effects of the hypnosis and conditioning rewiring and bypassing parts of her…” I tuned it out and kept nursing, eventually feeling Mommy pull me away. I whined! “Just a minute, baby, let’s get that gassy out of your tummy, and you can have Mommy’s other nipple.” I felt her hand give me a rub on my back and then a couple of light pats before burping a big belch! “Bet that feels better now, huh?” She said to me, pulling her top back out of the way and putting me at her other breast. I wasted no time latching and continuing to nurse! “She seems more regressed than she was Monday,” Mindy said. “No doubt there,” Holly said. “Tessa, do you think the treatment can help?” “Help? Yes,” she paused, “Cure? No.” I felt Mommy’s chest heave some more and had to really hang on to her breast to keep it in my mouth. “I didn’t want to go this far,” she sobbed. “That’s what most women who do what you’ve done ultimately decide,” Ivy said with a heavy sigh. “Tessa, I think we’re all in agreement. Do what you can for her. How would you need to initiate the treatment?” “She still has her nanites from her treatment after the broken wrist; I can just access them and initiate their actions?” “How long will it take?” Holly asked. “It would be best to take a few days to avoid severe, permanent damage. I don’t recommend going rapidly with the process due to the way the brain has been damaged.” Tessa replied. “That’s one of the only times I’ve ever heard that,” Mindy said, “I thought when you all used nanites to treat, it was about as instantaneous as anything?” “Normally, that’s true, Doctor Fairbanks, but this is a very delicate job. I recommend sedating the patient until it’s completed. Then, we can fully assess where she’s at?” Amanda said. Holly said, “Erica, I’m not thrilled that you caused most of this intentionally or not, but we have that Living Will from Katherine that states you should be allowed to adopt her if you didn’t cause further damage. I don’t think you should enact that yet, but I do think you have the right to choose her treatment at this time with her incapacitated?” Mommy kept moving and annoying me as I kept sucking milk, swallowing, sucking milk… She moved again! I moved my hand to grab her tighter and put my mouth back on her nipple to suck more milk. “Let’s do it,” she said. “Let’s wait until she’s finished nursing? She’s usually pretty milk-drunk and is a heavy sleeper after that. She won’t feel the sedative…” I didn’t understand what they were saying, but I was sleepy and safe in Mommy’s warm arms, so I just let everything go and went to sleep. “KATHERINE, TIME TO wake up,” I heard next. “You need to wake up for us, Sweetie.” “Erica?” I rolled over—or at least tried to; my body wasn’t moving for some reason. “You’re okay, Sweetie. We just strapped you down to make sure you didn’t hurt yourself when you woke up. We’ll remove them if you can be good for us for a few minutes.” I recognized Holly’s voice then. I nodded, able to move my head, “Kay, I’m sweepy though s’ill?” “That’s to be expected, Katherine,” I heard. “Why do you keep calling me that, Mommy?” I said. “My name is Kadie?” “Sorry, Katie, Mommy was feeling silly,” she replied. “She’s talking, at least?” I heard a voice say. “It’s an improvement,” another voice replied. I vaguely placed it as Holly’s Mommy’s. “Vitals are stable, and it looks like her neural readings are closer to where they were last week.” “Not all of the way back?” Mommy asked. “No, but we figured that going into this,” a voice said. “We’ll just have to determine where her deficits are and do our best to get her back from this.” My tummy ached then, and I instinctually said, “Hungwy, Mommy,” I said. “She called me Erica just once?” “We’ll have to see what she does later. For now, I would just be her mommy,” Holly said. “Tessa, go ahead and remove the straps so she can see if nursing is what she wants?” “Nummies…” I said sleepily as the straps that were holding me down suddenly disappeared. “Sounds like it,” Mommy said. I opened my eyes and saw her coming over to me. She looked tired and like she didn’t feel very good. I held my arms out to her and felt better when she picked me up off the bed and settled in a chair. “Here we go, Sweetie,” she said lovingly to me as she messed with her shirt and got her breast free for me. I sleepily latched on and began nursing the sweet milk, feeling my hunger pains fade. “It didn’t take as long as you thought it would,” Mommy told them. With a sigh, I heard Holly’s mommy say, “Unfortunately, that’s probably a bad sign. It means it couldn’t heal as much damage as we hoped. It’s only been forty-two hours, which is longer than normal, but we’ll just have to see.” “Let’s let her nurse herself back to sleep, then we’ll get her up in a couple of hours and run her through some assessments,” Miss Mindy said. I tuned out the rest of the talking, happy to fill my tummy with Mommy’s milkies. It felt like I hadn’t done that in a long time for some reason! Eventually, I must have passed out from my full belly of milk. I WOKE UP sometime later in a hospital crib, hugging Honey and sucking on a pacifier. I vaguely remembered the last time I was awake, but everything was hazy and light on the details. I sat up and noted that my muscles felt like that took more effort. After nursing me to sleep, Erica must have dressed me in footed pajamas, so I was at least warm in the freezing hospital room. With my right hand, I moved to take my pacifier out of my mouth. And I missed! ‘Huh?’ I thought to myself. I made two more attempts before successfully grabbing it and placing it on the sheets since it wasn’t clipped to my pajamas. Erica looked to be napping in a chair beside my crib, and I hated to disturb her, but after pushing on my diaper, I could tell it was soaked. “Ewica?” I said. “Why soun like tha’?” I thought aloud. “Katie?” I heard. I was distracted by Erica standing up and coming over to the crib. She wordlessly picked me up and sat down in the chair with me on her lap, facing her. “What happ?” I asked. “Why tawk fuuuny?” She squeezed me tightly for a moment. “Do you remember when Mindy and Holly told you that you shouldn’t have any screen time or anything for a couple of weeks?” I nodded. “Do you remember being at the mall on Saturday?” I nodded, “Yeth.” “Well, when we were shopping with Ivy and Holly, everything was fine until we ran into a patient you had both seen?” I foggily remembered, “I member?” I grimaced at the words not coming out right. “The patient’s Little sister was watching a tablet, but none of us noticed it since she had earbuds in. When she turned the stroller, you saw what she was watching…” “I hyno mythelf ‘gain?” She nodded, “It shouldn’t have happened as severely as it did, but you were more susceptible to it than average for some reason. Mindy thinks it’s because it was relatable to you as a career and a similar cartoon back home.” “Wha’ now?” I asked fearfully. She sighed, “We don’t know yet? Mindy wants to run you through a series of assessments this afternoon to see where you are?” “Is no goo,” I sighed. She hugged me tightly, and I started to feel hungry. I instinctually tried to get to her breasts to nurse, but she held me still, “We can do that later, Katie; for now, we’re going to need you hungry to start the assessments.” I frowned at that. “It won’t be long! Let me just let Mindy know you’re awake; she was supposed to have everything about setup.” I frowned but just snuggled into her arms while I waited. Her not long seemed forever to me! “How long has she been awake?” Mindy asked when she arrived. “Five minutes?” Erica told her. ‘Only five minutes passed?!?’ I thought in alarm. Mindy led us down to her playroom therapy area, where a highchair was set up. “Erica said you were hungry in the message, so we’re going to start with feeding yourself, Katherine.” “Eathy,” I said while noting something was seriously wrong with my speech center! I was sat in the highchair with the straps on, bibbed up, and she placed a couple of plates and bowls in front of me. All of it was cut small enough to ensure I wouldn’t choke, and there was a variety, at least. Apple cubes, nuggets, mac and cheese, carrots, a cup without a lid, a sippy cup, and a baby bottle were also visible. “I ea’?” I asked. “Start with the apple cubes,” she told me. “Do you know which one is apple?” I should have been offended, but I understood they were trying to assess where my skills were. I pointed at the bowl and meant to grab one but ended up with an awkward handful of three. I looked at my hand and frowned; it was not doing what it was supposed to! I moved the handful to my mouth and managed to get two into my mouth, dropping the third onto the bib catcher! I took a deep breath and chewed the ones I had managed to get inside my mouth. They were tasty and made me feel a little bit better. I reached down into the bib pocket and managed to snag the errant cube. I noted I couldn’t get my fingers to grasp correctly! I looked up at Mindy, who seemed to assess the same thing. “Be patient, Katherine. We have a long way to go—and we are just starting to help you recover. I’m happy to keep helping you with things until you get as far as possible. I will tell you it’s not a muscle issue right now; it’s just a matter of getting your brain and hand to connect correctly.” I nodded and went for a few more apple cubes before she asked, “Do you think you can do this cup?” She showed me that the regular cup only held a sip of water. I shook my head, “No?” “Why don’t you try? There’s not much in there if you spill.” I sighed and reached for it with both hands. I managed to pick it up, which made me happy, but the second I tried to tilt it, it dropped out of my hands and spilled onto the floor beside me. I had tears in my eyes, “Can’!” I managed the sippy cup and the bottle okay, at least, and I got some fluids into my parched throat then. The chicken nuggets were a bit larger, which required me to bite off a piece and chew under Mindy’s careful supervision. Fortunately, I could do that and eat the carrot pieces just fine, which made me smile with at least some hope! “Before I let you finish what you want to eat, I want you to try using this spoon with the mac and cheese,” she told me. I grimaced,” ‘Kay.” The next several minutes were incredibly messy and degrading, but when she helped me find a better grip on the spoon, I was able to get most of it to my mouth. The rest landed around my face and bib. I frowned. “Don’t get down here,” Erica said, reappearing before me. For some reason, they had her go away while I started, and it kind of sucked. It was so nice to have her in front of me again! “You’re doing great, Sweetie!” I shook my head but filled my stomach with more before stopping before I was sick. “Good job!!!” Mindy and Erica both praised me. “Wha nex’?” I asked. What followed was probably the most arduous afternoon of my life—ever. Mindy had me walk across the room a couple of times. I could mostly still do so, but I found my balance was off, and I definitely toddled more than I walked. I was a bit apprehensive when she asked me to run, which was for a good reason. I face-planted numerous times as I just couldn’t maintain my balance for the change in stride! She had a series of objects to try climbing, and I struggled with that if I had no help supporting me. She had me try jumping, which was an interesting challenge. I tried it unsuccessfully and nearly cried when I realized I couldn’t bend my legs and push up off the ground correctly! I assumed it was related to my issues with running as well. By then, I needed a diaper change because I was poopy. Erica took care of my diaper, but then Mindy had her see if I could dress myself in several different types of outfits. Sadly, I was worthless there, and about all I could manage was to put my socks on badly, and I did manage to put a hat on my head. Rolling and attempting to throw and catch a ball was not going well! Mindy brought in another colleague, Kyle, who spent two hours seeing if I still had any of my academic skills accessible. That was indeed the most depressing thing to realize that, for some reason, letters on the page were scrambled like some form of severe dyslexia. They tried a couple of tricks with me, but at least initially, reading was now impossible. I could just about scribble with a large crayon… I could press individual letters on a keyboard. Still, my reading ability was blocked, which meant I found it useless to communicate. On the positive side, I could still mostly talk, with some signs, my diction might be fixable with therapy. I could understand what was said to me, even when they didn’t speak to me as a toddler. I could still do some problem-solving if it didn’t involve reading; I could still count and do math, too! My time awareness was off somehow, though, so the afternoon dragged on endlessly and was over before I knew it. “Let’s meet in an hour to discuss things in my office,” Mindy told us. In the meantime, Erica took me back to my room for another diaper change and a cuddle. I dozed off then, as the afternoon had been very taxing! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press that Like button and, even better, leave a comment! You all met my demands for an extra chapter... pushed it a little timing-wise, but procrastination is nothing I can speak ill of! 🤣 I will post the next chapter on Tuesday, and then, unfortunately, you'll have to wait until the weekend while I'm out of town for work. Please leave some comments; it helps when I'm trying to motivate myself to continue on LCW to have chapters ready to go when this finishes! Let me know your thoughts on this latest twist in Katie's story! There are four more chapters plus an epilogue remaining!

Chapter 15: MONDAY MORNING, I was dressed by Erica in another diaper. Instead of my options resembling more professional clothing, she convinced me to wear another of my Doc McSweetie bodysuits with purple leggings. I wore my white coat on top as we saw the first patients that morning. We briefly ran into Holly Nickerson in one of the offices, too. “Hi, Katherine,” she said, giving me an odd look. “Hi, Holly!” I said with a smile. “You like my blouse today?” She looked at me appraisingly. “It looks like a very nice outfit, Doctor Benson. Have you been watching a lot of episodes of Doc McSweetie this week?” I nodded, “Uh-huh!!! Erica even took me to see the movie on Saturday!” I was practically bouncing on my feet then. “Do you like Doc McSweetie too?” She rubbed her temples and said, “Sure, I think it’s a great show for Littles.” She looked up at Erica and said, “Doctor Daniels, a word?” I looked at Erica, who seemed annoyed. “Katie, why don’t you have a seat there? I’ll be right back for you!” Erica told me, leaving me in the room momentarily while the two went outside to have what I guessed must have been a grownup discussion! That felt weird again, but I didn’t pay much attention then. I was more concerned with my rumbly tummy right then. It felt kind of strange, and I was sure I was supposed to do something to help it. They were gone for several minutes, and then, as the door reopened, I heard, “Doctor, what you are doing is not okay! There’s still time to fix it!” Erica came inside, “I’ll keep that in mind, Doctor Nickerson.” “Look, I’m not happy about this at all. That being said, I have to watch out for everyone here. If she’s going to be watching Doc McSweetie, you’ll need to plan for another place for her to be.” “I can’t believe you, of all people, are saying that? And, by the way, she found the show on her own!” “My job is the safety of my patients! Acting as a physician is unsafe for anyone if a doctor isn’t completely in command of their faculties.” “I can’t just keep her with me?” “No.” “We’ll figure it out,” she told her. “The better option would be to undo that damage. She’s a bright woman!” I heard Holly say and then left. “What were you two talking about?” I asked Erica. “Well, Doctor Nickerson…” she started to say, even as I felt my body take care of my weird feeling. “I guess that pretty much decides it,” she told me with a sigh. She looked a bit sad for some reason. “What does?” I asked around my thumb. “I guess you don’t know you’re going poopy?” She asked me. “I…?” I sucked my thumb as I realized she was right. I squatted and pushed again. “Well, guess I have a stinky diapee to change, and then we need to take you somewhere else for the day.” “Somewhere else?” I asked. “Oh, they’ll have lots of fun things for you to do! It’ll be much more fun than boring work!” “Will they have Doc McSweetie?” “They just might,” she told me. “You done going poopy?” I shrugged. “I dunno?” She picked me up and carried me back to where she had left all of our things. She opened the diaper bag, and I was quickly changed into a fresh diaper. While she was doing that, she gave me a pacifier and clipped it onto my outfit. “Okay, let’s go get you checked in!” “Checked in?” I asked. “Am I getting a doctor’s appointment?” She laughed, “No, you’re going to a place to relax for the rest of the day.” “Really?” “Really,” she said, bouncing me for a second before grabbing the bag, carrying me to an elevator, and then walking down some hallways. For some reason, I noted there was a pretty heavy security presence. She walked into a couple of sliding doors labeled… “Daycare?” I asked. “Why are you taking me to the daycare?” She pushed my pacifier back into my mouth and held it with her finger. “Now, I know this isn’t what you want to do, but Doctor Nickerson is the boss, and she doesn’t think it’s safe to have you with patients right now.” “Why not?” I asked, offended. She sighed, “Katie, you’re a bit different than you were when you came or even last week.” “Different?” “We’ll talk more later,” she told me. “Can I help you?” a tall blonde woman in cute scrubs appropriate for a pediatric wing asked. “Yes, I’m Doctor Daniels; I’ve just come into… guardianship of Katie here. Before today, she could do rounds with me, but she’s taken a couple steps back, and Doctor Nickerson said I couldn’t keep her with me.” “Aww, that’s okay, princess,” she told me. “That’s a cute outfit and doctor’s coat. You must really like Doc McSweetie?” I nodded my head, “She’s da best!” I said around the pacifier. Talking about her made me not feel as bad that I was being taken to a daycare. ‘You’re an adult! You shouldn’t be going to daycare!!!’ A voice inside my head screamed. “Well, I just have two questions for you first, then we’ll finish the questionnaire. I think I can guess, but is Katie potty trained?” I nodded, even as Erica said, “No, she’s taken some steps back with that. I’ve just kept her in diapers the past couple of days.” “Very good! Any mobility issues we need to know about?” “Huh?” I said. “No, she’s a rambunctious Little; she can walk and run just fine.” “Okay, that’s enough to get her checked into the doors; I have a full questionnaire we’ll need you to complete before you leave her, though?” “Oh, no problem!” Erica said, squeezing me into a hug. I’ll be back after my last appointment, which should only be about twenty O’clock today.” “Kay,” I told her. “Are you sure I have to stay here?” “Be good,” she told me, handing me off to another woman I hadn’t seen. She was taller than Erica and quickly situated me in her arms to walk away. “Okay, let’s get the rest of the information; it’s usually best to not have…” I heard the receptionist’s voice fade as I was carried down a hallway. “Don’t worry about your mommy, baby; she’ll be back for you soon!” “Mommy?” I asked, confused. “That’s Erica, my mommy is back home in my dimension!” The woman squeezed me, “Oh, I guess we haven’t made it that far yet. Don’t worry about that, then. Erica will be back for you! In the meantime, we’ll have plenty of fun today!” “We will?” “Yep! Our whole job is to make sure you have the most fun and the bestest day!” “Wow,” I said. “What are we going to do?” I asked, even as she carried me past a room with about ten cribs against the walls and an area of soft mats where I saw a bunch of babies getting tummy time. ‘Wait!’ I thought momentarily, mentally rewinding the view, ‘Those were mostly adults?!?’ I didn’t have much time to register everything as we then passed a room that was just a moderate upgrade over the first and was labeled ‘Crawlers’ beside a cute puppy painting. I saw a bunch of similarly attired adults crawling around on the floor, and only then did part of my consciousness really come to an awareness of what was happening. “I’m not a baby,” I started to say, but the woman just pushed the pacifier back into my mouth. “Of course, you’re not a little baby like them! You’re in the big kid room down here!” She told me, bouncing me lightly and tickling my side. I couldn’t help but giggle as she pushed through to another large room that would have been a perfect daycare for real kids! Inside, I saw twenty ‘kids’ running around, sitting with dolls and cars, and one was on a table getting a diaper change. Only maybe a quarter were actual kids, I guessed, and I felt my stomach tighten. She carried me over to where two Little girls were sitting with dolls playing and said, “Miley, Desi, meet Katie!” I was placed down on my rear, then beside them, and the woman handed me a well-worn baby doll that was far more traditional than the one Erica had in the toybox at her house. “You girls be good now!” The woman said and left us. I stared at the two girls and noted they were staring back at me, seeming to analyze me. “She’s wearing a Doc shirt,” the girl I took to be Desi whispered to Miley. “Already toast,” Miley said back to her. “I’m not toast?” I said. “What do you even mean by that?” “Have you watched a bunch of Doc?” Miley asked me, sweetly like she was talking to a baby. I nodded, “She’s great!” “Toast,” Desi agreed. “What do you mean?” I asked, feeling my emotions rising to the surface in a way I was usually able to manage. “Desi!” Miley hissed, “We don’t want to get in trouble!” “Well, I guess we can explain it to her if she’s got anything left?” “Explain what?” I asked, nearly feeling tears in my eyes. “Explain what’s wrong with me?” “Might not be all the way gone yet,” Miley said. “Go ahead, Desi.” “Katie, first, is that your real name?” I felt stumped momentarily but shook my head, “No, it’s Katherine!” “Remember that then. We’ll have to call you Katie in front of the daycare workers, but if you remember your real name, it will help. What brought you here? Student at Emerson?” I shook my head. “I’m a Doctor! I’m here on an exchange with some students from my university. “For some reason, it was hard to remember the word “university!” That meant I said it far more proudly than I should have. “That explains how she fell for Doc,” Miley said to Desi. “How much have you watched of her shows?” I shrugged, “I dunno? A couple nights and then this really awesome movie!!!” “She’s not far away from going,” Desi said sadly. “Katherine,” she said to me, overemphasizing my name. “You’re not a baby. You’re an adult. You’ve been tricked into watching a show that uses hypnotic triggers to regress Littles like us.” “Re…gress?” I managed to get through the fog. “Is that why I can’t make it to the potty anymore?” “Probably partially,” Desi agreed. “What did it do to me?” “Well, do you suddenly feel attached to the Big you must be staying with?” I thought for a second, “Uh-huh, Erica is so nice and helpful, though!” “She hasn’t called her mommy yet,” Miley said, shaking her head. “She’s not being helpful, Katherine; she’s turning you into her perfect baby girl. You’ll eventually be stuck like us and adopted.” “Well, at this rate not like us,” Desi said. “Why not?” “If you’re watching Doc, you probably will be back to only crawling soon.” “But I walk just fine?” They sighed, “Something happens to you, and you can’t do it anymore. You’ll be in the crawler room then… At least that’s what you can hope for?” I thought back then to the two rooms I’d seen and felt sick. “That happen to me?” “If you keep watching Doc, yes, it will.” “But it’s so good! She’s so much better of a doctor than I am!” “Katherine, if you haven’t been adopted yet, do your best to get away from this woman. If you can’t… well, at least try to stop watching Doc. You’ll probably have to start nursing from her eventually, too, but at least you might have some of your mind left…” “But…” I started to say when I was suddenly picked up into the air. “Someone here is a stinker butt!” A different, large woman’s voice said. I looked down at my diaper even as she lifted me up and pulled down my leggings to expose my onesie. She did the poppers and pulled back the diaper. “Not you, sweetie,” she said to me. “Let’s pull these leggings off, though. You’ll be much comfier, and it’s easier to keep track of your diapee without them!” I blushed as I was returned to the floor. Only the onesie covered the diaper—or at least most of it. You could see the frilly leg guards sticking out. “If it’s not you,” she said to me, turning to Desi and pulling up what I noted was a very short dress - I would have barely even considered it a babydoll top back home. “Winner, winner!” She said, picking her up and placing her on her hip. “Here, play with your dolly,” Miley told me a moment later. “How?” Miley sighed, “Do this,” she told me. Before long, I was fully sucked into play, while I thought she was probably just acting like she was having fun. Desi rejoined us as they helped me become the best mommy to my dolly I could be! ‘It’s almost like being a doctor,’ I told myself. Eventually, the first woman, who I learned was Miss C, came back for us and carried me into a small, miniature cafeteria. Inside were a bunch of tables that were like group highchairs, with six seats surrounding an opening where a worker could oversee feeding multiple babies… “Why are you putting me here?” I asked, realizing I was being put in the seat, but my new friends were allowed to sit at a short set of tables and chairs. “Miley, Desi?” Miss C laughed, “I’m glad you’ve made friends, Katie, but according to your mommy, you have different needs.” “My mommy’s here in this dimension?” I asked. She laughed again, “Sorry, I forgot you haven’t made it that far yet. You’ll understand when you’re… a little older.” She did a strap around my stomach, and I realized I didn’t recognize most of the kids at the table. All the ones I’d noted in my room were at the short tables. A bib was tied around my neck, and I quickly learned our lunches were different. There was a bowl of… mush…? It took me a moment to identify as baby food, even as it was placed in front of me. My new friends looked to have nuggies and fries, but I just had baby food like some sort of baby! “What’s this?” I asked. “I’m a big girl! My friends get food?” Miss C stroked my hair, “Yes, you are! And can you show us how big of a girl you are? If you eat up your nummy lunch like a big girl, maybe we’ll try the other table tomorrow?” “Tomorrow?” I scrunched my nose. “I’ll be back here tomorrow…?” “Yep, right here at daycare, I’m guessing.” She smiled, grabbed a soft-coated spoon, and dipped it in the orange mush. Now open up!” “Bu…” I complained but instead found my mouth filled with a substance that oddly coated my mouth, with just a couple of pea-sized pieces whole. I bit down and decided it was some sort of pasta. It didn’t taste good, but it wasn’t horrible either. “This isn’t…” I tried to complain again, but another spoon came into my mouth, even as I realized she was alternating now with me and the others at the table. I noticed Miley gave me a pitying look before nervously looking down at her plate. I was also given a ‘cup’ of Plapple juice to wash down the flavors with. “Miss C,” I saw another woman come by, and the tall woman placed the last spoonful from the bowl into my mouth. “Why is Katie eating baby food today?” “Didn’t her mommy request it?” “No, she’s still supposed to be able to eat like a big girl? Just with a bib?” “Well, I saw the Doc shirt and figured that’s where she wants her?” “She’s okay for now,” the woman said, “but tomorrow, put her with the others from the toddler room. She’s not that little yet.” “Didn’t she have a bottle of milk given to us a little bit ago?” “Yes, that’s for before naptime. Doctor Daniels gave us another in case she’s upset or hungry after naptime.” “Okay,” Miss C said, looking down at me, “Sorry, Katie, I thought you were supposed to get this nummy food already. You were such a big girl eating it that we’ll try the big kid food tomorrow!” I smiled at that, even as I mentally tried to make heads or tails of the fact she said, ‘yet’ in multiple cases! She used baby wipes on each of us at the table as she removed bibs, and I noted I was the only one who wasn’t a complete mess. I was lifted from the table and placed on the ground, where I promptly realized my diaper was soaked! “When did that happen?” I asked myself aloud. “Come along, boys and girls, time for diapee changes and naptime!” I hurried to catch up with my friends, but neither acknowledged me. I felt insulted, but I noticed their posture seemed frightened. I was the last in our line. Before I made it to the front to have my diaper changed, I felt something happen in my stomach. I crouched down for a second, and I felt better afterward! “Wow, what a poopy baby we have!” “Huh?” I said as I was picked up, placed on the table, and only then realized I had indeed been pooping again when I felt that. ‘How do I get out of this?’ I nervously wondered, even as I was incredibly grateful to be wiped up and cleaned before my onesie was snapped shut again. “Come on, Sweetie, everyone else is already lying down; why don’t you come to sit with me for your baba, and we’ll get you to your own nap?” “Baba?” I asked. She looked like she was thinking quickly, “I mean your special cup!” “Oh…” I said. “Baba… that’s a good name for it!” “I’m sure your mommy will agree!” “My mommy?” “Shit,” the woman said. “Keep forgetting. Doctor Daniels, your host.” “Oh, yeah, she’s great!” The woman grabbed a bottle from a long row of otherwise empty warmers, and I noted it said the wrong name on it. “My name isn’t Katie Daniels?” “Just a mistake, Katie,” she said. “I’ll make sure it’s the correct one tomorrow.” She sat in a rocking chair and wrapped me in a blanket before tilting me back like Erica. “Here you go,” she told me, “You were so good; why don’t I hold it for you?” I nodded, seeing the milky color in the baba and quickly letting the spout enter my mouth. I started sucking on it gently, then more fervently, as I tasted the incredible liquid. Miss C was rocking back and forth while humming, and I closed my eyes. “She’s such a sweet Little,” I heard a voice say. “Yeah, but she’s not technically hers yet. I also got a call from Doctor Nickerson, who asked me to ensure nothing abusive happens toward her. I’m not sure what the whole story is, so be careful what you do with her until she’s adopted.” ‘Adopted…? I can’t be adopted… I’m an adult?’ I sleepily wondered, even as I thought about all the other adopted Littles I’d seen as I fell asleep. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like Button and Leave a comment! I'm home from work sick right now; it's the second time in a few weeks I've caught something! I might be up for a bonus chapter on Sunday if you all make me happy with enough likes and comments to help me feel better!

Chapter 10: THE NEXT THING I knew was sunlight peeking in through the windows again. I rolled to a sitting position and had to admit the crib mattress was considerably more comfortable to sleep on than the toddler bed. The downside was apparent as I turned to look out the side, seeing the rails that would prevent my escape as easily as they would a baby. I stood, felt a squelch then, and grimaced. ‘I went again…?!?’ It was obvious that the diaper had been well used - I just prayed it was only wet this time! I waddled my way to the bars and noted that I could barely rest my chin on the rail. ‘I probably could climb out in a pinch,’ I thought. I looked down and noted it was a long way down to the ground. Something about the drop seemed scary right then! A mirror on the closet door showed my reflection, which made me queasy. ‘I shouldn’t look that much like a baby...?!?’ “Well, look, who decided to wake up?” Erica came in right then and tore my gaze from the reflection. “Umm… hi,” I said. “You feeling better this morning?” I shrugged, “I didn’t even know that I was feeling bad last night; it just happened…” She came to rail, and I held my arms up. A glance at the mirror again made me feel sick! My reflection definitely looked like a little baby being picked up from her crib in the morning! It made me cringe, but looking at the still bare toddler bed, I knew it was the only way to go last night. “Was it more comfortable?” She asked me, sitting down in the rocking chair suddenly for some reason to talk. I found myself playing with some of my loose hair. “I don’t like the bars,” I told Erica, “but the mattress is much better. Could we just swap them? In my world, at least, the mattresses are usually the same sizes?” She nodded, “Most of the time, that’s the case, but that crib was a special deal I found. Its mattress is about six inches too long and won’t fit on the toddler bed. I think part of the comfort is it has a firmer base?” She nodded towards the toddler bed, “In all honesty, Sweetie, I never intended for anyone other than Everly or Amber to sleep in that bed… and it was only supposed to be for naps. It’s pretty flimsy…” “The crib?” I thought my words through carefully, “You spent more on it for some reason?” Erica smiled, “I hope to have my own baby in it someday!” A part of me was greatly relieved that she hadn’t just placed me in that category! “So, how did your underwear do last night?” I blushed, sure she already knew the answer, “Wet again… I just don’t understand it. How can decades of potty training just disappear overnight?!?” She squeezed me in a soft hug. “Sorry, Katie. We’ll figure this out. Tomorrow, while we’re at the hospital, we can run a scan on you.” “I’d appreciate that,” I told her. “In the meantime, let’s get you out of that soggy diaper, give you a chance to take another shower, and then we’ll figure out a plan for the day.” “Don’t forget I’m planning to go to the cafeteria to eat with our students this afternoon?” “I already made a note of that!” she told me. She followed me into the restroom down the hallway and took the diaper off of me. I was a little disturbed that being naked in front of her was slowly becoming less of an ordeal. It was no less of an ordeal to see a chunk smushed of brown still in that diaper, though! I spent some time doing more research that morning after breakfast and was doing so in the afternoon before Erica noted it was time to leave. “If we’re going to make sure you’re there for their dinner.” “It’s really early, isn’t it?” I noted. I was dressed as professionally as I could be given my loss of clothes. I wore a skirt and one of the blouse onesies, and I planned to wear the suit coat later to campus that I’d worn to the dimension. “I got their schedule on Friday. It’s pretty common in the nests to try to ensure the Littles get at least thirteen to fourteen hours of sleep every night.” “Every night?!?” I asked in surprise. “I know the days are longer… How much am I sleeping?” She shrugged, “I’d say ten to twelve at this point. After last night, it might not have been a bad idea to try and get some more.” “And you?” “I usually get six to eight each night?” “Huh,” I said, “Why is it so different?” “It’s all about body mass, from what I’ve read. You’re smaller and use more energy to get by in the larger world.” I nodded, “I guess that kind of makes sense.” Unfortunately, after having two more accidents that afternoon, we had a bit of a debate about whether I should wear a diaper to dinner. “It’s easier for me to change a Pull-Up on myself?” I suggested. She eventually agreed, and my backpack was now filled with three extra Pull-Ups, baby wipes, and a spare pair of clothes just in case. I saw a mostly empty cafeteria with various seat sizes when I walked in. I noted some gigantic seats for the Bigs, some slightly smaller seats that reminded me of the kids’ table at Erica’s parents, and then what probably seemed like daycare furniture to the Bigs, specifically made for Littles. My faculty ID plus a swipe of my payment chip on my phone paid for the meal, and I was soon relieved to quickly find two of our students I recognized, Ava and Amy. “Doctor Benson, what are you doing here?” Ava asked. “Well, Doctor Owens and I are going to take turns catching up with you all and making sure you’re doing okay!” “That’s nice of you,” Amy said. Right then, I watched a group of boys get led into the cafeteria, holding onto one of those plastic ring rope-line things I’d seen preschools use before. Instead of preschoolers, though, it was Littles – adults! I noticed the group included a couple of ours. “Oh my god, that must be so embarrassing,” Ava said. “I wonder what they did?” Amy asked. “Did?” “They didn’t do that with our nest,” Amy said. “I’m guessing they got in trouble?” I had a plate of food I wasn’t eating much of as I listened to stories of the girl’s experiences. To be fair, the little I heard didn’t sound great, and I could tell they were being selective about what they said. I did find out that they definitely hadn’t seen Noah reappear. ‘I’ll have to ask Matt about how he got home?’ “May I join you?” I heard, seeing Connor Slane standing there. I noted he was wearing the uniform, and what was probably a dry Pull-Up based on how little padding was evident. It was almost cute, just like the girls’ outfit with its childlike parody of a suit. “Certainly!” I found myself responding. “How are you doing, Connor?” I asked as he sat down in the seat opposite me. “As good as I can be? Been a bit of a weird afternoon.” Amy snorted, “Afternoon?” Ava nodded, “Yeah… I think we’re the only two in our nest that are wearing ‘big girl’ panties.” I squirmed in my Pull-Up, glad it was dry, “The undergarments are a bit weird here.” “Where are you staying while we’re here?” Connor asked me. “Well, they had a staff apartment set aside for me, but everything is so far out of reach that they’ve insisted that I stay as a guest with one of the university doctors I’m working with.” “Oh?” he asked, “Umm… that sounds… nice?” “It kind of is… I mean, it’s a little bit demeaning that I’m sleeping in what’s essentially a toddler cr… er… bed,” she said, “But it’s kind of nice not to have to cook. Doctor Daniels insists on doing the chores since I can’t reach… so I guess it’s kind of like a vacation so far?” “That sounds…” Amy caught her voice, “…nice.” Connor asked me, “So, what do they have you working on so far?” “Well, I’ve only been to the hospital on Friday so far. They’re pretty strict with their standards, so I essentially have to be in residency again with them. Given how cool their advancements have been with medical treatments, I guess I don’t mind learning more! So far, the only doctor who’s really been willing to talk to me, though, is another Little.” We all spoke for a while before a couple of other boys came to join us. Connor introduced them, “This is Grayson and Wyatt.” He motioned to us, “Guys, this is Ava, Amy, and Doctor Benson, who came over from our dimension, too.” “So, you met these cousins?” Amy asked Connor. “That’s where you were this weekend?” Ava followed up. “I think my grandmother is trying to get me to be able to stay with her most weekends?” Connor told them. “They’ll allow that?” Grayson asked. “They did this weekend?” Connor told him. “Remember, he’s Doctor Westerfield’s grandson. Anyone else would probably be told no, but the student union is named to honor her!” Wyatt said. “Wait, really?” Amy asked. “You guys were introduced to her that first afternoon?” Connor reminded her. I couldn’t help but remember from the documentary how important she was to the advancements! “I don’t really remember that day much,” Amy said. “I was too embarrassed after…?” “Someone pulled the old poison the Littles trick that day?” Grayson asked. “Something in the dessert, I think,” Connor said. “Jerks,” Wyatt said, “I get tired of having to watch out for poisoned food.” I felt the ground drop out from underneath me as what Erica had told me was confirmed, “Poisoned food? Is that why…?” “Did you have an accident after lunch that day?” Connor gently asked me. “They told me it was probably just travel stress…” I said while my entire skin turned bright red. “And some others after that?” Grayson asked. “Not the first day, but yesterday I had several?” Connor followed up with, “This Doctor you’re staying with, she hasn’t been offering you any milk, has she?” “Yes, she has, actually?” Suddenly, everyone was silent, and I felt the presence of a Big, who was as intimidating as any I’d met so far! The younger woman had a presence that just said she had power, and with how fast everyone shut up, I didn’t think she was a good one. “Did you boys make some new friends? Who is this?” she asked. “Oh, this is Doctor Benson; she came over to help oversee our exchange program,” Ava said matter-of-factly. “Well, aren’t you a good little professor checking up on your students!” Mackenzie said. I blushed and squirmed a little, “Thanks. I know their days are about to get a lot busier, so I just wanted to make sure they’re all doing okay.” “Well, if you ever want to spend the night, I know we’ve got a couple of open pods in the girl’s nests you could visit overnight? Maybe over the weekend?” “I’ll talk to my… host about that.” Somehow, that felt like a trap I didn’t want to fall into. “Well, boys, we need you to stop chatting so much and get eating. We need to make sure you get your rest before your big day of classes tomorrow!” “Yes, Miss Mackenzie,” Wyatt and Grayson said. I listened with intrigue as the students discussed their majors and lives. It was a nice insight into how they were doing and hopefully showed they could be successful there. After a while, the boy’s nest mother reappeared. “Our group is just about done eating, so eat those last few bites, and we need to get going!” “Can’t Connor come back with us instead?” Ava asked. “Silly, he’s not a little Kitty in your nest!” Amy blushed then, and I wondered what the story was. “It’s okay,” Connor said, quickly scarfing a few last bites. He’d made a tiny bit of a mess on his face, and I watched him jump when Mackenzie pulled a baby wipe from somewhere and wiped his face up. “Going to have to watch you for making a mess on your clothes!” She giggled, “Ready then?” “I’ll see you tomorrow sometime?” he told the girls before surprising me by leaning over and hugging me. I almost shoved him away; it was definitely inappropriate! “Hopefully, see you soon too, Doctor Benson?” He suddenly whispered beside my ear, “Watch out for the milk; it’s probably your host’s breast milk.” I felt my heart stop, felt sick, and hoped it wasn’t true even as I watched him and his friends get drug over to the rope line again and be forced to be led by it. All around us in the cafeteria, I heard people making fun of them. One Big loudly said, “I can’t wait to see that short one adopted!” The girl’s nest mother came over for them shortly, and I told them, “Stay safe, good luck.” “Same to you, Doctor Benson,” Ava told me. As they left, I decided it was time to get out. As more Bigs came in, I sent a quick message to Erica to let her know I was ready to be picked up. Erica must have been walking nearby because as soon as I exited the cafeteria, we connected and returned to her car. She buckled me into the seat and asked, “So, how are your students doing?” “Overall, pretty well, I think?” I told her. “Good!” she told me. “Anything else you need while we’re out?” I shook my head, “No, I think an early evening before going into the hospital is just what the doctor ordered?” We returned to her house, and I thought about what I had learned. First, Noah had disappeared… I had an excellent memory and thought back to the incident and the initial meeting. ‘He would have gone past the demerit count, but… what happened then?’ I had a feeling that, as much as I wanted it to be him going home, based on what we were told with the portal scheduling, that was not what happened. ‘So what?’ Right then, we passed a daycare center with a sign that read ‘Little Friendly!’ Suddenly, I had a bad feeling I knew where he had likely gone. My mind, though, went to the last thing Connor had whispered in my ear about milk and the poisoning of the lunch. Erica had never pointed that out, but she mentioned some food caused those issues. Based on her honesty, I believed then that I should trust her. After that, I had my first hot chocolate made with milk… I remembered that Erica said that. And it was soooo good! I thought! My mouth watered even then, thinking about it. The milk she had given me also tasted a bit different. She’d given it to me initially after I hurt my arm, right? I wasn’t one hundred percent sure of it, but the milk might be the answer. Her milk? I couldn’t help but wonder. She’d never had biological kids. That didn’t prevent inducing it, but why would you go through the trouble of pills and pumping to start if you didn’t have a baby? When we returned to her house, she offered to watch a movie again, but I politely declined, choosing to read instead. While I solved this mystery, I needed something to destress, so I pulled out my tablet from home and read a novel I’d downloaded before leaving. I was curled up on the couch when she came over with a mug. “Hot chocolate?” She offered. My mouth watered, but I forced myself to shake my head, “I want to see if I don’t drink fluids right before bed if I can prevent this sudden bedwetting I’m doing.” She looked disappointed, “You know the studies show that withholding fluids can be counterproductive?” “True, but it’s a strategy to try at least?” I managed to stay firm, even as I couldn’t help but crave that taste and flavor more than was healthy. ‘Something is definitely wrong with that milk!’ I thought with certainty. When I was ready to give up for the night, I told Erica, “I’m going to call it a night.” “Okay, Sweetie, why don’t you go upstairs, go potty, wash your face, and brush your teeth? I’ll come up and get you in your jammies. Which bed did you want to sleep in tonight?” I clinched up then, sure it was the wrong answer, but said, “The crib mattress is so much better… that one, I guess?” She smiled at me brightly. “Great!” I climbed the mountain of stairs, feeling it was getting easier with reps, and then went to the bathroom. I pulled my skirt off and set it down to get cleaned in a hamper, pulled the snaps on the onesie, and pulled down the Pull-Up. This was, unfortunately, becoming far too routine! As I was peeing, I was disappointed to see a discolored spot in the Pull-Up. “Damnit,” I hissed quietly. As much as I didn’t want to pull it back up, I did so since it would be a diaper in a moment anyway. I didn’t bother pulling the skirt back up or button the onesie. It wasn’t like Erica wasn’t going to see that anyway. She sat in the rocking chair when I was done, stood up, picked me up, and carried me to the changing table. “You wet this one too?” She asked. I sighed, “I guess I did; I never noticed it when I went after we got home, so it’s probably been in the last hour?” “We’ll definitely scan you tomorrow,” she told me while taking the Pull-Up off with the Velcro, balling it up, and putting it in the diaper disposal that was filling up far too fast! I blushed as she took a couple of baby wipes and wiped me down, added some cream to a couple spots, and then sat my bottom down on a diaper. “This one feels different?” I said, even before she taped it up. “After last night, I figured upgrading your night diapers was probably a good idea.” “Upgrade…?” I asked. She sat me up before helping me put on a two-piece pajama set. I looked at myself in the reflective mirror and noted that the diaper stuck out above the pants’ waistband—it was like having a pillow between my legs! “Is this really necessary?” I asked her. “I think last night would have been better?” I blushed, “Hopefully that won’t happen again?” “It was while you were sleeping, Katie; we can’t exactly do much to fix that, then?” I sighed, “If I don’t have any major repeats, can we go back to lighter protection after a few nights?” “Sure, sweetie, we can definitely do that!” She hugged me and then carried me to the crib, setting me down on the mattress. “Oh, I almost forgot something - I’ll be right back!” She returned with Honey in her hands and said, “I got her all cleaned up; there are no signs of her little adventure!” I took her gently and hugged her. “Thank you, Erica.” “No problem! Anyway, I’ll let you get some sleep! Night night!” she said as she left through the door, and the nightlight turned on again. I sighed and rolled over closer to the wall side of the crib. In the process, I bumped the rail again. The mobile activated, and I couldn’t help but look up at it tonight. Little teddy bears followed each other in the sky, and with the music, I had to admit it was kind of soothing. I quickly drifted off to sleep, with it softly tinkling. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press that Like Button and Leave a comment! So, the first draft of this is complete at this point. There are 28 chapters, and an epilogue is the final total, about 90k words. I'm a bit surprised for a work that was only supposed to be 20k words! I was able to write it in a time of year I traditionally haven't been successful at writing, too! I'll post a couple of chapters a week of this, probably on Tuesdays and Fridays most weeks. (A couple may change on that) Some bonus chapters, of course, are always possible! I started the arduous process of getting my head back into LCW yesterday, so hopefully, you'll see new chapters about when I finish posting this. There may be some crossover; we'll see! The real world hits hard this week, but then I have my lightest six or seven weeks of the year ahead of me after that. Anyway, thanks for indulging me in my writing. Please keep the Likes and the comments coming! 🙂

Since you all so kindly clicked 30 likes on the last chapter, here's another! Chapter 8: I WAS STRAPPED in the car seat for about an hour before we pulled in front of a much larger home than Erica’s. As she set me on the ground, I noted that it was still well-kept, but it did seem like it was in a much older neighborhood. “So…?” “So, let’s go meet everyone,” she told me with a smile. I nervously shrugged and followed her as she opened the front door. “Mom! We’re here!” A tall woman with graying hair appeared from a nearby room and hugged her daughter. “Hi, Honey,” she told her. “Mom, this is Katie, the doctor staying with me right now.” The tall giant leaned down and waved at me, “Nice to meet you, Katie; I’m Wendy!” “Nice to meet you, too,” I said. “Where’s Dad?” “He’s out back with Tyler arguing about how to cook steaks, right?” “Sounds about right!” Erica laughed, “Harper here already?” Her mom shook her head, “I think you know it’s easier to get ready with one extra body than their three kids. I swear, last time I watched them try to get Amber ready, you would think she was a teenager trying to get her hair ‘just right!’” “Everly tends to slow things down, too,” Erica said. “Well, I can introduce Katie to Dad, Daniel, Zara, and Hudson before the real chaos begins!” “Sounds like a plan. Zara is helping me in the kitchen on some sides, if you want to come back to us?” “Sure,” she said. “Come on, let’s meet half the Daniels clan!” Erica smiled at me. “Okay,” I said nervously. I couldn’t believe the size of the house compared to even hers! The large furnishings somehow seemed even more intimidating. As we passed the living room, I noted a large playpen set up there, and I had no doubts I would be trapped inside if placed there! I followed Erica through a hallway to a dining room connected to a kitchen. “Hey Zara, I want to introduce her to Dad and Daniel, but this is Katie,” she said as I saw a much younger woman seeming to chop something on the counter. The woman turned with a smile and an odd gleam in her eye. “Well, look at you! You look absolutely precious!” she said as she knelt before me and hugged me. “Nice to meet you!” she said, pushing me out. “Katie is a doctor on an exchange visit from the other dimension who’s staying with me.” “Oh? A doctor, too?” The woman laughed, “Figures, you always like to hang out with the smart ones.” I noted she gave Erica a weird wink, and I couldn’t help but feel my stomach churn. “Go introduce her to your dad and Tyler; when you get done, we’ll figure out where Hudson is, and she can meet him. I think he’s probably hiding behind a couch somewhere getting his poopies done.” I just about barfed at that, but I was grateful Erica led me back to the back, opening a massive glass sliding door to the backyard. While it was cold outside, they still had a grill going! A tall man with graying hair conversed with a much younger man who, given their similarity, could have been a younger clone. I could see much of Erica in her dad’s face, so I had no doubt these were all family members. “Hey, Ery!” the younger man said. She hugged him and her dad, “Hi, guys.” “And who’s this?” The older man knelt down. “This is a friend of mine, Katie. She’s on an exchange program with our hospital from her dimension right now. They had a total screwup with her housing, so I offered her my guest bedroom.” “That was kind of you,” her dad said as he held out a hand. “I’m Jack, it’s nice to meet you!” “Nice to meet you too,” I told him. “And this is my baby brother, Tyler,” Erica said as the other man did similar to his dad. “I’m obviously the best one of the family,” he said with a smirk. I gave a nervous laugh at that. We spoke with them briefly before Erica complained about the cold, and I followed her inside. During the time that we’d been outside, Zara had found the missing boy and was carrying him in her arms. “Let’s say hi to your Aunty and her guest!” My stomach turned to ice as I realized this ‘nephew’ was the Little she had mentioned. He was probably about twenty-one and the right age to have been friends with the students we brought from home. He was a leaner build than most of them. You could almost have guessed from his clothes that he was that baby since he wore only a onesie with the edges of his diaper peeking out. Still, the facial shape and muscles visible under his t-shirt onesie were enough to ruin that illusion. Zara knelt down with the Little and sat crisscross with him on her lap. “Katie, this is Hudson, our baby boy.” He looked annoyed at the description but just said, “Hi.” “Hi,” I said back awkwardly. As I wondered what in the world to say to him, the front door came crashing open with the sound of “Grandma!!!” from two young girls. At the same time, an older version of Erica carried in a boy who looked like a genuine toddler and bigger than me. I was quickly introduced to Amber, who, at six years old, was over a foot taller than me. Everly was two and a half and probably eight inches taller than me, and Arthur, the baby who was carried inside and when he stood up, was a little bit bigger than me, too! As everyone was soon standing around and talking, Everly went to hug Hudson, and I realized they were about the same height, making me the shortest person there! Erica approached me just before lunch was ready, “This is kind of an awkward question, and I’ll accept whichever answer you prefer?” I felt a new low coming in my stomach, “…Okay?” “I didn’t think to bring a booster seat with me. My mom and dad have a couple extra high chairs so you could sit beside me at the Big table?” “Or?” She motioned her head to a short ‘kids’ table. “You could sit at the kid’s table with Amber, Everly, and Hudson?” I looked up at Harper, making a cooing face at Arthur, who seemed to be checking his diaper before tickling him. Jack looked incredibly intimidating with his massive size, and Tyler and Zara were similarly nerve-wracking. I looked over at Hudson, who seemed to smile and look hopeful toward me. “I guess I’ll try the kid’s table. It looks more comfortable?” She smiled at me, “Okay!” Not long after that, I found myself sitting at a toddler-sized table where my feet still dangled from the chair, but I could still reasonably reach the table. Everly and Hudson seemed to be the perfect size for the table, while Amber was just barely small enough to still use the table. Arthur was strapped into a high chair beside his mom. Erica kindly brought my plate to me with a steak, mashed potatoes, and something I guessed was asparagus? It looked like a piece of cucumber, though, almost without how big the spears were! Erica had started to leave me with a steak knife, but I noted her look at the others, “I’m going to cut your steak so we don’t leave this knife near the kids,” she told me quietly. I blushed but watched her quickly mutilate the piece of steak that otherwise had looked perfect! I was left with a fork small enough that I could grip, but noted the tines were dull and meant for toddlers! Hudson and Everly were given similar utensils, while Amber seemed to have a regular fork and a butter knife. A sippy cup was set beside Everly and me, while Amber had a short open glass. Hudson seemed to blush at the baby bottle beside his plate but took a swig from it anyway. “So, what’s your story?” Hudson asked me quietly. “What do you mean?” “How’d she adopt you?” “Adopt?” I looked shocked, “No, you misunderstand? I’m just staying at her place because the apartment the university rented didn’t allow Littles. I’m an adult back home? I came from another dimension as a university sponsor for an exchange group of students. I’m working with her at the hospital in the meantime?” He looked doubtful, “I hope that’s true.” “Umm…” I felt bad for asking, “What’s your story? He shrugged, “I was working as a stocker at the nearby grocery store. One day, we had a company luncheon that I was dumb enough to eat at. Mommy happened to be shopping in the store and next to me when the spiked food caught up with me.” “So what…? You had an accident, and that was it…?” I asked nervously. “That’s how it works here, Princess,” he told me. “Katie, do you like princesses?” Amber suddenly asked me. I shrugged, “When I was your age, I did? Not so much now?” She looked offended, “Pwincesses are the best!” Everly said before she could say something. I smiled, “I guess they are. I’ve always liked being a doctor more?” “Ooh! We play hospital!” Amber suggested. “Not until you finish your food,” Harper said beside us suddenly. “Yes, Mommy,” Everly said, beginning to scarf down her food. I made eye contact with Hudson, who rolled his eyes but looked defeated. I ate the steak and decided it was pretty tasty, but the larger blood vessels of the creature it came from made things stringier than I was used to. It was not like a piece of celery or anything, but it was different. It was well-cooked, though! The mashed potatoes and the asparagus were both good, too. “Oh look, Everly, you see what a good girl Katie is eating her veggies?” her father, Jack, said, appearing to check on all of us. I blushed. “Can you be big like her?” He asked. “She small!” she answered. “Means you shouldn’t have any problem, right?” I worried I was about to see a tantrum, but the little girl used the example and finished eating her asparagus pieces. “Mommy, we all done. We play now?” Amber asked. “Let me see,” she said, looking at all four plates on the table. I suddenly wished I hadn’t eaten so fast! “Looks like there are four good eaters here! Zara, do you mind if they go play now? Or were you going to put Hudson down for a nap first?” “It’s Sunday. They can play for a bit, and then we’ll go home for his nap.” Beside me, Hudson sighed, and as Harper stood up and walked back to the table, whispered, “Who would have thought I’d wish for nap time…?” “Huh?” A moment later, I learned what he meant as Amber and Everly dragged us downstairs to a large basement play area. It was impressive, with a large selection of toys, games, and even what was probably a tiny toddler-sized swing set and slide. It looked like a standard swing set I had as a kid back home, and my stomach did not feel well at the sight of it! “Play hospital?” Amber suggested to her sister. “No, house! I be da mommy, you be daddy, and dey da babies!” Everly said so assertively, it was unnerving. I was terrified. For the next twenty minutes, Everly insisted on feeding me a fake baby bottle, checking my Pull-Up like a mom would with a baby, and insisted on changing me into a play princess dress over my clothes. It was so big that I could only assume it must have been hers until she had outgrown it. My face was red, but Hudson wasn’t immune, getting his very own princess dress, too. “She swing now!” Everly told Amber after they removed the dress a while later. “Put her to sleep like Arthy.” I looked at her and saw no way she could put me in the swing seat with a crossbar to keep the occupant from falling out. “We do that!” Amber surprised me suddenly by picking me up like I weighed nothing and easily holding me high enough above the swing. As she started to push me down, I instinctually put my feet in the slots so I wouldn’t be shoved against it and hurt myself. “Dere! Baby, now swing!” Everly said, beginning to push me in the swing for a good while before saying, “Baby, sleep now! Right then, she must have gotten bored with the game because she walked over to where Amber had moved to play with some large dolls and stuffed animals. Hudson seemed to hide in a corner of the room, and I could see him hiding beside a play kitchen. ‘This has got to be the most toys I’ve ever seen grandparents have for their grandkids,’ I thought. I was relieved that I was finally left alone and even lightly moved my legs to swing. Just then, though, something moved in my stomach. There was a gurgle. A cramp! I tried to push myself out of the swing but couldn’t get the leverage to lift myself up as it swung backward on me! “Erica?” I cried out. The girls both looked at me curiously while Hudson gave me a look of pity. Another cramp occurred before I could even hope one of them might consider helping me. Thinking nothing had happened, I was relieved before I realized my body was involuntarily pushing a semi-solid goop out into the back of my Pull-Up! Erica came down the staircase and stared at me just as the cramps finished. Zara had followed her down with a towel on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?” Erica asked me. I sobbed, “Please get me out of this?” She walked over, and I saw her nose twitch. She lifted me up, and we both realized the Pull-Up had not been up for that job. The pants and swing seat were a mess. “Don’t worry about the swing; I’ll get it cleaned up; you just worry about Katie,” Zara said with a kind smile. “It’s okay, Katie, you’re just a Little; accidents happen!” I was inconsolable then as Erica gingerly carried me up the stairs while holding me away from her. “Dad? I have a bag in my car beside her car seat. Would you mind going and grabbing it for me? I’m going to take her straight to the upstairs bathroom?” “Sure, sweetie,” he said while giving me a pitying look. “I’m sure your mo… Erica will get you all cleaned up shortly! Don’t worry about this!” At that point, I was in hysterics as she sat me down on my feet in the tub. She gently grabbed my feet, pulled the shoes I was wearing off, and set them beside the tub. “Arms up,” she told me. I managed to follow that direction, and she pulled the sweater off. “Oh, we’ll have to throw this in the wash,” she told me. I saw the stain even as she said it and cringed. “Okay, let’s get your pants off next.” As she pulled the elastic jeans down, I could see the seat of them was brown! “I don’t think this Pull-Up caught hardly any of this,” she said, clearly unimpressed. She and I both stared at the ruined disposable garment next. It was brown, and oozing brown moved down the leg gatherers all the way to my knees. It was liquid enough to have been brown paint. I turned my face up to the tiles in front of me as she ripped both sides open and did her best to contain it and ball it up. “Oh, Mom, thanks!” she said as the older giant handed her a sack to put the garment in. “What did you feed her earlier?” she asked Erica. “Nothing odd; her stomach definitely seems to have issues with some of our food or something, though…” I was completely nude at that point, with no bra on and no panties, and another woman was just staring at my filth-covered body. Just as I thought nothing could get worse, her dad brought her the diaper bag I’d seen her stash in her car. “There you go, get poor Katie cleaned up,” he told his daughter. “Don’t worry about this, Katie, I’ve had similar issues when I’ve traveled to other countries before!” He left, followed by his wife, who thoughtfully closed the door. Erica sighed, “Let’s use the shower head first…” After the water finally cleared, she borrowed baby soap, sat by the tub, and washed me down again. Wrapping me in a towel, she gathered the bag her dad had brought and carried me down the hall. Inside, I discovered a nursery with a crib and a changing table. ‘These guys just keep these for family members…?’ I couldn’t help but think. I could see Arthur sleeping in the crib, his breaths apparent even as he sucked on a pacifier. Erica set me on the changing table and pulled a strap from the sides over me. “What?” “We’re at my parent’s house; my mom will probably come here in a few minutes and tell me how to do this properly. Trust me…” With that, she asked, “Do you know if you got all that out?” I shrugged, “I didn’t know that was coming until just before it happened.” “Why didn’t you get out of the swing? You got into it, alright?” “I couldn’t; Amber had put me in it?” “Oh… She does like mothering Littles.” I noted her thoughtful look for a minute, making me nervous. “Look, when we get home, I’ll switch you to another Pull-Up, but until then, it’s better to put you in a diaper.” I groaned, “But…” “My mom will probably insist; you made a pretty bad mess downstairs…” she said. I blushed. “Get it over with, please?” I was soon in a diaper and then a spare one-piece sleeper that one of the girls had outgrown. “Well, looks like someone is doing better now?” Rachel asked. “I think so,” Erica said as she held me on her hip with her bag on the other shoulder, “But I think we’ve probably pushed things enough for her today. This is a strange world for her, and I’d be pretty mortified if I were in her shoes. We’re going to head home?” “I completely understand,” she said. “Katie, it was nice to meet you!” She pushed her way in and gave us a combined hug. I endured a similar goodbye from her dad, brother, and sister before it was insisted I wave bye-bye back at Everly, who waved at me. I was soon strapped into the car seat to return home to her house and noted that with a diaper, the blanket sleeper, and what I was sitting in, I did not appear to be much of an adult anymore! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the 'Like' Button and leave comments! I'm willing to post again on Wednesday and Saturday this week if you all earn it! 😈 I'm currently 2/3rds through with writing Chapter 21 right now, so I have a lead on you that I should be able to maintain. Trying to finish writing this tomorrow or Wednesday so I can get back to some other projects. I took some vacation time at the end of the year, which is much-needed and helpful for writing time!

Foreword I know everyone is hoping for more 'Lights, Camera, ...What?!?' right now since we went on our season break, but I just haven't gotten to that yet. I had a week off last week, and most of it was unproductive, but I decided to take a stab at what I thought would be a short story or novella-length work but has turned into a novel. It's almost 2/3rds done, and I decided it was time to share something new with you all! Playing Doctor is set at the same time as LCW, and has some intersections in the story. I've been planning this character's story since I wrote about her in LCW. Special thanks to PrincessPottyPants for letting many of us write stories in the sandbox she created with the DiaperDimension! Also, thank you to @DiaperedPrince for editing help and for letting me bounce ideas off him! There are references to my other works; it’s not required that you read them beforehand to understand the story, but you will get more out of it! If you do wish to read in order, I recommend this order: 1) Diamond Tours (Also available only through Amazon – ‘Tour Guides’ is the title) 2) Undercover Tour (Also available only through Amazon – ‘Tour Guides’ is the title) 3) Exchanged (Also available only through Amazon) 4) Little Hope - Exchanged Book 2 (Also available only through Amazon) 5) Alterations - Exchanged Book 3 (Also available only through Amazon) 6) Seems Too Good (Also available only through Amazon) 7) In-Between (Also available only through Amazon) 8 ) Lights, Camera, ...What?!? - In Progress Please note that this book is intended for mature adults, ages 18 and above only. I hope you all will enjoy this new work! Thank you so much for joining me on this new journey! This work is Copyright ©2024 Sofia Hammerstein, All Rights Reserved. This work may not be reposted or published without permission. Chapter 1: “DOCTOR BENSON, PLEASE report to conference room 302,” I heard as I walked out the door from my final patient at my current hospital for the next few months. The twelve-year-old girl was unfortunately going to have to stop tumbling for a while with the broken arm I’d just diagnosed and set. With a sigh I twiddled with my stethoscope nervously as I made my way up to the third floor, down a few hallways, and opened a door to the conference room. The light was off, making me wonder who I would have to wait to meet before beginning my abroad assignment with the other dimension at Emerson University’s Hospital. “Surprise!!!!” I heard and looked to see a dozen nurses I’d worked with for several years, that many doctors and other staff had laid out a large cake and balloons. I blushed, looked up at them, and said, “You shouldn’t have!” Doctor Carrie Olson, with whom I had gone to med school, approached me and said, “Yes, we did, Katherine. I know I, for one, am going to miss you!” “I’m only going to be gone for a few months.” The woman who I’d been friends with through thick and thin shrugged, “Maybe? Often people like it there and stay?” She shook her head, “I doubt that’ll be me! I just want to get a chance to work with their nanites I keep hearing about. There’s been some start here, but if the stories are true, they can just about cure anything there now.” A nurse nearby who I’d worked with nodded, “I’ve heard that too.” “I just worry about the other stories,” one of the other nurses said. “We had a psychiatric patient in last year that came back from that dimension. They were diagnosed with some serious mental illnesses, but when they were lucid, they had some pretty crazy stories?” “I’ve read about more,” another friend of mine said. “I’m sure they’re just stories,” I nervously said. “Sure,” Carrie said, even as the look she gave me made showed me she doubted that. We all hung out for a thirty-minute break before everyone else had to go back to rounds or get to their days off. Doctor Paulson, the head of pediatrics, approached me and said, “Katheryne, I’m going to miss having you around. I sent a glowing recommendation to the other hospital. Hopefully, they will use your considerable skillset!” “I just hope to learn something,” I told him with a smile. The kind and older man patted my back, “No matter what I’m sure you’ll do that! See you in a few months kiddo!” With that I gathered the last of my things from my locker and headed home to finish packing and preparing my house for the short term renters I was leasing it to while I was gone for the semester. I LOOKED OUT in the yard just before dinner at where my toddler niece Aria, and nephew Asher were running around their daddy, my brother Henry. ‘Even with him having five kids it’s still hard to think of my baby brother as a daddy!’ As Henry fake fell though to play dead, it was easy to still see the kid he’d been. “He’s a good daddy,” Mom said to me. I nodded, “Who would have thought it!” Mom sighed, “Are you really sure you want to go through with this program?” I looked at her, seeing the worry lines on her face. “Yes, I’ll be fine!” “And if the stories are true?” Mom asked me. I sighed. “Then I guess I’ll have to hope I have someone who plays with me as much as my little brother plays with his kids.” “That’s not funny,” Mom replied to me. “I know…” I shrugged, “Mom, I’ve been so career driven here that I’m just looking for a bit of an adventure? I have no kids. I thought maybe I’d meet someone in med school, or since I came here to work, but everyone I get even remotely interested in wears a ring on their finger.” “If it’s a man you want, you can find one here? I’ll help you? There are dating services?” I shrugged, “No, Mom… honestly I don’t even know that I want a husband. I treat kids every day, but I don’t want my own?” “You don’t?” Mom asked me in surprise. “I… I just see too much sometimes,” I told her. “I don’t think I’m strong enough sometimes to do what the parents of my patients do every day.” Mom gave me a strained look, but thanks to my sister-in-law coming over we soon had the topic changed. By the time I got them out the door after dinner I was just exhausted. Thankfully I only had one thing left to pack after bed that night, just Honey, a stuffed bear I’d slept with since I was a toddler. Her fur was still clean, but she’d been patched up a few times by Mom when my jerk brother had ripped her open, and once by me after a med school roommates puppy had savaged her arm off. I squeezed her tightly as I climbed into the sheets of my bed one last time and closed my eyes. ‘What if the worst happens?’ I thought to myself. ‘That’s why you’re taking me!’ Honey’s play voice answered in my head as I opened my eyes to look at her. ‘Sorry we have to leave your sisters here,’ I found myself telling her. A tighter squeeze, a snuggle, and I was out for my final night in my home dimension. THE MORNING OF my departure for this new adventure arrived in a flurry of packing, last cleaning, and handing off a key to my renters for the semester. They were a young couple of doctors, too, and I believed my house would be in good hands while I was gone. Mom or Henry would also come by every couple of weeks to check on things or deal with any emergencies. That just left me to park my car in my mom’s garage and catch a ride to the university with them. After a tearful goodbye to Mom, I was finally able to make my way to the conference room where we were meeting with the exchange students. I’d examined all of them in preparation for the trip to this other dimension over the past couple of months. A few decades ago when I was just a young kid, we’d had our whole universe turned over as a society when we discovered inter-dimensional travel was possible. The dimension on the other side of the Bremmer Portals was highly advanced in their technology. The nanites alone for medicine was an incredible advancement to me! Supposedly their computers, cars, and even food preparation all had evolved around this technology. My co-sponsor of the group, Doctor Matthew Owens, yammered on for longer than I thought was necessary. I was a bit annoyed internally when he nominated me to be the first to introduce myself to the group since I never loved being in the spotlight. I stood though, and said, “I’m Doctor Katherine Benson. I believe I met all of you for your initial physicals last fall. I’m a professor of medicine specializing in nanite replication. I’ll be spending time with my counterparts at Emerson University’s hospital studying their nanite advancements while also checking up on your health and advising you like Doctor Owens.” I nodded at the student beside me and watched the other students continue their introductions. When Connor Slane stood, I couldn’t help but wonder how someone so wealthy was attending our university and not somewhere more prestigious further east. All of his records stated that he was genuinely brilliant, like his mother. ‘His family is responsible for more of our current technology than anyone else,’ I thought in awe. His interview and psych screening were among my most interesting. I suspected there was more than he said for his reasons to go to the other dimension. While he claimed it was for the holo technology, some aspects of his screening raised some flags in my mind. Needless to say though, due to who his mom was, I wasn’t about to tell him he couldn’t go! Eventually, Matt started yammering again. “Once you make it through, there will be a medical examination to ensure nothing has gone awry with your health. There isn’t anything expected, so this is more of a routine checkup for visitors. One of Emerson’s hospital staff doctors will administer this, overseen by Doctor Benson for your protection.” Matt paused momentarily before continuing, “You’ll be reunited and assigned a dorm at that time.” “Why haven’t we already been assigned?” Asher, one of the exchange students, asked. “Due to the randomness of height changes, it was suggested we wait. If, for instance, you are below six feet in height here, you might find yourself taller than that there. On the other hand, you could also likely be above six feet here and be shorter there. In either case, they find it’s best to have people separated by height in dorms due to the dimension’s extremes in height. If you were shorter and trying to use a sink or shower in the Big dorms, you may not be able to reach, for instance.” I was grateful that our arrangements were set with a couple of faculty apartments next to each other. There had been talk of sharing a two-bedroom apartment, but apparently, the university had some decency clause that wouldn’t allow it. ‘Strange,’ we’d both said at hearing that. Our university in this dimension was fitting the bill along with Emerson, so in the end, I didn’t care. Matt finally got to the end of his long-winded start to the trip, “A few other reminders before we get to our last checks here. Please remember we are guests at their university and must follow their rules and procedures. Failure to do so may mean you are removed from the program. You have been granted a special student visa for your semester that gives you some rights that are near diplomatic immunity but not fully considered that. I highly recommend that you don’t depend on that to get you out of trouble, though! They’ll go over the university rules and procedures with us themselves when we get there. Please know that you have one date home through their portal at the end of the semester; you must come home on that date. You can’t come home before or after that day.” I was nervous about the fact that we had work visas instead of student visas. I understood that we were less protected, even though our university had tried to ensure a diplomatic passport for us instead. I nearly bailed on that information but decided to take a gamble. Finally, Matt said, “Let’s get moving to the portal!” I was spared the same checks as the students since my colleague had taken care of mine a week before. I stood by as the students were all measured, checked over, and soon gathered before the portal. When my turn came, I hiked a backpack I’d brought at an online guide’s suggestion. They seemed to think that if you shrank or grew, you were more likely to have a set of clothes in the bag that would still fit. With a last look at my world, I turned and walked through the portal off on a new adventure paid for by the university! Moments passed by as I walked through with my eyes closed as directed, my stomach feeling some combination of free fall, my skin static electricity, and just general weirdness, I stumbled a bit on the other side. Sure that I was on the other side, by the change in how the air felt, I opened my eyes and felt my jaw drop as a tall woman came into view. “Name?” She asked. “Doctor Katherine Benson,” I told her. “Oh, one of the group leaders,” she smiled at me. “You’re going to follow that green line on the floor. It’ll take you to the exam rooms.” “Thanks,” I told her, even as I turned around. “How come there’s no one behind me?” “Oh, there’s a delay between your time and ours. It’s convenient because it spaces your arrivals out more.” “Huh,” I said. “Go ahead, and please head to your exam.” I followed the lines down the hallway before I realized she had said, ‘Your exam.’ I’m supposed to be in with everyone else doing their exams?’ I shook my head and continued following the line, even as I looked up at a ceiling that had to have been twenty feet above me. I couldn’t imagine this was a standard hallway, but that woman was more than halfway up inside of it then. I arrived into an area with more activity and saw a woman in scrubs looking down at me. “Name?” “Doctor Katherine Benson,” I said. “Welcome, Doctor Benson,” the woman said with a smile. She looked me up and down, “I’m going to have Mandy here take you down to an exam room to be checked over.” “I was supposed to be in the rooms with the other group members?” “You need to be checked over, too, and I don’t think anyone wants to delay until you’re done?” She gave me a friendly look but made me think it wasn’t a request. “Plus, we have five different exam rooms that go simultaneously with doctors. It’ll be quicker if you get your exam done. We’ll share the results with you before you leave?” I looked up at the exceptionally tall and intimidating figure and nodded, “That seems fair enough. Where do I go?” “Follow me,” the other woman said. As I did so, I felt like a toddler taking multiple steps for each of her stride! The next fifteen minutes were surreal for me. The nurse showed me an exam room, gave me a gown, and removed all of my clothing, including my underwear, before putting it on. Moments later, I found myself ‘helped’ up to the top of the exam bed, where I stood and was scanned. A projection suddenly appeared before me, looking like something out of a science fiction movie. Dr. Katherine Benson Age: 37 Pre-Arrival Height: 5’10” Pre-Arrival Weight: 132lbs Arrival Height: 60” Arrival Weight: 97lbs Eye Color: Hazel Hair Color: Brown Blood Pressure: 132/88 Pulse: 90 “Wait, I shrank?” I asked the woman. “Looks like it, sweetie,” the tall woman said. “Pretty typical – that’s what happens to most dimensional travelers. A lot lose more height than you did. Your blood pressure and pulse are slightly elevated, but I am guessing being a bit stressed is probably why?” “Probably, I’m normally lower with both,” I said, even as I wondered how all that was scanned without physical contact. “You’ll have another checkup in a couple of weeks; if it’s still elevated, the attending physician may recommend treatment. For now, why don’t you go ahead and get dressed, and we’ll get you back to your group?” “Sure,” I told her. I’d heard stories and seen some studies that people commonly changed heights going through the portal, but I felt my hands shake a bit as I pulled my bra back on and panties and then made myself presentable again. My hair was slightly off as I used my phone as a mirror. A couple of quick adjustments, and I was back to Doctor Benson mode. I looked around the room, taking inventory of everyone, and felt shocked at seeing Connor Slane. ‘Wow, he really shrank!’ I said to myself. A nearby Big looked down at me and said, “I think we just about have everyone here?” I nodded in agreement, “Where’s my colleague Doctor Owens?” “Oh, we’re having two separate meetings depending on which group the students will end up with. Since he was here first, I sent him with the other group that’ll be in the standard dorms. This group will be in the Little dorms, and as soon as they get set with their Nest Mothers, we’ll get you back with Doctor Owens and to your places where you’ll be staying.” “Thanks, sorry I didn’t get your name?” “Oh, I’m Dean Northrup, one of the Deans here at Emerson.” “Nice to meet you; I’m Katherine Benson.” “It's a pleasure,” she said as she looked down at me. I stared up at her. I noticed she was getting some sort of notification from the watch around her wrist, so I decided to begin by clearing her throat. “First of all, welcome to Emerson University, and what I hope will be an incredible learning experience for you these few months you’ll be joining us. I am Dean Northrup, the Dean of Little’s here at Emerson. The woman just walking in is Doctor Emma Greene. She’s the director of the dorm where your rooms will be. If you’re wondering, your other friends are meeting with a separate Residential Director to get them situated.” I stood there feeling like a spare part as she gave directions to the Littles, including a series of rules that made my stomach flop. ‘They’ll really make them wear diapers?’ I couldn’t help but think. The demerit system made me grateful that I wasn’t one of them. By the end of the meeting, as I saw the students led away, I couldn’t help but feel we should all turn around and go home instead! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading!!! Please press the 'Like' Button and leave a comment! For right now I'm planning to post twice a week. It's most likely going to shift the days a little until December finishes for real life reasons. As of right now I am almost done with Chapter 12, and there should be about 18 chapters in total. If all goes well, this should bridge the gap until I can get a new season of LCW going!

Chapter 26: ERICA CARRIED ME to the car, “We’re going to run home and change first before we complete the adoption.” “Change?” “This is a special day!” she said with a smile. “You’re officially going to be Mommy’s baby girl! So we should make sure we’re both dressed for the occasion!” “Oh,” I replied. ‘I guess I shouldn’t be surprised she would want me to be dolled up for whatever procedure is involved in getting adopted…?’ As we traveled back to her… our house, I regretted my stupid decision to come along to this dimension! The problem was that I was officially out of any options. I had foolishly gone down the path to arriving in this dimension and, like a crab in a crab pot, hadn’t noticed the water was too hot until it was too late! I felt like I was a passenger to my body as she carried me upstairs to my nursery and stripped me of my ‘big girl’ outfit and damp diaper to dress me in one of the ultra-fussy dresses she’d bought on Saturday before the hypnosis hit. It was the kind of dress I could see a baby girl wearing in only the most carefully planned situations, and I assumed parents would know it would never stay clean anyway! It was such a pale pink, almost white, that for a moment, as she pulled the dress over me, I had a flash to a dream as a little girl of being married in a wedding dress. Fortunately, it wasn’t white, so I could put that picture away as she settled the puffy-sleeved top on my arms. The top of the dress that hugged my skin was soft satin and had an ornate organza and lace overlay that would have itched without it. A for-show ribbon was ‘tied’ just below my breasts to one side and featured three little fabric rosettes there, too. The skirt was the same satin underneath but featured three-tiered organza overlays. It was, in a word, fussy! After buttoning the back of the dress up, Erica pushed me down on my back and pulled the matching bloomers that had come with it over the top of my diaper. I noted from my reflection as she sat me up that no matter how I stood or sat, you would see them! I sat still as she then tied a huge bow onto the top of my head! ‘It’s like she’s wrapping her own Christmas present,’ I thought darkly. ‘It’ll be okay…’ I reassured myself. As a little girl, I liked dresses but hated ones like this. Anytime my mom moved towards something with this much lace and frills, I would move over to something simpler. “I’m going to set you down in your crib for just a moment, baby girl, while I get ready!” Erica said. “But…” I was going to complain about being stuck in the crib, but she’d already dropped me and left. I stood at the rails and looked at my reflection in the mirror. This was not the reflection I’d seen a couple of weeks before… and I felt tears in my eyes, knowing that Dr. Katherine Benson was gone and would never again go home to see her family. Right when I was about to go into complete hysterics, though, Erica returned to the room, dressed in a dress meant for a formal business meeting or court. Court… I really hadn’t considered what adoption actually meant. ‘What’s going to happen?’ I worried. “What’s wrong, Katie,” she asked, sweeping in to pick me up. “Scawe,” I told her. She squeezed me tight. “Don’t worry; you have nothing to fear. I promise I will always love you and take care of you. I’ll do my best to help you get better, too!” She said, putting a kiss on my nose. “We took a bit longer to get ready than we should have, so let’s get going.” I just leaned against her and gratefully accepted Honey when she was pressed into my arms. After doing her best not to crush my dress in the car seat, she pressed a pacifier into my mouth to replace the thumb I’d started sucking on. I blushed. The car started, and we began navigating through the city streets. We stopped after a decent length of time, and Erica came to pull me out of the car seat. I felt her finger check my diaper, “You should be okay until we’re done,” she said to me, “Let’s leave Honey here to keep her safe,” she added. It was cold, with most of my lower body exposed, making me shiver. I was grateful when she pulled out a baby blanket and wrapped it around me as she carried me inside what was recognizably a courthouse. I could see a sign detailing the name and probably more, but thanks to the scrambling of my brain, I couldn’t read it. She had just reached the entryway when we heard, “Erica! Wait up!” from behind us. Erica turned, and we saw her parents had come. “Hi Mom, Hi Dad,” she said, hugging them with me in the middle. “You didn’t have to come today?” “And miss seeing our newest grandbaby become part of our family?” Her mom scoffed, “No chance!” “Thanks,” Erica said. “We’ve got to get to the courtroom,” she told them. “You have an attorney?” her dad asked. “Yes, with Katie being a Portal Little, I don’t want to chance missing something.” “Good girl,” he told her. Erica held me closer as we made it through a security checkpoint and met up with a woman she recognized. “Hi, Elizabeth. Thanks for coming!” “Of course, Erica, happy to be a part of making new families!” The woman replied, “And this must be Little Katie!” Erica bounced me a couple of times as if I were a fussy baby. It annoyed me, but I just kept my mouth busy with my pacifier. “Yes, it is,” Erica responded. “Well, we should be all set. We just need to get through a few motions and enter our documentation into evidence. As I said, Emerson has a lawyer present for questions about Katie’s legal status there. The whole hearing shouldn’t take more than five to ten minutes, and then we can walk down the hallway to file everything and chip her.” “Chi?” I asked around the pacifier. Erica rubbed a hand up and down my back, “Don’t worry about that, Sweetie; I’ve got everything taken care of for today.” ‘Chip? Like they use with dogs and cats back home?’ I felt a growing sense of doom in my stomach, but I knew I could not change anything. My nerves resulted in a warming diaper as I was carried inside a courtroom, and ‘our’ attorney led us to the front. I smiled when I saw a friendly set of faces, though. “Hi,” I waved at Holly, Ivy, Mindy, and a woman I vaguely recognized. They had a man sitting with them who looked like he might have been a lawyer, too. They waved back but said nothing as Erica wordlessly sat down with me in her lap. She rubbed my back and bounced me some before she had to stand up with me. As the judge entered the room, a bailiff cried, “All-Rise! Judge Jim Price presiding!” He took his seat at the bench, and everyone else followed suit. “Case number 4820492 in the Matter of the Adoption of Doctor Katherine Benson is in order,” the bailiff called. The tall, thin-haired judge looked at a tablet for a moment. “I see we have several representatives out here this morning on this case for the adoption of Katherine Benson, a Little?” he asked. “Yes, Your Honor,” Elizabeth, our attorney, said. “I’m Elizabeth Hill, attorney for the adoptive mother, Doctor Erica Daniels.” Across the aisle, a woman stood. “I’m Savannah Thompson, an attorney acting on behalf of the interests of Emerson University.” “Oh, is Doctor Benson a student or faculty member?” “She’s a visiting faculty member, Your Honor,” she responded. “I’m here just to ensure protocols are followed for the release of Emerson’s interests.” “Fair enough.” He said, then looked around and made his eyes midway through the courtroom at my friend’s party. “Mr. Freeman, are you here for some reason, too?” “Yes, Your Honor,” Erica turned, and with me in her lap, I could now see the tall, big man with gray hair. “I’m here to present a Motion to Intervene in this Matter in the interests of Doctor Benson.” “So this morning is not going to be a rubberstamp day, huh?” he said with a bit of a chuckle. “May I hear the initial adoption information first, and then we’ll proceed to your motion so I can see if it has merits?” “Yes, Your Honor,” the man said. ‘What does that mean?’ I wondered. “In that case, Mrs. Hill, I presume you have documentation on a case for Maturosis for the young woman in question?” She hesitated momentarily, clearly surprised by something, but said, “Yes, Your Honor. I have submitted a full packet to you for evidence?” She told him. “I see that,” he said, and I watched him seemingly flip through an electronic copy, “an overview for brevity?” “Yes, Your Honor. Katherine Benson arrived here not quite three weeks ago as an academic advisor on an exchange student trip to our dimension with Emerson University. Due to a facility issue at the apartment complex where she was scheduled to be housed, Doctor Daniels was kind enough to allow Doctor Benson to stay with her.” “Facility issue?” Judge Price asked. “Miss. Thompson?” “The apartment she was assigned was designed for a Big, and no Little accommodation was available?” “That seems shortsighted on behalf of Emerson?” he noted. “You should pretty much assume anyone traveling here would be a Little?” “It was an oversight, Your Honor; we were just grateful that the doctor we had assigned to help her at the hospital was so generous in taking her in.” “Uh-huh,” he said. “Okay, Mrs. Hill, continue?” “That evening, the first cause of concern for a diagnosis of Maturosis came in the form of Katherine defecating in her pants. Doctor Daniels was kind enough to help and continued to do so the next week and a half as more of her Maturosis presented itself. She fell out of her bed and broke her wrist the next night, had multiple accidents in Pull-Ups, and finally, about a week ago, Doctor Daniels moved her to diapers full time.” ‘What is going on here? I thought I wasn’t at fault for all of this? They’re making it sound like I have that Maturosis condition? I think Holly mentioned it, but what the hell is it?’ “Last week, on Monday, the head of pediatrics told Doctor Daniels that Doctor Benson was no longer cognizant enough to see patients, and she began spending a couple of days in the daycare at the hospital. After a bit of a chance for a breather and some counseling, Doctor Benson agreed to the conditions of care if members of a group she trusted no longer believed she was in the right mind to make decisions for herself. In that case, she submitted to adoption by Doctor Daniels to become her new mommy.” “I see,” Judge Price said. I watched him make notes, even as I debated sticking up for myself. None of that was my fault! He turned to the Emerson lawyer, “Miss Thompson, do you have anything to add here?” “Not much, Your Honor. We placed guardianship of Doctor Benson with Doctor Daniels after her falling out of bed, which meant someone needed to be able to assert care instructions. As of Monday, she is no longer employed by her university as a member of their exchange team, so Emerson defers the right to adoption to Doctor Daniels.” “Seems clearcut, Mr. Freeman, you want to explain your Motion for Intervention? I assume you’re about to upset my applecart?” “Not maliciously, Your Honor,” the tall man said as he approached the bench. “I represent the following parties, Doctor Ivy Nickerson, Doctor Holly Nickerson, Doctor Mindy Fairbanks, Doctor Amanda Westerfield, and via a cross-dimensional agreement, Doctor Benson’s family.” “Want to throw in your buddy Supreme Court Justice for good measure?” The judge asked lightly. “No, Your Honor, Justice Slane is not involved in this suit.” He shook his head, “That was a joke. What is your party’s concern?” “We believe that it would be unjust for Doctor Daniels to become Doctor Benson’s adoptive mother given she was responsible for this so-called Maturosis condition?” I looked up at Erica, knowing the claim was true until a couple of days ago. Didn’t they sign off on my adoption? “Wha’s goin’ on?” I couldn’t help but say. Erica said, “Shhh,” and rocked me in her arms, “It’ll be okay.” Even as she said that, I felt her body language tense up like it had been the day she spanked me, and it scared me! “Do you have proof of this?” Judge Price asked. “Yes, Your Honor, both incriminating statements from her regarding the hypnosis she used on her, as well as information that Emerson University had faculty members who helped facilitate the circumstances that led to Doctor Benson remaining with Doctor Daniels.” I looked up at Erica, “Is srue?” I tried asking. She held the pacifier firmer in my mouth then. “Okay, I don’t like this much going on in a case I was expecting to be a rubber stamp day. Bailiff, would you please collect Doctor Benson from Doctor Daniels?” “My baby!” Erica said jarringly. “Maybe,” Judge Price said. “I won’t sign off on an interdimensional adoption like this until I have the facts. Bailiff, please take Doctor Benson down to our care center. When you do so, please ensure they are given the message that she is not to be shown any electronic screen, nor is she to be forcibly restrained or mistreated. Should this case not conclude before the evening, I will determine a safe place for her to spend the night.” Erica tried holding onto me for a second before her lawyer got her to let go. The bailiff was a friendly older gentleman who could tell I was scared. He bounced me in his arms for a moment, “It’ll be okay, baby,” he said to me as he fairly lovingly held me. I barely heard Judge Price say, “We’re going to be in recess for one hour while I meet with all the counsels in my chambers.” The tall man carefully carried me through a labyrinth of hallways, an elevator, and then finally to an area that was clearly a childcare area. “Well, hello, Jameson,” I saw a friendly-looking older woman say. “Hi, Libni,” he said with a smile. “Who’s this?” “Judge Price’s unexpected headache today,” he said with a smile while cuddling me. There was a comfort and feeling of safety from being held in his arms, which was better than Erica’s. “Oh?” “Yeah, I need to get back up there. His orders are that she not be shown anything electronic, be forcibly restrained, or mistreated. You and I both know you don’t need those last two orders?” She laughed, “Nope, but I appreciate the old goat caring enough to ensure that comes through. What’s her name?” “Doctor Katherine Benson,” he said. “Maybe soon, Daniels, it’s an adoption hearing?” “Oh, sounds like things did have a bit of a kerfuffle?” “Perhaps,” he agreed. “Go with Miss Libni here; she’ll take good care of you!” She carefully gathered me in her arms, “Say bye-bye to Officer Branch!” “Bye,” I said. The new woman was also very warm in her personality, but I wasn’t as comfortable in her arms. “Let’s see, first thing’s first, let’s change that diapee of yours. No telling how long you’ve been wet, and I’m not going to get on the bad side of Judge Price today!” She bounced me in her arms and carried me inside a room that was clearly an in-house daycare facility. Several other workers moved around, and Littles and genuine kids alike seemed to be having a good time playing with each other in different corners of the room. The woman sat me on the changing table and said, “I’m going to change you out of this dress until you go back to Judge Price’s room. There’s no sense in getting this messy! Not to mention, I can’t imagine it’s very comfy?” I shook my head, “Is no’.” “It is pretty, though!” she said with a smile. “Someone who loves you very much probably dressed you in it, huh!” I shrugged. Soon, I was completely naked except for my diaper in a room of others who could see me. I felt embarrassed and wanted the whole thing over quickly! “Let’s see, you’re probably this size?” She asked while lifting my bottom and looking at the back of my diaper. “Yep! Still got it!” She smiled, tickling my belly for a moment, “Don’t look so worried! We’ll take good care of you!” I giggled a little, outside of my control, as she swapped my soaked diaper for a new one and picked me up off the changing table, still naked except for my diaper. “Let’s go look in the closet for something else for you to wear.” She held the over-the-top dress in one hand and gently held me with the other as she carried me to a room that looked like a thrift store. “I think a onesie and leggings should be comfy while you’re here, huh?” I nodded, “Sure.” I was soon dressed in a butterfly-covered onesie with some plain pink leggings over the top. “Okay, now it sounds like you’ve had a long day so far, and with Judge Price’s orders, I want to ensure we don’t have you see something you’re not supposed to. Do you mind if I just put you in a private room with a crib for a nap?” I shrugged, “Tha’s fine,” I said around the pacifier. She squeezed me in a hug before placing me in a small room that seemed like it could serve as a temporary jail cell almost, with the door locking from the outside. She gently laid me in the crib, covered me with a blankie, and handed me a stuffed teddy bear from a shelf. “Here, this teddy can be a friend for you. I’m going to leave you here for a nap. If you need anything, just cry out; someone will be here soon. Hopefully, once you wake up, the grownups upstairs will have figured out what’s going on with a cutie like you.” I blushed but took the traditional brown teddy bear in my arms and took her advice. A nap sounded like the best plan right then! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like button and leave a comment! Just a few more chapters to go here! Probably post again on Tuesday providing enough likes and comments come to make me feel better. Caught some stupid cough bug while I was on my trip. Snuggled in blankies right now, trying to let my body rest. Hopefully this last twist doesn't seem too left field. Curious to see how you all take these next few remaining parts!

Chapter 13: ERICA LAUGHED THEN, “Oh, no, these glasses would ruin the movie for you!” “Why?” “Look how much taller I am than you?” I shrugged, “Yeah? What of it?” “Here in the theater for a show like this, they know it’s geared towards a shorter audience?” I looked around. We were secluded, but I could make out some other Littles and maybe other kids. “So?” “So they calibrate these high-tech screens to about your height. You need these glasses to compensate if you’re over a few feet taller than the average Little. It lets us see a second version sized just right for us!” “That’s weird,” I told her. “Seems like a lot of extra steps?” She smiled, “It’s pretty standard here.” Erica giggled, “Plus, they’d look really silly falling off your face!” I giggled about that picture then. Before I could ask any other questions, our food arrived. The waitress put my little table right into my lap and then put what could almost have been a to-go box tray from a restaurant back home on it. There was a compartment with nuggets, another with sauce, and another that held French fries. “That looks good!” Erica told me. I grabbed a nugget, which was giant compared to my hand, and dipped it tentatively in the sauce. I licked the sauce. “Wow!!!” I said. It was like my world exploded in taste and color! The flavor was unlike anything I’d ever tasted before!!! I quickly dipped the whole nugget in the sauce and put as much of a bit in my mouth as possible! Chewing, I savored the flavors! “How can simple chicken nuggets taste this good?!?” I asked Erica. “See, I told you!” “You’re always right,” I agreed. I dunked the rest of the nugget into the sauce and put it into my mouth with a few bites, deciding the sauce on my hand would wipe off onto the next nugget! I had five nuggets. Each was so good that I couldn’t help but devour them in record time! As I finished the last one, I was full, but seeing more of the sauce, I knew I had to do what I did at McDonald’s back home - dip the fries in the sauce! I was finishing the last fry like that when I knew my stomach could take no more! “I see you enjoyed that!” Erica said with a smile. “I wonder, though, if you got any of that sauce in you?” “Huh?” I said. Only then did I look down and realize my bib was splattered with the sauce and some crumbs! Erica reached over with a baby wipe and wiped my face first, and I realized I had sauce all over my chin and cheeks! “This is embarrassing,” I said. “I don’t ever eat this messy!” “Oh, it’s okay, Sweetie,” Erica said, “I’ll get you cleaned right up. Oh, and look, the movie’s starting!” Sure enough, as she wiped my hands, I was distracted by the air suddenly filling with the most amazing colors as Doc Mc Sweetie’s world came alive!!! “Wow!” I said. I was surprised there were no previews, but I was excited to see we would spend an entire day of Doc’s shift! We started with her first patient, a Little whose mommy was worried about how she kept wetting her Pull-Ups and leaking through them. “I don’t know what to do?!?” the mom told Doc. “Oh, don’t worry! Little Izzy here isn’t ready for the potty! That’s okay too! Did you know that GiggleTots makes special Princess Diapers just for Littles like her?” “Those are for babies,” Izzy complained, “I’m a big girl! …I just seem to be having problems all of a sudden! I think it’s something the big kids did to me at school!” Doc laughed, “Izzy, even if that’s true, you’re the one having accidents! But look at it this way: if your mommy puts you in those ultra-comfy GiggleTots, you’ll never have to worry about accidents! Your special diapers will take care of everything!” “You really think this is the answer?” her mommy asked. “I guarantee no more leaks!” “But she used to be able to potty?” “It happens sometimes, but meeting your Little where she is is okay!” Doc told her. “Thanks, Doc; we’ll pick up a pack on the way home!” “Oh, I have a pack right here!” Doc said, “You probably don’t want her to wait that long in that poopy Pull-Up anyway!” “You’re right, Doc! Thanks for helping!” The Little girl looked shocked and blushed, even as the camera showed the mommy lifting her Little girl onto the table. “See, like Doc said, these will work perfectly!” Her mommy said after a cut that she left the room and showed off her cute new Princess Pampers. “And they even have princesses on them, just like you!” ‘Those look comfier than my Pull-Ups were,’ I thought. I was thirsty then and found myself grabbing my cup. It was halfway drained, and I worked to drain it more as I watched the next patient that Doc saw. “Hi, what’s going on today with Jasper?” “Oh, we’re having a problem…” Doc solved that Little’s problem by getting them to accept an adorable stuffed teddy bear to help them sleep! Another solved case, and she moved on to a much tougher patient! The Little girl wouldn’t stop complaining about how her loving mommy was abusing her. Doc showed the mommy an instant way to soothe her little girl with a special pacifier! As soon as she was sucking on it, she started being happy again! “See, pacifiers are special magic!” Doc had said to her mommy. Throughout the movie, I finished my cup and was glad it was refilled with more juice at some point. I felt like I needed to use the potty at one point, but the feeling went away even as my diapee got more warm and comfy! Popcorn arrived about then, too, and I enjoyed munching on the oversized kernels—each popped kernel was the size of my fist! I was eating one slowly, nibble by nibble, when the first realistic case seemed like something I had dealt with. “Doc, my baby is choking!!!!” the mommy said. I watched as Doc performed the Heimlich on the Little. Instead of doing it the way we did it with adults, she performed the infant version. While she did that, someone brought one of the airway-clearing devices that had worked wonders in some situations I’d been in with patients. Sure enough, the piece of chicken nugget came out from the Little’s mouth, and she began recovering. “Doc, what do we do? If you hadn’t been here, my Rey-Rey would have died!” “First, I was here, and she’ll be just fine! You might want to schedule a chance to get first-aid training, though! You never know when something will happen to a loved one!” “I’ll do that next week!” the mommy promised. “Is there anything else?” “Well, maybe Rey-Rey shouldn’t be eating food that’s that big? Littles are much smaller than Bigs, and it’s a good idea to feed them food meant for them!” “No want baby food!” the little girl whined. “It’s not baby food!” Doc laughed, “It’s just special food made smaller for your size! Not all of it is even purees, even though I think those might be best!” “Do you think we should try formula?” “That can be an extra source of nutrition, too! OR, mommy’s special milkies are even better!” Doc told her. Doc solved a few other patients’ problems, and I was excited when she used nanites to solve the last case! It helped solve some mouth pain the Little was experiencing with her teeth. It showed how the nanites could make a special gum above them to help protect them! ‘I don’t think Mo… Erica liked that one?’ I thought back to one of the days at the hospital. I actually appreciated that; it seemed bad to me! Somehow, I was on a third bottle of Plapple juice when the final Little was nursing from her mommy, and I couldn’t help but realize how happy she was when she was done! I nursed from my bottle and wondered if milkies would be even better in it than the Plapple juice! I was surprised it was over when the lights came up, even as Erica took off her glasses and looked at me. “Did you enjoy that?” She asked me. “Uh-huh!!! Doc is so cool!!!” “You really enjoyed your new cup, too, it looks like!” she said as she reached down, moved the table out of the way, and removed the bib from me. Looking at Doc’s picture before she folded it, I felt a little guilty about how dirty she’d gotten! “I made a mess,” I said. Erica giggled, “That’s okay. I cleaned it up! You’re all good!” She reached down and picked me up. “Looks like those cups went right through you! You sure seemed to enjoy drinking your juicy from it!” I blushed, “It’s good!” She squeezed me tighter before putting her hand and patting my diaper. “Better go change you before you leaky!” I blushed but leaned into her. She carried me into the hallway, and I noticed lots of tired Littles being carried now. I smelled a few poopy diapers, too, as we passed some of them with Erica’s faster stride. She brought me into the women’s restroom and waited in line behind a few other mommies. “Looks like someone just came from Doc McSweetie?” The woman in front of us said. It seemed she was holding a genuine baby. “Yep! I’m holding a genuine Doc Sweetie, and she loves her!” The woman giggled, “So does my baby girl here. I like how it lets me keep her little a while longer each night.” ‘Huh?’ I thought. I accidentally found myself staring at a boy getting his diaper changed in front of us. Instead, I turned my head onto Erica’s shoulder. “Looks like someone’s getting sleepy!” The woman said. Erica patted my back and said, “Probably, but she’s got a few more hours before bedtime.” I found myself tuning out her discussion and felt my thumb poking at my lips then. I moved my lips up and down on the end of it for a few minutes. As Erica finally got an open table, I was embarrassed at the line of people behind me able to see my change! I put the rest of my thumb into my mouth then and began sucking on it. It wasn’t as good as a bottle, but it was comforting. “Let’s get that nasty thumby out of your mouth?” Erica said with a smile. “Huh?” I asked as she pulled it out and held something else out. I had just enough attention to see that she was holding a pacifier. She wiggled the nipple into my lips. I almost refused it, but I remembered how Doc said they were great! ‘Doc’s never wrong!’ I told myself. As soon as it cleared my lips and I began sucking on it, I discovered she was right! I smiled up at Erica, who playfully touched my nose before pulling my jeans down to expose the soaked diaper. “You would have swam away if we didn’t change this soon!” She said to me with a smile. I blushed and crossed my arms nervously. As she opened my diaper, I made eye contact with a mother holding her Little boy. She smiled at me and gave me a little finger wave. I smiled back and then turned back to Erica. She was just pushing my legs back to wipe my bottom. Soon, I was in a nice dry diaper, and she had washed her hands. “I need to hit the potty now,” she said with a smile. I was sat down on the floor beside the toilet she used. I watched her pull her panties down and sit down, thinking, ‘I used to do that…’ ‘Why would you want to?’ another voice responded. When we eventually cleared the restroom, she said, “We have one more stop!” “Oh?” I asked. “Yep! Honey told me this morning that she’s lonely!” “Yeah, she had to leave all of her friends and family back home. She was sad,” I told Erica. “Well, how about we try to find her a new friend?” I smiled, “That would be great! She can make a new one just like I did!” The pacifier was still in my mouth, but she understood me. Erica carried me a short distance to a massive toy store and placed me on my feet in an aisle in the stuffed animal section. I was astounded by how many stuffies there were! “There’s a lot here!” I said. “Yes, there is! But I bet we can find her friend!” “Uh-huh,” I agreed. “Do you think she wants a bear friend?” She asked me. I thought for a second, “No, she probably wants a different kind of friend…” We walked the aisles for a long while before finding a stuffed tiger! “Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!” I sang. “What’s that?” she asked me. I giggled, “It’s from a musical back home!” “So you have two of them but not the third?” She said. I nodded. “Well, sounds like we need a lion too!” “You said one friend?” I asked in surprise. “I think we can do an extra one for such a special occasion!” “Really?!?” I asked. “Really,” she smiled at me. We found a friendly-looking lion with a cute smile, a bit bigger than the new tiger. “Looks like someone must have been a very good girl?” The worker at the register said. “Yep!” Erica squeezed me, “The best!” “Wow, sounds like you should get a sticker!” “A sticker?” “Yep, Sweetie, here! Since you have a bear, let’s get you a ‘Beary Good Girl’ one!” I smiled and leaned into Erica. When we reached the car, I noticed I was feeling sleepy and kind of thirsty. “Erica?” I asked her as she buckled me in. “Yes, Sweetie?” “Do you have anything else to drink?” She smiled, “Of course! Always prepared!” I watched her dig in the bag, and she pulled out another baby bottle. “Milky?!?” I said excitedly “Yep! I kept it in a special pouch that kept it cold! But give me a second; it’ll be nice and warm and taste even better!” “Wow!” I said with a smile. I watched her check something on the side of the bottle before she handed it to me. “That should get you through the trip home!” I nodded, “Thank you!” “Silly, you’ll have to take your paci out, though!” She smiled at me as she pulled it out, and I put the bottle’s nipple into my mouth to replace it. A suck was all it took to have the delicious taste all through my mouth! “So good!” I said around it. “Glad you like it, Sweetie!” Erica closed the door and began the trip home to her house. I was about half into the bottle when my eyes stopped wanting to stay open. I kept nursing, though, since I didn’t want to waste a single drop of my special, tasty milkies! Eventually, I must have fallen asleep because I didn’t realize we were even home until Erica was changing my diaper and putting me into my new pajamas for bed. “How long have we been home?” I asked. “Just a little bit, Sweetie. I figure, though, once I get you in your jammies, it’s time to go night night?” My stomach rumbled then. “Are you hungry again, already?” She asked me. I thought briefly and nodded, “I don’t know how, though!” “Hollow leg!” She said with a smile as she pulled up the zipper on the footed sleeper. I shrugged, “Don’t know.” “Well, I think it’s too late for me to feed you a full meal. How would you feel about another bottle of milk?” “Can it be from my Doc cup?” She smiled at me, “Sure, I already washed it! Why don’t you stay up here, and I’ll be right back?” “Okay,” I said. She put me down in the crib. I saw Honey already had her new friends in the crib and crawled over to them. “Hi, Honey! You met our new friends! This is Eleanor,” I introduced her to the Tiger, “And this is Simba!” with the Lion. “Oh, yes, I know you’ll all love each other!” I said as I pulled them all into a group hug. We talked to each other about the day and how I was in a diaper for most of the day today. “I don’t know what happened. One day, I was potty trained, and now I’m not?” Eventually, Erica showed up with the new Doc McSweetie cup and picked me up from the crib, still hugging Honey. “Come over here,” she said to me. “I can hold it,” I told her as she held it. “I know you can, but it’s much nicer to let people do things for us sometimes?” I nodded at that, “I guess that’s true…” She slipped the nipple into my mouth, and I began nursing. With only a quarter left, I felt my stomach churn some, and suddenly, my insides emptied into my diaper!!! I could feel the icky mess sticking to my skin, and it sloshed around some in the diaper for a moment before the liquid was absorbed. I started to cry, but she just put the nipple back into my mouth. “Finish up, baby; I’ll change you after you do.” I was changed into a fresh diaper even as my eyes closed, and I felt my pacifier go into my mouth again. I hugged my new friends as I fell fast asleep. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like Button and leave a comment! I should post again Tuesday/Friday for real this week! Thanks for the humor and keeping me honest last week! 🙂

And now the season premiere of Lights, Camera, ...What?!? Chapter 126: Back to the Grind BETH WAS FEELING overwhelmed still, even as they started preparing for bed that evening. Carly wanted to hang out with her in her room for a bit, but Amanda insisted they both get some sleep before the school week began. Unfortunately, that meant she would have to wait at least until the weekend for another of the amazing massages Carly had given her! ‘Who would have dreamt little hands like hers could have that much strength?’ As she drifted off to sleep, she couldn’t help but want the week ahead to fly by so she could be back at Amanda’s with Carly! It seemed like she blinked, and Nikki was walking her to her dorm even as Amanda took Carly back to hers. She’d finally felt like she was following along with the logic professor, even maybe feeling ahead thanks to Carly. She exited and found Carly waiting outside the door doing her cute ‘I need a diaper change’ dance. ‘Stop that,’ she told herself. ‘No giving into those instincts.’ “How was class?” she asked Carly, even as she scooped her up into her arms and walked to the nearest women’s restroom. Fortunately, her muscles and joints mostly felt back to normal that day! She sighed, “It was good, not much new today. I think Professor Turing is pulling back a bit on the material since so many people bombed our first exam.” “Oh,” she smiled at her as she sat her atop the changing table, “But not you?” she smirked and couldn’t help but tickle her exposed belly a second later. “Beth…” Carly whined. “Sorry,” she shook her head to clear it, “I don’t know why I’m like this today?” Carly made a face but didn’t reply. “What?” She asked as she pulled her skirt back down and smoothed her outfit. “I’ve lived around my sisters and moms long enough, I don’t want to say?” “Huh?” “It’s been about a month since you were last like this,” Carly told her with a sigh. “I’m guessing you’re about to start your period?” Beth looked at her watch and saw the date, “Damn… Sorry, Carly!” “It’s okay,” she told her as she leaned in and squeezed her in a hug. “We’ll have to get used to it?” Beth found her squeezing her tighter and not letting her down as they walked to Marconi for their next class. “Have fun with holograms,” she told Carly, leaving her to go to her own class. “Enjoy the waves; hope your test comes back good!” It was only at that moment she remembered her test from Friday. Professors at Emerson were a mixed bunch. Some would just auto-grade tests and post them to their online grade books. Still, others had this weird desire to be present when displaying their student’s successes… or failures and wouldn’t release the tests to them until they were in class. Her fields and waves professor was one of the antiquated professors, and thirty seconds into class, she was staring at her ninety-eight percent score with a smile. “This test was a mixed bag from you all,” her professor said to one of the larger classes she knew she’d have left in her degree. The fifty-student class all seemed to be grimacing or smiling, not much in between! “From what I can tell, about fifteen of you are truly spending the time studying and doing well. If you scored a ninety or better on the exam, that includes you.” He looked around, “For those who scored seventy or less, you need to come to see me during office hours or seek out a tutor. You have another test and final exam to correct your grades…” Beth gulped, hating this professor for following the three grades determining your future tradition! Still, she was grateful she wasn’t one of the students he was talking to. ‘Thanks, Carly,’ she whispered as the professor moved on to a new part of the material. I SAT IN my HoloFields class, taking in some new information that again sounded like a foreign language. Fortunately, my classmates seemed lost, too, so they kept asking the same questions I was thinking. That meant by the end of class, I felt like I understood the new material! I left class and noted I had a message on my phone from Charlotte, ‘Studio Three, we have a new draft of the project with music added and sound effects. I spoke with Wyler, and he’s going to let us have the last half of class to work on projects; we’ll watch it then. Please bring your notes tomorrow to help track the last changes we can have Carly and Beth make!’ I looked up and realized Beth and Nikki were there, “Did you see Charlotte’s message?” I asked her as she picked me up and hugged me before setting me on her hip. “Yeah, I’m glad we’re almost done with this horrific project!” “Met too!” I told her, “Once we turn it in, we just have to watch it at the film festival, and we can forget about it!” She squeezed me before a hand moved and checked my diaper. “You could ask,” I sighed. “Sorry,” she blushed. “You don’t need a change yet, but I think I need to go to the ladies’ room before we head to lunch?” “Okay,” I told her, leaning my head on her shoulder. It wasn’t far to a restroom, and she handed me off to Nikki inside, “Here,” she told her. Nikki shook her head and whispered to me, “Do I need to hold you?” I laughed, “Feel free to put me down…” I whispered then, “Her hormones are in overdrive…” She smiled, “In that case, I better not anger her by neglecting you.” When Beth exited the stall, she said, “Thank God I refilled my supplies last week; I’d forgotten it was that time already.” A part of me was still dealing with being a part of the sisterhood with this open dialogue, and I just kept quiet as she washed her hands and then took me back from Nikki. “Ready for some lunch?” “Where to?” “Student Union today?” I nodded, and we soon sat down to eat at a table when I heard, “Can I join you guys?” from below the tall chair I sat in. “Hi, Mia,” I said to her. “Sure!” She looked a little doubtfully at the tall chair that was free. “Here,” Beth said, grabbing her tray of food from her and placing it on the table. “Thanks,” she said just before Beth picked her up and sat her on the chair. She blushed, “Umm… thanks for the lift.” “Beth…” I warned her with a roll of my eyes. “I…” She said, with understanding in her eyes, “Sorry about that, Mia… Apparently, my brain is a bit wacky today.” Mia shrugged, “No more so than anyone else I have classes with.” “What are those like?” I found myself nervously asking. “Well, I’m taking two psychology classes right now. One is a psychology class for education majors, and the other is for adolescent psychology.” She took a fry from the box in front of her and ate one. “The adolescent psychology one is interesting because they completely diverge in how they discuss Littles from Betweeners and Bigs in their development?” “How?” I asked. “Like talking about how Littles aren’t really growing up or something?” She nodded, “Sort of? We had this long discussion today about Bigs and some Tweeners apparently suddenly lactating in middle school?” I heard a sigh beside me where Nikki sat, “Yep, totally happens!” I looked at her and then back at Mia, “So?” “So they discussed this whole concept of mothering instincts for the entirety of the class for Bigs. Apparently, my professor is currently studying an increase in some catalysts, which means that Bigs in Ames are also highly protective of Littles versus some other regions?” I held my tongue but knew where she would need to look for that. “I’ve heard about this theory,” Nikki said. “Whatever it is, I’m glad some better laws have been getting passed here,” Beth said. “What about Littles?” I asked curiously. “Well… it’s almost like discussing normal teens back home, except they seem to emphasize the opportunities that ‘regressive behavior’ appears. I’m the only Little in the class, and I feel like every time she says that, she looks at me.” I nodded, “Scary. Your other classes?” “Well, the only one I really hate right now is the practicum-based class going into the university daycare?” “You go inside there?” I heard Beth say, even as my own voice joined in. “Yeah…” She said, “It’s been a little scary.” “Umm… Like, so have you seen our classmates?” I asked nervously. She took a breath and nodded, “Yeah, it hasn’t been pretty. The only good thing is they’ve kept me mostly in actual babies’ classrooms, not the Littles. I can’t tell you how many times, though, I’ve had to keep them from pushing me to go join their classroom as one of the ‘babies.’” “If you could drop that class still, I’d tell you to do so,” Nikki said with a sigh, “Unfortunately, you’d probably forfeit your status as being in good standing.” She nodded, “That’s what I was told when I asked.” She shrugged, “For now, I’m just following a couple of local’s advice and keeping my head down.” I nodded. “Oh,” she said suddenly, “I forgot to ask you while we’re free of any listening nest moms…?” I felt a bit nervous at that, “Yes?” “Remember Lilly’s birthday is Thursday? We have those onesies for it?” I turned tomato red, thinking of them, “Yes?” “We need your help with a couple things?” “Okay?” I said. “I’ll try?” “We know Mackenzie is her best friend. Do you think you could recruit her to keep her away until we’re ready for her party?” With a shrug, I said, “Probably? What else do you need?” “Any chance you can help us get a cake and ice cream? Someone mentioned that the delivery services might mess with anything if we order it to the dorm?” “I could see that,” I agreed, “I’ll get my grandmother to help me with that. Anything you want for the cake?” “If it’s possible to get like a unicorn printed on it?” She then added, “Pink, sparkly? Anything like that?” “So, over the top like all the decorations in the nest?” “Exactly!” “Why are we adding to her maternal fantasy here?” I asked her. “You and I both know she’s the sweetest of them, and she deserves a bit of a reward for not completely degrading us every two seconds?” She grimaced, “Let’s just say the last one I wouldn’t have done this for?” I sighed, “I’ll talk to Grandma; I’m sure we can make that happen.” “Thanks!” she smiled. “The other girls have some jobs, too, but you have the biggest.” We all talked about other, safer topics for the rest of lunch before Beth picked me up out of my seat, sat me on the ground, and then helped Mia down, too. “I know Carly needs a change. Do you need one too, Mia?” She asked. Mia turned red, “I’m good; I’m going to head back to the dorm for a bit. I don’t have a class again for a couple hours.” “Okay, see you later then!” Beth told her while picking me up, “Let’s go get your soggy pants changed.” “Beth…” I whined. “Oops…” she said, “Sorry Carly, hopefully by the weekend I’ll calm down…” “I can only hope,” I shook my head, “every month is going to get old, you know?” “Sorry,” she said, “I’ll try and resist. I guess now I can understand how my mom gets.” Twenty minutes later, I was in my analysis class and grateful to be distracted by number theories to forget the embarrassing walk from lunch to the building. Beth had been unable to keep from tickling me and teasing me on the walk and diaper change, leaving me red and wondering what treatments could be out there to tame her hormones! BETH BLUSHED A bit as Nikki told her, “Carly would probably appreciate you being a bit more… reserved?” as she walked her to her classroom. She sighed, “I’ll apologize later, I don’t understand why this is happening to me?” Nikki shrugged, “They do make some supplements that can repress some of it?” “Huh?” “It’s how I deal with it?” Nikki told her. Before she could ask her more, they were sitting down in her Calculus class. She was soon dealing with equations that made her head spin, even while she knew Carly would probably just smile and show her how easy it was for her. ‘She’s definitely not normal!’ By the time the class finished, she was prepared with her apology, which, thankfully for her sake, was readily accepted by Carly, “Don’t worry about it,” she sighed. Through dinner, she did everything she could to not pick up Carly, want to wipe off the pasta sauce on her face that she accidentally placed on her cheek, or anything else. As they walked her back to her nest afterward, Carly said, “Thanks for trying to hold back, Beth; I appreciate it.” “Sorry for earlier,” she said sheepishly. “I can’t believe you figured out my period was starting before me,” she whispered to her, kneeling in front of her beside the dorm. “Like I said earlier, I grew up in a house of five women!” She smirked, “I guess when I get back, it’ll be six…” “Could be dangerous,” Beth found herself smirking. She hugged Carly, “I might try to talk to you virtually later?” “Sounds good,” she told her with a smile. With that, she watched her pint-sized girlfriend walk inside her dorm and began walking to her own. “You’re not going anywhere else tonight, are you?” Nikki asked her as she walked her inside her dorm. “Not planning on it?” “I’m going to go ahead and take care of some stuff at home then; if, for some reason, that changes, call me?” “Of course,” Beth said. “After this weekend, it’s not like I feel safe elsewhere…” Nikki gave her a concerned expression, “Make sure you talk about that with your counselor tomorrow. Beth made a face but nodded, “I will.” As she closed the door behind Nikki and locked it, she couldn’t help but feel her mood fall a bit at the reminder of the weekend. After changing into a pair of comfy pajamas, she forced herself to look at her Signals book to make sure she was ready for class the next day on her bed while cuddling Rings. AS I WALKED into Sanders Hall, I saw Mackenzie standing to the side, looking up occasionally from a tablet. “Hi, Miss Mackenzie,” I said to her, remembering my assignment from Mia. “Well, hi, Carly!” She said with a smile, kneeling down and giving me a hug. “How was your weekend?” “Umm… honestly, not so good?” “Oh?” “Long story… Umm… do you have a minute we could talk somewhere?” “Oh?” “My nest needs your help with something,” I whispered. She smirked, “Sure! Let’s go into the study room, I don’t think anyone is in there!” I’d nearly forgotten the ‘study room’ on the first floor that most people avoided. It was decorated like a kindergarten classroom, complete with wall charts of ‘ABCs,’ animals, and more. She hadn’t even bothered showing it to us on our initial tour; one of the other Littles had told me about it. She walked over to a corner, sat on a rug fit for a daycare, and motioned for me to join her. “What’s up?” She asked with a smile, “Something for Miss Lilly?” I nodded, “Our nest wants to surprise her with a little party Thursday night. Could you keep her away from six in the afternoon until eight?” “I guess it depends?” she asked. “On?” “Am I invited to this party?” I sighed in relief, “We figured you would be there since you’re her best friend?” “Aww,” she said with a smile, “I’m in.” Without warning, she gathered me in her arms and hugged me. “I miss having you in our nest!” She ran a hand through my hair, which we had left loose that day with just a bow pinned on top. “No one has hair like yours anymore?” I laughed, “Sorry.” A hand surreptitiously squeezed my diaper, “Well, if that’s all you needed, let’s change this diapee and get you to your nest. I’m sure you have studying to do?” I blushed but nodded. After a change in the downstairs changing room, Mackenzie carried me upstairs and deposited me in my nest. Lilly and she disappeared into her room for a bit, and Mia came over, “Did she agree?” “She’s onboard,” I told her. “Thanks, Carly. The cake?” She asked quietly. “I’ll work on that next.” She hugged me quickly, “Thanks, Carly, you’re the best!” I shook my head and opened my computer to work on a few tweaks to my next assignment for my screenwriting class. ‘Betrayal,’ I thought, ‘Not my kind of topic.’ Someone suggested the other day that I do another episode of Diaper Diaries. I snorted and quickly passed that suggestion. I’d scrapped a few ideas in the last week, and with the project being due on Thursday, I needed to get something down that stuck. I started thinking and found myself drawn to the story Shelby had told me the other day about her friend. ‘I couldn’t, could I…?’ I was wondering if there was any way I could actually turn in the script, but once the idea was in my head, I couldn’t help myself. I began writing about the friendship of a trio of friends made up of a Big, a Tweener, and a Little. The Little one day has a bad run of luck and gets adopted by the Big. I scratched through that idea; I just didn’t like that one. Instead, I added another character who was another friend of the trio and typically made them a quartet. That second Big poisoned both the Little and the Tweener, and Crumbled Friendship took shape as a script… I was only vaguely aware of my nestmates gradually drifting off to their open pods as the lights dimmed in the room, and I felt a hand on my shoulder. “What you working on?” Lilly asked me. “Huh?” I said, looking up at her, “Oh, sorry, an assignment for my screenwriting class. I’ve done three scripts, and this is the first one I think has made me feel like it’s good.” “You about done?” I shrugged, “I think I have two more pages here?” “Why don’t you finish them and then come to my room, and I’ll get you in your night diapee and jammies?” A hand invaded my skirt, “I think that will just about last until then…” I blushed, “Okay.” I was quickly back into a rhythm with my writing. I saved a backup after I wrote my final scene directions, as their Big friend had to adopt them to save them from the backstabbing friend. ‘Kind of like how Aunt Megan adopted my cousin Meggy,’ I thought as I finished. I then walked to Lilly’s room and found her on the couch, reading a tablet. “All done?” “Except proofreading,” I told her. “I’ll do that tomorrow.” “When’s it due?” “Thursday, this was pushing it a little late for me.” “You’re still two days early?” She asked as she stood up, picked me up, and sat me on her hip. “I try to be a little earlier with these assignments,” I added, “last thing I want is demerits?” She squeezed me in a hug and placed me on the changing table. I was soon dressed in a dry diaper and a set of pajamas Aunt Bella had made for me with unicorns on them that she assured me would be the nest mother’s very favorites to dress me in! “These are adorable,” she commented. “I’ll tell my aunt she was right,” I shook my head. “She’s the one who made the girl’s swimsuits?” I nodded, “she’s good at that stuff.” “Well, why don’t you head off to bed?” “I’m going to do one other thing real quick, and then I’ll head there,” I told her. “Well, I’ll do one last check on you all in about an hour,” she told me, setting me on the floor with a gentle pat to my diapered rear. “Okay,” I told her. I grabbed my EdgeSphere glasses next and logged on. I sent a message to Grandma then that I needed to talk to her while also letting Beth know I was on. Grandma’s giant avatar came on first, “You need something, Carly?” I sighed, “I’ve been put in charge of finding a safe cake for a party for our nest mother. Any chance you could pick one up?” “Sure! I bet I can come up with something. When do you need it?” “Can you drop it off for us Thursday after dinner? Mackenzie is supposed to keep Lilly occupied so we can set up the surprise party.” “Got it!” Grandma said, “You’re all going to wear those adorable onesies?” I nodded, glad my digital face didn’t turn red! “Cute! Well, I’ll take care of this project for you. You have a couple of appointments tomorrow after your first class that your grandpa set up for you. Make sure you wait outside for me or your grandpa if you don’t see one of us right away.” “Okay, goodnight,” I told her, “I love you.” “Love you too!” she said and hugged my avatar before disappearing. As she left, Beth came on, and we chatted for about fifteen minutes before she said, “Carly, we’d both better head to bed. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.” “Yeah,” I sighed, “See you tomorrow.” “Good night, I love you, Carly.” “Love you too,” I told her. I sat my glasses on my desk then and climbed into the pod, noting that my diaper was already a little squishy, but knowing the nighttime diapers would hold even with that, I just grabbed Kylie. I hugged her like she was Beth and drifted off to sleep. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like Button and leave me a comment!!! I appreciate everyone's patience as I had no time/energy to write on this for a good 8 months this past year. I'm finally finding myself back in the groove this week and have eight more chapters 'in the can' already beyond this. I'm going to be posting once a week unless I build a serious pile of chapters, just because I don't want there to be pauses again until this monster is done! Last night LCW passed 400k words in length, and I'll pass 1,000 pages in my word document soon. This will obviously be published as multiple volumes when I publish! As of right now, I expect to write another 200-300k words to finish Carly and Beth's tale here. Please do your part to cheer on the parts. I truly love seeing your comments and likes, and they help me make it worth it! Once I publish I don't get rich off of it since I keep sharing for free. If you haven't purchased any of my published versions, that's a great way to support my writing (and keeping from a second job)! https://www.amazon.com/author/babysofia If you have, please make sure you pressed a 5 star review rating, those help the algorithms bring up stories when people search. Above all, thank you all for your community. I genuinely enjoy that we can all share stories together on this site!

I appreciate the comments and likes so far this week! Here's another chapter as a thank you! I'll post again on Sunday before getting to a twice-per-week schedule until the complete work is posted. Chapter 9: MY BODY AND emotions collided, and I fell asleep on the journey home. I didn’t wake up until I felt Erica carrying me up the steps. “Oh, you’re awake!” She said to me, giving me a squeeze meant to comfort me. “I didn’t even realize I’d gone to sleep…” “I think you’re rightfully upset about your body,” she reassured me. “I can’t imagine how that would feel to happen to me.” I just nodded, “I don’t know what is going on?” I complained. “It’s like all of a sudden, my brain and my nervous system aren’t communicating right with my bowels?” “Like I said, it does happen here…” “I know you said that,” I sighed and appreciated when she sat me down upstairs. “We’re home now. Do you want to go ahead and switch to a Pull-Up?” I felt my mood fall back to the floor, remembering what I wore. “I want to… I just don’t know if it’s a good idea?” “I’ll help you out of it if you want to use the potty?” “I should be able to take it off myself, right?” “Probably, but to be safe, get my attention?” I felt even more helpless then but nodded, “Okay.” “Do you want to take some time for yourself right now? Take a nap, maybe?” “I just took one of those, apparently,” I said, laughing nervously. “It’s okay to take another one?” I shrugged, “I’m good, I think. I might just get on the tablet Emerson gave me and do some research?” “Fair enough,” she told me. “Let me know if you need anything. Maybe we’ll have dinner and watch something later?” “Sounds good,” I told her. To my relief, I was able to catch her attention a while later when I felt the need to go to the bathroom. It was a combination of urine and loose stool, but at least it had gone into the toilet and not my panties. “Diaper...?” I was so confused about what was happening to me, but we both agreed to give a Pull-Up another try then. My research was frustrating because it mainly verified what she told me! The only actual research on fixing the issue was over twenty years old and involved some obscure treatments from a company called SafeFoods. The results weren’t overly optimistic either! Erica brought me a sippy cup of juice she called Plapple juice midway through the afternoon. It tasted really good and was a weird cross of apple and pineapple that I could taste. Apparently, it was an actual fruit here, though! I made another stop on the potty before dinner and discussed some ideas with her about the causes of the issue. She mentioned that exchange groups got screened before they left to come here and after they returned to their dimensions to try and identify the cause. It sounded like most of them tended to recover back home, so I had hope that, at worst, I’d be wearing protection for a few months and retraining back home. As she placed my dinner on the table, she gave me an odd look before digging through the fridge. I made a face as she gave me a cup of milk. “No water?” I asked her. “Katie, you’ve expelled quite a bit of water and not hydrated that much this afternoon. Milk is better for hydration?” “Maybe an electrolyte drink instead?” I suggested as I ate a piece of the grilled cheese sandwich she’d prepared with the AmeniTea. “I don’t have any right now; I guess I should pick some up at the store at some point, though. Without that, though, the milk is probably our best bet?” I sighed, taking a sip. ‘It really is tasty,’ I admitted. “I guess this works for now.” As I ate the sandwich, I kept coming back to the milk. “So what do you think so far?” she asked me. “About?” “This world?” I sighed, “It’s amazing on one level, but it's terrifying to see my body have so many sudden problems! Back home, we’d probably be admitting me into the hospital to determine if I was dealing with organ failure or something, but you all think it’s just normal?” She nodded, “Sorry, it pretty much is…? Didn’t you know some of the stories before you came?” I blushed, “Some of them.” “And you still came?” I shrugged, “It seemed like an adventure…?” “Was that it?” I shook my head, “I guess not, honestly, I don’t feel like my life is going much anywhere forward right now, back home. My brother has five kids and the perfect family; I’ve yet to find anyone to settle down with.” “You’ve looked?” I gave her another shrug, “Yeah, some? I don’t know… Maybe part of me still doesn’t want to be that much of an adult?” I snorted at that, “Not that I feel like much of one at all right now!” She smiled at me, “I get that. Mom has been on my case for years to settle down!” I held my cup of milk to her, “Cheers to still being the kids!” She laughed as we clinked my cup to her glass, and I drained the rest of the milk. By the end of the meal I’d also managed a cup of water into my system. I gave an uncontrolled burp afterward, “Excuse me,” I said, embarrassed. She laughed, “Don’t worry about it!” She helped me down from the chair, and I climbed the mountain of stairs to go to the bathroom. When I returned downstairs, she was done and patted the couch beside her, “How about another movie?” When I was settled, she showed me how to navigate the choices. I didn’t want to watch another rom-com; nothing else sounded good before I stumbled on a documentary category. One of the first ones up was about nanites! “Ooh, that looks interesting?” “You are such a nerd?” She kidded me. I shrugged, “It’s always served me well,” I told her. “It works for me. I think this is the one that Professor Westerfield was involved in…” she added. “That name sounds familiar,” I said. “She’s pretty much the genius that helped advance AI and nanite programming here. Her husband Fred is mostly retired now but is a great surgeon too.” “Oh, I met her briefly at the welcome luncheon. She’s somehow connected to one of the kids in our group we brought.” “That’s interesting,” she said. “Why don’t you start it, and I’ll get some hot chocolate made?” My mouth watered at that, so I nodded and eagerly awaited her return. By the time I finished the hot chocolate, I felt drowsy. Still, the nanite information was so intriguing that I didn’t fall asleep. I learned a lot about the history of their development, and even though the film didn’t dwell on too technical descriptions, I learned some ideas to improve my developments back home! When the film ended, I decided it was time to call it a night. “I’ll help you get into your night protection,” Erica said. “Want a lift?” She asked me as I sat on the couch, trying to gird myself for the hop off it. I shrugged, “Sure? It’s not like it’s the most embarrassing thing today!” She laughed, “Sorry, I know it’s been a hard day. Has to beat climbing these stairs, though? Looks like you’re practically scaling a mountain every time you do it.” “Kind of feels like it, too,” I admitted. Something about being close to her had previously felt unnerving, but her hold comforted me tonight. The hand that briefly rubbed my back was soothing. She took the dry Pull-Up from me as I sat on the potty seat. I was grateful to have made it to the bathroom every time since we’d returned! ‘Just a fluke,’ I told myself. I washed my face off, brushed my teeth, headed to my… room, and found Erica in the rocking chair. “Done?” She asked. I shrugged, “I guess?” “Let’s get you ready then,” she told me. She lifted me off the floor and placed me on the changing table. “I know this has got to be embarrassing, but I’m kind of glad to do this on this table now instead of your old bed.” I blushed, “Sorry, I wish you weren’t doing it at all.” She poked my nose lightly, “Don’t worry about it! I don’t mind!” I sat still as she diapered me and then pulled out a different sleeper for me to wear for the night. “You were complaining about that bed this morning?” She asked. I sighed, “It’s definitely not great.” “Do you want to try the crib instead?” “I hate the idea of being trapped inside of it?” “I guess I understand that. Let me know if you change your mind at some point?” “Will do,” I told her. She gently sat me on the floor, and I waddled my way over to the toddler bed. Lying down in it, I knew my back would be sore again in the morning. She pulled the covers up over me. “I hope you feel better tomorrow. Get some rest,” she told me. “Thanks, Erica. I really appreciate your kindness in helping me as a total stranger.” “You’re welcome, Katie, but remember, you’re no longer a stranger!” She handed me Honey from a corner of the bed, “Night!” I’d been out by the time she sat me in bed the night before, so I hadn’t been awake to note the nightlight gently shining a stream of stars on the ceiling. It was comforting not to have the room completely dark, but also more than a little bit threatening to see the cage of a crib just feet away from me… ready to easily contain my body! I DOSED OFF and slept peacefully for a long while before noticing something was wrong. Very wrong. I sat up, winced, and swore, “Shit, not again!!!” The nightlight was no longer shining stars in the room, but I could see it was still illuminating a little of the area around where it was plugged in. I sat up and wanted to cry! Not only had I apparently wet the bed in my sleep, but I’d also pooped my pants, and it was apparently too much for the diaper because my pajamas and bed were soaked too! I scooted to the end of the bed where the rail was open and felt my back crack from the horrible mattress. I felt a muscle pull in agony then, too, and cried out, “Oww!” I heard a sleepy voice, “Katie, are you okay?” the door opened. She saw me sitting up and pressed a button that brought the lights up halfway. “Oh no, sweetie, what happened?” “I’m losing my mind!” I told her. “What’s happening to me?!?” “I don’t know, but we’ll try and figure it out together. Let’s see what we’re looking at here,” Erica said, coming closer. She stood still briefly before saying, “Okay, let’s start with the important thing, you.” I watched her eyes scan things momentarily before she walked to the bathroom, grabbed a towel, wrapped it around me, and carried me to the tub. “Your poor tummy,” she said as she helped me strip things off one at a time. Once I was down to just the diaper, it was apparent to me, at least, what must have happened. The diaper seemed to have come loose a bit on one side, and then the poop… it wasn’t really poop so much as liquid! “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you had taken a laxative or had an enema,” she said quietly as she pulled the diaper away from my skin, trying to keep the filth inside. “I’ve gone so many times, I don’t even know how there was still something in my colon!” I complained. “I don’t either, Katie. Let me turn this on. We’ll spray you off, and then, hopefully, we’ll be able to get you back to bed.” It was a mortifying experience, but fifteen minutes later, the lights were entirely on, and she examined the bed I’d been sleeping in. “The mattress is waterproof, but this bedding will have to get washed.” “Oh no, Honey,” I said sadly. My poor childhood friend was a victim, too! “Don’t worry,” Erica told me, “We’ll get her cleaned up for you…” “Please,” I said sadly. “I’ll be right back, sweetie,” she told me. I found myself collapsing to the floor beside the now-stripped mattress. As uncomfortable as it had been, it seemed even less so now. I found myself wrapping my arms around myself, hugging myself, as I waited to see what Erica had in mind for a plan. ‘Why do I feel dependent on her for that?’ I wondered, ‘I’m a big girl! An adult! I shouldn’t need her help!’ Regardless of that voice, I just sat there and was there when Erica came back inside. “Okay, sweetie, I treated Honey, your jammies, and the bedding; I think they’ll all come clean since we’re washing them immediately.” I nodded, “Umm… thanks, you shouldn’t have to clean up after me like this. I am sooo embarrassed!” She reached down and picked me up, “It’s okay, Katie. I don’t think you’re in any condition right now to do much about it. You ate something weird for your body, or maybe you’ve already picked up a stomach bug. Either way, you can’t help it!” I nodded. “Look, I don’t have another set of clean bedding right now for that bed. I could cover the mattress with a blanket, but I think you’d be more comfortable in the crib?” I looked down inside the cage she held me next to. “But how do I get out?” “I’ll come get you when you wake up!” “How will you know?” “I have a monitor I can use?” “A baby monitor?” I asked, turning red. She shrugged, “Yes?” I was so tired; I just wanted to go to bed. “Okay, I’ll try it for a night.” She said nothing then, just gently depositing me on the mattress. Right away, I had to acknowledge that it was way more comfortable as I rolled to my stomach and moved to my preferred sleeping position. She pulled the blanket on the rail and covered me gently. I felt her hand rub my back as I turned over onto my stomach. “Get some sleep, Katie; I’ll see you in the morning.” A moment later, the lights were off again; the nightlight shone some stars, and I became more awake. I brushed against one of the rails on the side, turned over to my side, and jumped when the sound of a music box started above my head. I opened my eyes and saw that the mobile above the crib had been activated somehow. I tried to see how my bumping into the rail had done anything. It was kind of soothing; playing a melody of Rock-a-bye Baby first didn’t make me feel better, though! Twinkle Twinkle Little Star followed. Then Brahm’s Lullaby was a thing here, too, as it started. My eyes grew heavier then, and I soon drifted back to sleep. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press that Like Button and leave a comment! This has been an interesting project... it was supposed to be a short novella! I'm finally on the last chapter and epilogue, and I doubled the word count to be considered a novel. 🤦🏼‍♀️ Unless something changes, the total will be 26 Chapters and the epilogue. So, I'll be posting the rest of this for a bit. Hopefully, after next weekend (real life), I'll have time to get back to LCW. Anyway, thanks for the kind words, likes and such! They make it easier to keep writing! 💜

Sorry for the late posting; I forgot to submit it before work, and friends kidnapped me and forced me to hang out with them for dinner tonight. Hope it's worth the wait! Chapter 129: Mommy’s Birthday I FOUND MYSELF flying through Wednesday quickly, even as I was a bit worried about Beth when I saw her. She only opened up a bit and said it was a nightmare last night, but I couldn’t get her to say more while we were together at lunch or dinner. In the end, I did get an overview of her nightmare during some time we hung out virtually that night, and the few details she gave me left me feeling guilty. When I checked that night, I’d received some feedback from my professor about my scripts. ‘Miss Slane, I agree with you that the third script is by far the best of the bunch. I understand why you were hesitant to submit the others, but I want to ensure you know I would have also given an A for those other two. Your writing is lightyears ahead of most of your classmates. I look forward to the rest of the semester with you! Dr. Pierre Gibney Writers Guild of Nacirema’ I’d smiled a bit at the implication the latest script would be at least that level of A! Before I knew it, we had flown through my Thursday morning classes, and after lunch with Beth, Livy, and Nikki, we found ourselves in our Narratives class. “Hey Carly,” Charlotte said, “Can I talk to you over here for a second?” Beth looked at us with a weird look, but I shrugged, “Sure!” We found a quiet corner of the room, and she said, “I read the script you uploaded. I’m a little surprised by it?” I blushed, “I know it’s a bit more like Diaper Diaries than I would like.” “Why did you write it?” She asked me. “We had betrayal as a required topic?” I told her. “I didn’t know that, but it makes sense as it’s a theme of most of the scripts?” I shrugged, “My cousin just had her best friend taken like that... I guess it was topical?” She gave me a serious look, “Do you want to make the film?” “I don’t know, just telling Beth about it gave her nightmares?” “Maybe we shouldn’t then,” she said. “That being said... maybe it’s the kind of story that could make a difference?” I told her. She looked thoughtful about it, “You want to do it?” “Ask Beth?” She pulled Beth over a moment later, and we talked for five minutes until Dr. Wyler stepped in front of the class. “Good afternoon,” he started the class and began going through status checks with groups again. We reported being turned in, which caused some looks of angst from the other groups. Studio Four and One had finished filming at least, and Studio Two had at least managed to film two-thirds of the scenes finally. ‘They’re never going to have a polished edit,’ I thought morosely. ‘I am not helping them anymore, though!’ We also received an update on the groups’ available funds. We were far and away ahead of everyone else, and Dr. Wyler gave us an additional million in funding due to our early completion of the project. Even with the expenses on our production, we still had over three million in funds remaining. The next highest group was Studio Two, who had only seven hundred thousand. “As you can see, we’re a bit low on funds for most of you, so we’re going to have another competition today to see what you can do in an hour. You may film anywhere on campus, with any members of your group, and you’ll have to film the following five scenes...” It was a fun hour of a sprint, with Beth carrying me for much of it due to the speed at which the crew was moving – my little legs just couldn’t keep up! We returned and were awarded another three million in our budget for having the best scenes. Really, having Charlotte did give us an unfair advantage! Between her fantastic acting skills, our great teamwork, and the chemistry our group had developed, things were smooth to get anything done. “I’m going to give you all ten minutes to meet and discuss scripts for your next project before holding the next auction,” Dr. Wyler told us as we neared the last fifteen minutes of class. “So, which are we doing?” Sebastian asked. “Let’s do Carly’s,” Beth said with a shudder. “Are you sure?” I asked. She nodded, “It’ll be hard to deal with another script like that... but it’s too common of a story?” The other group members talked for a few minutes about a couple of different options. Still, in the end, the decision was made. BETH WAS NERVOUS as the bidding began for scripts. This time, the order in which the scripts were auctioned was picked randomly, and two groups had picked theirs before Carly’s even came up. “Fifty-thousand,” Sebastian said as a bid. Silence came from the other group, still vying for a script. “No one else?” Dr. Wyler asked. “Sold!” Beth felt her insides feel queasy at that proclamation, knowing she’d just doomed herself to another film in diapers! She had thought she’d at least have some time to hang out with Carly after class, but she had scarfed down a quick hamburger and had to run back to her dorm. “Sorry to run, Beth, I’ve gotten roped into a party for Lilly...” Beth sighed but was at least grateful Livy showed up then with Reila. The three of them ended up hanging out in Beth’s room that night, sprawled out on her bed and her desk chair. “What are you doing tomorrow?” Livy asked her. “Going to Carly’s grandmother’s house again?” “Why every weekend?” Reila asked. “Besides the fact that she’s into Carly?” Livy snorted. Beth blushed, “It’s safer there,” she told them. “I can see that,” Livy said, “I’m surprised your parents didn’t rip you away from here.” “Mom wanted to,” Beth told her. “We should get an apartment together next year,” Reila said suddenly. Something in her voice almost sounded desperate. “Really?” Livy asked, “Wouldn’t three of us being short be a bad idea?” Reila lightly punched her shoulder, “Just cause you’re short doesn’t make you a bad roommate?” Beth laughed, “No, that would be her snoring?” Livy lightly tickled Beth’s side, “Look who’s talking!” “Seriously though, what do you two think about doing that next year?” Reila asked insistently. Beth shrugged, “I’ll think about it. I do worry about all three of us being short? Last thing I want to deal with is a wannabe mommy landlord?” “And that’s different than the RAs here, how?” Beth nodded, “It’s probably not... We could find a four-bedroom, and Nikki or whoever my bodyguard is could stay with us. That would keep most of the psycho mommies at bay?” The three of them had a pretty intense discussion for the rest of the night, even as thinking about the next year meant also thinking about missing Carly as she would be going home... AS I WALKED into our dorm, I saw Mackenzie leading Lilly out. “We’ll be back in a bit,” Lilly told me, “Mackenzie is insisting on taking me out for dinner.” “Have fun and happy birthday!” I told her. Mackenzie gave me a wink, even as I realized my diaper definitely needed to be changed! I was just trying to figure out how I would manage that when I heard, “Carly!” from behind me and realized Grandma had just come inside holding a big box that must have been the cake. She also had a shopping bag hanging off her shoulder that I guessed had the ice cream. “Hi, Grandma,” I told her. “Thanks for helping us with this!” “You’re welcome, Carly; let’s get this upstairs, and you girls can set up your surprise.” As we ascended in the elevator, she added, “Probably should change that diapee, too! I can see it drooping from here!” I blushed but nodded, “Please, and thanks!” Fifteen minutes later, she was gone, having changed me and a couple of the girls before we dressed in the embarrassing unicorn onesies and the matching tutus. Grandma left with a smirk after taking a couple of photos for my moms. As she left, an assembly line of girls was made to paint all our toenails the same little girl pink, sparkly gems added on top of them, matching pigtails, and unicorn horn headbands. Everyone had SkinSync Makeup on already, and Grace had found a preset that made us look like a cross between a prom look and a three-year-old playing with glittery makeup for the first time! Plenty of glitter adorned our eyelids and cheeks, even as our eyelids had a rainbow of hues that crossed them. The girls had gone all out and added Happy Birthday decorations to the front of Lilly’s door. One of the other nest mothers had been sent by Mackenzie to help with things, and a table had been found to hold the cake on it. Grandma had left some sort of portable freezer thing with the ice cream inside, so we didn’t have to worry about it melting. The other nest mother had cooed over our onesie outfits, “You all must really love your mommy!” she’d said. “She’s really nice,” Mia had told her in response. We all had party favors in hand as we all waited for the message from Mackenzie a bit over an hour later that she was back with Lilly. “Surprise!!!!” We all said together as Lilly and Mackenzie entered, followed by another nest mother I didn’t know. “Oh my gosh, you all look so adorable!” Lilly exclaimed. She came over and knelt in front of me, “Those are totally cute!” Her arms wrapped each of us in a hug sequentially before she looked at the cake on the table. “Where did you get this cake?” “Carly’s grandma helped,” Willow told her. The cake really was an incredibly cool masterpiece. Back home, I remembered my sisters getting a similar cake for one of their birthdays, and it had been exceptionally expensive! It was designed to be a flying unicorn, complete with legs suspending it in the air, suspended on a bit of a fake cloud underneath to support it. Everything was sparkly with edible glitter on the surface, making it look like quite the spectacle. Before cutting it, she’d insisted on a photo of all of us and her in the picture with the cake. “I think this calls for the Sparkle chant!” she smiled. I groaned, but it was her birthday, so I put my hand on my head to have my pointer finger make the horn motion the other girls made, too, and joined in the ridiculous chant. “Sparkly horn, gleaming eye Unicorns, we stand so high. Friendship strong, hearts aglow, Let our smiles and laughter flow. Until next time, we say goodnight, Dreams of magic, take flight!” We all circled around and hugged her, even as Mackenzie and another nest mother had videoed the spectacle with their phones in one hand and their other hands over their mouths to hide their laughter. As we cut into the cake, I discovered the inside was a rainbow of colors. “My sparkles, you all outdid yourselves!” She said later, even as we had finished gorging ourselves on cake and ice cream. Even with the entire nest and a dozen nest mothers joining in, tons of leftover cake was put into Lilly’s apartment fridge. “Now that we’re all done, you all should probably get back to studying? Anyone need their diapee changed?” Lilly asked. “Nuh-uh, Miss Lilly,” Mackenzie said. “You go have a seat on your couch! I’ll take diaper duty for this round.” “You don’t have to...” Lilly said. “I insist, scram birthday girl!” She smiled. I waited my turn since I’d been changed earlier. Eventually, I was the last girl, and Mackenzie pulled open the snaps at the bottom of the bodysuit after pulling the tutu off, “Not too soaked her, but let’s change you anyway, Carly.” She tickled my stomach for a second as she pushed the bodysuit up my chest. She was always good at changing diapers, and I was glad to be in a dry bit of padding even as she just handed me the tutu and said, “Put that tutu in your closet?” I blushed, “I honestly hope not to wear it again...” “Where did you all get those anyway?” she asked me as she sat me on the ground. “We were at the mall, and Willow fell in love with them; the girls decided it would make Miss Lilly’s night to see us in them?” “It did that!” She smiled at me, giving my bottom a gentle pat. “Now go work on homework!” “Yes, Miss Mackenzie,” I told her with a smile. I watched her go into Lilly’s room and close the door. There was loud laughter heard from inside as everyone else made their way to their desks. Mia approached me then, “Can I talk to you?” She asked. I looked at her and noticed she was motioning toward a corner of the room where one of the dollhouses was placed. With both of us dressed in unicorn-covered onesies and the frills of our diapers standing out of the legholes, I knew we looked right at home as we stood there. “What’s going on?” “Did you tell someone about what happened to me?” She asked nervously. I nodded, “Remember I asked my grandma about that show?” “You didn’t say who I was, though?” “She probably figured that one out on her own... what’s wrong?” She played nervously with the sequins on her onesie then. “One of the professors wasn’t there today in class?” “And?” “And one of the other girls in my class said she was fired? Said it was my fault somehow?” The wheel turned in my head, and I put the pieces together. “I’m guessing she got caught trying to do things she shouldn’t have been,” I told her. “But...?” “What? Did the girl threaten you?” She nodded, “She said when it came time for my adoption this semester, she was going to make sure I was one of the droolers before they sent me out!” With that, Mia burst into tears, and I found myself hugging the girl consolingly, even as the other girls in the room looked on with concern. Willow came over, “Is everything okay?” I shook my head, even as Mia kept sobbing, “Mia had something happen today,” I told her. “What happened?” Willow asked with concern. “I can’t...” she said, sobbing more. “Why don’t we get her into her pod?” Willow suggested, “Before the mothers come out?” With that, the two of us gently got Mia into her pod, pulled the headband off, and gently brushed her hair. Willow looked at the pacifier by Mia’s pillow like it was a venomous snake. I sighed, picked it up, and nudged it into Mia’s mouth. Like magic, it settled her down, and the two of us climbed down from her pod after she started cuddling the stuffed frog she’d brought from home. Willow asked me quietly, “What happened?” Feeling a bit guilty, “One of her professors was busted for doing some things, and I assume fired. Apparently, her classmates are blaming her, and one of them threatened her,” I told her. “That’s horrible,” she told me. I nodded, “Each day she’s going into the lion’s den when she goes to that daycare for her class.” “Is there anything we can do?” She asked me. I looked up at the pod, unable to see Mia from where we stood. “I don’t think so...” She sighed, “Do what you can?” “I will... keep an eye on her,” I told her, even as I returned to my desk, grabbed my EdgeSphere set, and found my favorite beanbag chair. In my virtual world, I set myself to create an email to send to my family. I took the time to write an individual message to each of my sisters and moms. When I finished that, I completed a quick coding project for my Intelligence class, read a bit ahead for my Holo Theory Class, and was about to start on Math when Grandma arrived. “Hi,” I told her with a smile. “How did the party go?” “It went...” I thought of the redness, embarrassment, and silliness, “really well!” “Good!” She smiled at me. “I wanted to let you know I got permission for those four girls from your nest to come over tomorrow for the weekend. Not sure if you want to see if Beth wants to bring anyone?” I thought about that, “I bet she would, I’ll ask her. Let me tell the girls about that, and then I’ll get with Beth. What time are you coming to pick us up?” “We’ll have you ride in a Luxuria with Nikki after whatever last class the girls have?” “Any plans at your place?” “Swimming?” she smiled, “Movie night? I figure you can have a typical slumber party the first night, and then maybe the second, you can do something different. It’s up to you all. I’m sure the girls will just appreciate getting away from Emerson for the weekend?” “Mia will,” I told her. “What did you do with Emerson?” “That’s the girl you told me about?” I nodded, “She was threatened today by a couple of her classmates.” “At the daycare?” “I assume so?” “I’ll take care of it...” She told me. “But...” “Don’t worry, they won’t be a problem for her after this.” “Promise?” I asked nervously. “Promise,” she told me with a smile. She hugged me and left, even as I pulled my glasses off to see most girls getting ready for bed. “Willow, Everly, Amy, can you come here for a moment?” I asked. “What’s up? More news on Mia?” Willow asked nervously. “No... well, maybe. I don’t know there. I mentioned earlier in the week, but do you all want to come to my grandmothers this weekend? We’ll get Mia out of here, too?” “What will we do?” Everly asked. “My grandma has a massive indoor swimming pool, a huge HoloTheater, games at my cousin’s... probably many more things I haven’t done?” “I’m in,” Willow said. “Yeah, me too,” Amy said. “As long as Mia goes, I’ll go,” Everly said. “Great, what time do you finish your last classes tomorrow...?” I asked. I sent a message to Beth and she confirmed Livy and Reila would come over too, making a sleepover of our shopping crew complete! Lilly changed my diaper and dressed me in the unicorn onesie that night, just like the other girls, and said, “Thanks for the party; I heard you were a big part of the surprise?” I smiled, “I didn’t do that much; I just did the cake and the distraction.” She squeezed me in a hug before carrying me to my pod and setting me in through the front with the wall down. “That was one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had; thank you, Carly.” “You’re welcome,” I told her before she pushed the front wall back up after rubbing my back. I went to sleep that night thinking I still needed to get Mia onboard with going in the morning - but I couldn’t imagine she wouldn’t want to get away after what happened to her that day... ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like Button and Leave a comment! You all pushed this over 500k reads last week, which is absolutely crazy! Thank you all so much for your support! My apologies again at not posting this at my normal time, it's been an insane week at work! Hoping for a productive weekend for writing with some stress removed. Thanks again! 💜

Chapter 21: BY THE TIME we returned to Erica’s house, I was scared. The part of my brain that understood what abuse could do to someone recognized that the spanking had felt abusive. Of course it was! It also forced me to do something I had very much said no to… And I had stupidly agreed to try again now! My stomach felt queasy as she parked and came to my side of the car, opening the door and undoing the straps in the car seat. To my surprise, she just picked me up out of it and set me down on the ground to follow her. I was hurt, as the comfort of her holding me was more significant than I realized. Instead, I hugged Honey, glad I was at least reunited with my favorite stuffed animal! I followed her into the house and the Living Room after she grabbed a tablet from a countertop. She had a seat on the floor and motioned for me to sit in the new chair that had recently appeared. ‘We are still nowhere near the same height, but at least she made the effort,’ I thought. “We need to talk,” she said. First, I know I’ve apologized before, but I’m going to again. I am so sorry about everything, Katherine.” I looked at her, “Thanks. So… what now?” She shrugged, “I guess, first… I have to ask, was everything horrible that we did?” I squirmed in the seat, squeezing Honey tighter, even as I knew it looked incredibly infantile to do so. I shook my head, though, “I guess not?” “So, Ivy had a suggestion before you came in, and I thought it was a good one?” “Okay?” “Let’s go through a list; you can tell me what is and isn’t okay. I’ll give you my wishes, and you can give me yours?” “We already did that?” I suggested. “Not formally, and I know we didn’t go over everything…” she motioned at her screen. “Ivy had a list she shared with me. Can we just go through it and decide together?” “Only if I can really say ‘no’ to things?” She tilted her head, “To most things. Some things are going to be non-negotiable.” “Like?” “Like you need those diapers, you’ll have to keep wearing them?” I blushed, “Okay.” “Okay, here we go; I will read them out loud.” She paused, “First, number one, diapers, training pants, or panties.” “We already answered that one,” I blushed, “Diapers.” “Number two, what kind of car seat?” “The one you have is fine?” I told her. She nodded, “I agree. I don’t think you need an infant seat to sling you around. I might want to buy you a new one that’s actually yours, though?” “That one really is fine?” “We’ll see then. If I do, it’ll just be another toddler seat like that that can go rear-facing. Next, highchair, booster seat, or regular chair?” “I would love a booster seat instead of the highchair?” I told her. “Okay, we’ll look for one when we look for a new car seat,” she told me. “I will insist on a highchair when we’re out at a restaurant. My mom may also insist on it at their house or when she’s here?” I sighed, “Fine, that’s not the end of the world.” “Okay, do you want to sleep in the crib or in that toddler bed?” “That toddler bed is horrible,” I told her, “but I really want the freedom to get out on my own?” She nodded, “I get that, but what do you need to get out for?” “Umm… when you don’t wake up early enough, it’d be nice to do something while you sleep?” “That could just lead to some trouble,” she said thoughtfully. “Look, do you think you could deal with the crib until the end of the semester? I’ll look at getting you a better toddler bed if you stay longer?” “Stay longer?” I asked. She shrugged, “Who knows, maybe you’ll decide you like this?” I begrudgingly agreed, and we moved on to clothing choices I found acceptable or not and then bibs, which were non-negotiable for her. “Regular food, normal table foods, Little Foods, Baby Food, or Breast Milk only?” She read the next question. “Regular food!” I told her, “You already agreed?” She nodded, “I did… If you change your mind, let me know, though. You seemed to enjoy some of the Little Foods?” I shook my head, “Regular food, please? You can chop it up into bite-sized bits so you don’t have to give me a knife, but please, not purees?” “Will you drink from normal glasses, straw cups, sippy cups, or baby bottles?” “I don’t care if I sometimes drink out of any of them, but please don’t only give me baby bottles?” She looked surprised by that, “You’re okay with drinking out of bottles sometimes?” I shrugged, “They’re not bad. I just don’t want to end up with baby bottle teeth syndrome?” “I get that… just so you know, we have some toothbrushes that can eliminate that as a risk?” “We’ll see?” I told her. “For the record, are you okay with baby bottles?” “Yes,” I repeated. “What about if I give you a pacifier?” I bit my lip; I’d been missing them, catching myself sucking on my thumb a time or two since I’d left and nearly doing so more often than that. “As long as I can refuse it if I don’t want it, then?” “I can live with that,” she told me. The following questions were directed towards playtime… being forced to do at least some each day, what toys were allowed, what toys weren’t. “No creepy baby dolls!” I told her as my main stipulation. “I can’t believe you much you don’t want to be a mommy yourself,” she shook her head. “That’s fine, though; I’ll give her to Amber next time I see her. She always thought she was adorable.” “As long as she’s not in my room…” I said, relieved. “How many naps should you have in one day?” “I’m working at the hospital still…?” I said tentatively. “Yes, but at least a nap on those days when you get home?” I blushed, “Okay, your days are crazy long here.” “And on weekends, maybe a mid-morning nap sometimes?” “I want to be able to skip that one if I’m not tired?” “As long as you’ll take one after lunch?” “Fine,” I told her, yawning right then. “Should have had one of those today already,” she commented. I shrugged, “Probably.” “Shower, Baths, on own, or under supervision?” I blushed, “Showers on my own?” She shook her head, “Let’s stick with baths under supervision.” “But…?” I started to argue. She held up her hand, “This is because I’m afraid we’ll have an inspector come by to see how I’m caring for you. Especially given Holly may have stirred a hornet’s nest at the university.” “That sucks…” I said. “Language,” she said. “We haven’t said anything about language?” “This one will be for your safety and is non-negotiable, no swearing. Sucks will be considered swearing from now on?” “Please?” “Nope, you need to break that habit. You’ll be in trouble if you say the wrong word in front of the wrong Big.” “Fine,” I agreed. “And the baths?” “Not fine, but I guess?” “Public babying, what can I do?” I hated this question, “I’d prefer you not make fun of me?” “If I’m just treating you like a normal baby?” “Meaning?” “Baby talk, cooing at you… maybe a game of peek-a-boo if I see you being too serious?” I rolled my eyes, “As long as it’s not meant to be mean… I guess I can deal with that.” “Almost done here… We already kind of talked about this, but are you… okay… with nursing from me?” I looked at her, and the wet spot from her nipple leaking through whatever pad she wore under her bra, her bra, and finally, her shirt meant I knew she was probably in pain from the milk. I thought some more, “As long as I can tell you no if I don’t want to… I’m willing to try it a couple of times a day.” “How often?” She pressed. I felt the thumb trying to press into my mouth again, “We’ve started with me; let’s start with you – how often do you need me to nurse.” She looked surprised but said, “Before bed, when you wake up, before nap time, and maybe after dinner?” “It makes me sleepy; I don’t want to do it after dinner?” “Okay, if you’ll do the others, I can pump then.” “Deal,” I said, hoping I hadn’t sealed my fate further. The problem was, even then, I was craving the milk I knew she had, and I swore I could smell it from where I sat! “Final two questions, punishments, and rewards.” “No punishments,” I told her. “Nuh-uh, not going to agree to that,” she told me. “But…?” “I need to be able to correct you when you do things wrong. Sorry, that’s going to happen. So, no punishment at all is off the table.” I glowered at her and wondered how I could get away then, but said, “No spankings or beatings – EVER!” I felt like she deflated, but she nodded, “Fine, I can agree with that… I definitely went too far before. Time outs?” “I’m not actually a baby?” “Is that a no?” I shrugged, “I guess that’s okay.” “Loss of privileges?” “What privileges do I even have?” I asked her. She shrugged, “Maybe some time on your tablet? The phone you have? I don’t really know?” “I guess that’s fair. No permanent losses, though?” “Rewards?” she said, “Any restrictions on those?” I laughed, “Who would care about rewards? You can reward me with stickers, food, cuddles, screentime, whatever. I really don’t care that much there?” “Okay, we’ll table that one for now.” I watched her press some things on her screen for a moment, “Why don’t you read over this and sign it?” She suggested, “I’ll send a copy to Ivy and Mindy to keep us honest?” Unlike the contract I signed to come to this dimension, I read every letter and word on the page. I suggested correcting one thing about limiting my mobility that she hadn’t mentioned. I demanded she make hypnosis a banned item on the list since it was missing. From my conversations with Mindy, Holly, and Ivy, I added a ‘no alterations to mouth, digestive system, or mobility’ section. I had one final addendum I’d been mulling over during the process. It would in effect be a living will for me in the dimension, ‘In the event I’m incapacitated and determined to be unable to care for myself, I consent to be adopted by Dr. Erica Daniels as long as at least two of the four individuals, Dr. Ivy Nickerson, Dr. Holly Nickerson, Dr. Mindy Fairbanks, or Dr. Matthew Owens concur that Dr. Daniels has not intentionally been the party to regress me, or given orders to another to do so.’ “Are you sure about this?” Erica asked me. “You just gave me permission to adopt you…?” “Under those circumstances, I believe you are better than the random Big I would be placed with. Also, at that point, does it really matter anymore?” She winced at that, “I guess not… Look…” I held up a finger, “Wait before you say anything. I know you’re not innocent. You definitely were playing games with me, but in the grand scheme, I know you didn’t approve of the one Little whose mommy buried his teeth under a fake gum. I know you have your instincts… but at your heart, I think you’re a kind woman. As long as you’re not the one to cause my regression, you’re probably the one who would best care for me.” She cried then, “Okay, Katherine, I’ll agree.” After she signed, I said, “One other thing - I’m Doctor Benson when we’re at the hospital or in any professional setting.” She nodded. “When I’m outside of there…” I bit my lip nervously, “I’m Katie.” She squealed then. She actually squealed like a little girl getting a new doll! It was disturbing but cute in a way. I watched her as she signed and sent copies to all four people I said had to consent. As she sat down the tablet, I found myself shifting to look at her and noted the still-soaked top she wore was now spotted on both breasts. I could smell the milk then, and she must have noticed because she kissed my nose, “Is there a nap time today?” I didn’t respond to her, instead pulling at some buttons in the middle of her blouse, which disturbingly resisted my fingers more than I would have expected. I looked up to a bemused smile from her, “Let me get this,” she told me. I watched as she nimbly pulled a couple more buttons open before discarding the soiled blouse. Then she reached to the bottom of the cup of her right breast and opened up the nursing bra to expose her breast to me. Without the hypnosis or the threats, I found myself fascinated by the massive flesh she possessed. I looked down at my comparatively non-existent chest and flushed red before looking at her in the face. “I’m never going to force you again, Katie,” she told me. “Your move as they say?” As I pushed my mouth towards the flesh, I caught just the faintest scent of her milk and noted the glistening nipple in front of me. Memories of the taste flooded my brain, and my fasting from it for the past couple of days seemed almost painful. I wasted no further time placing my mouth around her nipple and sucking. The milk flowed into my mouth - and it was even better than I remembered! I quickly found a rhythm of suck, taste delicious milk, suck, swallow milk, suck, swallow, that slowly satiated my stomach. Every now and then, my hands were kneading Erica’s breast too; instinctually, my body must have remembered nursing as an infant, and that would stimulate her to produce more of the delicious milkies! Despite there being no hypnosis at play then, I found myself losing track of time as I nursed and whined when I was removed from her breast. “More,” I said sleepily. “Just a moment,” Erica said sweetly, “you’ve probably got some gas in your tummy.” I felt her hand pat my back gently, and sure enough, a big belch came out, followed by another couple of smaller ones, before she moved me to the other side. I wasted no time finding that nipple with my mouth and starting again. Suck, swallow milk, suck, swallow milk became the pattern again. I found my body relaxing its muscles in a way I didn’t remember happening outside of a great massage. All of the stress and fear was gone, and all that remained was a full stomach. I was basically asleep when she finally pulled me from that nipple, burped me again, and then carried me upstairs to my nursery. My diaper was soaked, so she changed it before putting me down in the crib with just my blouse on. “Have a good nap-nap,” Erica said, kissing me on the forehead. I heard her say, “I love you…” I didn’t respond to her, as I was already asleep. Still, my subconscious heard her and debated whether I could reciprocate that feeling. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like Button and leave a comment! I'll post again on Tuesday and Friday this week. Thanks for earning a bonus chapter this week! 🙂

Oops... I thought I'd said Wednesday while thinking about it last night! Okay, I'm a couple of hours late here; maybe I'll give a bonus chapter later this week. For now, this is a longer chapter than I usually give. Chapter 11: THE NEXT MORNING, I had slept through the night, but unfortunately, I had also wet the bed again. Having a diaper on at least meant the crib was dry, but it was a significant blow to my ego, given that I had skipped what I believed to be the cause the night before! The other major blow was how much the diaper padding expanded with wetness! The soaked padding had expanded far enough that I struggled to balance on my legs and grab the top of the crib rail to hold myself up and make it easier for Erica to pick me up. The glance in the mirror left me blushing red. She’d been sweet about it, taking the diaper off and letting me shower in the other guest bathroom. I’d returned to my… nursery with a towel wrapped around me since I didn’t have clothes. She passed me with a smile, and something about it made me want to crawl into a deep hole somewhere. Or more like run back to Emerson, hijack the portal, and go home! On Monday, I wore a pull-up, leggings, and another onesie blouse under my doctor’s coat. When we arrived, I followed Erica to an exam room. “Okay, let’s put you on the table and run a scan,” she said. “Do I need to take my clothes off?” “Not for this one,” she assured me. “Just stay still for just a second!” I watched her fiddle with a tablet for a second before I saw an odd light move from my head to my feet. After a moment, a projection showed in front of me. “Okay, let’s take a look,” Erica told me. She zoomed in to my bladder, “There doesn’t seem to be any issues here?” I shrugged. “I’ve not looked at these scans much, but I don’t see anything weird, either,” I sighed. She manipulated the view for a bit. “What’s that?” I asked, pointing to a highlighted spot on my brain, matching another on my lower spine. “It’s typical; it’s a mutation you all have from the other dimension. It should have filtered it out, actually.” I caught ‘Micturition Center’ briefly before the highlight went away. “Like I said, just a bit of an odd quirk of your biology - it’s normal.” We looked for a few more minutes. “We can scan again in a few days and compare; maybe that will show something.” “I can only hope,” I told her. “Well, in the meantime, we have about five minutes until our first patient.” For the rest of the morning, we saw a mixture of real kids and Littles for a vast range of issues since she was more of a general practitioner. During the exams, I was fortunate to observe several nanite treatments. I even got to sit in on a complete surgical procedure where the treatment was more involved. The tall giants weren’t necessarily perfect, but they had truly nailed medicine at this point! Just before our lunch, I, unfortunately, did have a wet accident. Still, we discreetly changed me into a spare in the staff facility without anyone else having to be the wiser. When I mentioned being worried about it, she told me, “Ever since Doctor Nickerson, Holly, the Little,” she added, “became a doctor here, the policy is as long as staff are wearing protection, there are no issues.” “Huh,” I said, “That’s pretty accommodating.” Despite my excitement to see everything in this new world of medicine, I was ready to go home at the end of our shift! After a quick meal with AmeniTea, I went straight to bed! That, unfortunately, led to me waking up before Erica the following day, though. I had far too much time then to stare at my reflection and the bars containing me. My diaper had again expanded with my urine, unbelievably making the diaper thicker. What made it worse was when I had to pee willingly because I wasn’t getting out to go! ‘It’s already wet,’ I reminded myself. Erica had said, “What a big wetter you are!” when she took it off, leaving me blushing for hours! Tuesday followed Monday’s pattern, except I made it without any accidents at work! Wednesday morning was great because I woke up dry for the first time in days! “This shouldn’t be such a monumental milestone,” I told Erica as she removed the dry diaper. I had tried myself, but something about their diaper Velcro tapes made it impossible for my hands to get loose. She hugged me, “Hopefully, this means whatever was affecting you is finally clearing your system!” “What do you think it was?” I asked suspiciously. I was sure that not having the milk was causing the improvement! “Sometimes some of the additives in foods can cause it, or even be a delayed reaction. We didn’t see anything on the scans Monday, but I’d be willing to bet that first day you encountered one of those substances?” “Scary,” I answered her. ‘Who do you trust?’ I couldn’t help but think. ‘She has been incredibly kind to you; nothing she’s done has been out of malice?’ Those thoughts really didn’t help my feelings of unease. Thursday, I began hoping I was on a streak of dry nights and days. I was energetic that night when we came home. ‘Honestly, that mobile was annoying at first, but I wonder if the soothing music is helping me sleep better. If nothing else, not sleeping on that horrible toddler bed mattress must also be helping!’ That day, she began quizzing me as we went through the rounds, as a mentor had done to me during my residency. I was depressed that I only batted about thirty percent in correctly diagnosing the problems and treatment plans, the new dimension clearly having some differences! I was scared that Erica would see me as more and more incapable than her! Thankfully, with the final patient, I did correctly diagnose their condition as a case of a leaking heart valve. I was allowed to watch the procedure a surgeon completed with nanites to close it. “About half the time, we wait those out in young children,” I told her as we left the recovery room. “If we had to do an invasive surgery still, I’d agree, but with the nanites, it’s a simple inject and fix process.” “It’s very cool!” I told her, grateful to see the things I’d hoped to encounter! My good mood extended to dinner that night. “You’re happy tonight?” Erica asked me at the table. I sat in what I now thought was my high chair. I shrugged, “Just feels like things are turning around for the better a bit more?” “How so?” “Well… you know… I haven’t had any accidents during the daytime in the past few days, and the past two nights, I woke up dry, too!” She smiled, “That’s right!” I shrugged, “I was pretty depressed a couple of days ago, to be honest.” “If you ever get that way, make sure you talk to me, Katie; I’m always happy to listen!” “Thanks, Erica; I’m so glad everything has worked out how it has!” I didn’t even notice at first that night that I made a bit of a mess with the sweet and sour chicken I was eating. “You missed here,” she told me with a smirk as she brought a wipe across my face to clean off some sweet and sour sauce that had somehow ended up on my cheek. It was only then that I realized I had been using my hands to pick up some of the meal instead of using the fork. That seemed like it should feel wrong, but Erica wiped my hands clean and made it better without saying anything derogatory about it! I was then feeling… hyper… for lack of a better word then? “You want to watch something on TV?” She suggested. “Maybe?” “Go explore; maybe you’ll find something you like?” “After I go potty!” I said. “Don’t wanna break the good streak!” “Of course,” she smiled. “Don’t want to forget that!” I climbed up the mountain of stairs and made a game of hopping down them and coming back. Erica had already activated the TV for me, so all I had to do was ask for a listing of shows like I’d seen her do before. However, something seemed wrong with the menu compared to what I’d seen with Erica. I put it down to the crazy technology of the dimension. Instead of the usual movie list, it looked like I was in a directory of only kids’ shows. I kept swiping in the air like some Star Wars force user to swap shows that held no interest to me as an adult. Remembering the characters on the shirts in the store, I didn’t hesitate to swipe past Naomi and Oliver, as the little image for the show seemed a bit creepy. I was about to ask Erica about the lack of options, but I saw a show called Doc McSweetie. It looked like a cartoon about a child doctor? It reminded me of an old cartoon remade when I was a little girl and featured a similar premise. ‘It was my favorite show, and after watching it, I told my parents I wanted to be a doctor then for the first time!’ I remembered our first trip to the store and seeing her face on some of the shirts. Nostalgia made me curious for a synopsis, but none was presented, only a thumbnail image. Deciding it was worth a gamble, I started the show. I had never imagined what it would be like to be inside a cartoon, but that’s where I found myself a moment later! The colors were so vibrant and adorable! I watched as the character cared for a Little patient who wasn’t feeling well. The mom said, “I don’t know what to do, Doc. I’ve tried everything!!!” “Well, what do you mean by everything?” “I cuddled her?” “Okay, what else?” “I tried feeding her nuggies and fries?” “Those are always good,” she agreed. “I tried her pacifier,” she said sadly, “I even tried her favorite oatmeal!” “Did you try giving her favorite teddy to her?” “That was the first thing I tried,” The woman sounded sad. “What about… her milk? Have you given her a baba of that today?” ‘Milk???’ I wondered. The main character found the patient’s baby bottle filled with milk inside a pink diaper bag and gave it to the Little. Amazingly, that was all that it took for them to become a happy Little playing with their friends again! It was a wholesome show, with Doc McSweetie caring for a couple of patients every episode. She was so smart, too, always finding the correct answer! ‘I wish I was a good enough doctor always to find the right answer! I sure didn’t today!!!’ It seemed like most of the time, though each episode involved getting their patient – who was always a Little, a bottle, a pacifier, a new diapee, or a stuffie! That solved everything for them! Well, except for the last episode! The last episode I watched before the screen went off showed that the answer was the Little needed their mommy so they could do something with her breasts… Doc McSweetie said it was just like giving the baby a bottle, but only better! “Shit!!!” I heard and was disappointed when the show turned off. “Wasn’t planning on going that way with you, forgot that stupid filter,” Erica muttered. I looked up and saw Erica standing there with a concerned look, “Are you okay, Katie?” I practically bounced up and down, “Yes! That show is soooo awesome!!! It reminds me of a show I watched as a little girl – it’s why I became a doctor!” “That’s great, but I think you’ve probably had enough for tonight?” “Aww!” I whined. “Definitely had enough!” Erica said as she picked me up off the couch. “It’s definitely time for night-night though now, don’t you think?” Something about how she said that seemed off, but all I found myself doing instead was nodding and yawning, “Probably a good idea; it’ll be a long day at work tomorrow!” I leaned into her warm arms and felt like I was forgetting something. She sat me down on the floor in the bathroom, “Why don’t you see if you can go potty, then we’ll get you ready for bed?” I felt like I was in a bit of a fog then… ‘Potty…? Didn’t I just do that not long ago?’ I went through the steps of pulling my leggings down, unsnapping the onesie, and then pulling the Pull-Up out of the way. Something was wrong; my brain wasn’t processing like it should have been. I sat down on the potty for my tinkles and had a surprise poo poo come out too! “That’s great, Katie. You’re such a good girl for making it to the potty!” Erica said. ‘It feels wrong she’s saying that,’ I thought. But everyone likes being a good girl, so I just smiled and said, “Thanks!” Erica smiled differently than she had in the past, placing me on my changing table and putting me in my thick nighttime diaper. After dressing me, she hugged me, “Let’s braid your hair before you go to sleep,” she told me. “Unless you want to do it?” I pointed at her and soon sat on her massive lap in the rocking chair. She used my brush to brush out my hair for a bit before beginning to braid my hair. I wasn’t speaking, feeling sleepy, even as she softly sang an unfamiliar song. I liked her voice; it was pretty! Before long, she put me in the crib and handed me Honey. “Good night, Katie,” she said. “Night-night,” I said sleepily. I didn’t even bump into the rail that night before it started. The music from the mobile began on its own, and I watched a few rotations of it going around and around before falling asleep. As I felt myself entering that deep slumber, I heard a quiet, “It’s probably for the best…” THE NEXT MORNING, I was really out of it as I woke up to Erica rubbing my back. “Time to wake up, Sweetie,” she said to me. I rolled over, rubbed my eyes, and looked at the tall giant. “Morning,” I said, struggling to turn my brain on. “Let’s get you out of this crib and onto the potty; then you can shower and hopefully get your brain going.” I nodded at that. “Look at you! Dry again!” she said with a smile as she removed my pajamas, tops, bottoms, and diaper from the bathroom attached to the nursery. “Good,” was all I could think as I sat down on the potty seat, hearing the rush of my bladder pouring into the water below. Something felt wrong about all of this, but I couldn’t place what it was. Didn’t I usually do all of that myself…? Diapers weren’t normal, though…? When I was done, she shocked me by setting me inside an already-drawn bath. “Wait, shower?” I asked, “You said a shower?” “Sorry, I misspoke; we don’t have much time, so I drew a bath for you earlier. You can get cleaned up, and we’ll take off to work?” I was slightly annoyed, “Why isn’t there a shower for this bathtub?” She shrugged, “This room was designed to be a nursery. The original owners didn’t think a showerhead would ever be needed?” “I can’t just go down the hall?” I asked, even as she surprised me by grabbing a loofa and began scrubbing me. “I can do it,” I whined. “You’re still too sleepy, but it’s okay. I’ll take care of you. Just pretend you’re having a great trip to a nice salon!” Erica told me There was no wasted time washing me up, and she didn’t bother with my hair, only accidentally getting the end of the sleep braid a little bit damp. Before I knew it, time was up, and she was getting me out of the bath. “I like waking up more in the shower,” I told her as she wrapped me in a towel. “Tomorrow, I promise we’ll give you more time to play in the bath.” “I didn’t say…” I started to argue, but she was already carrying me to the room, where she stood me on the ground and held out a Pull-Up. “Step in, Sweetie,” she told me. Like a robot, I found myself stepping each foot in one at a time before she pulled the padded garment up to my waist. That morning, she had a white sweater and a pair of pale pink leggings. As she pulled them up, I said, “These look kind of babyish?” “I’m wearing something similar?” she showed me. It was a similar color, but instead of leggings, she wore slacks that were part of a suit set. “But…” I tried to argue, but nothing made sense then. “Come on, let’s get you some breakfast, and we’ll get going!” One thing I loved so far was the AmeniTea unit! She was able to make pancakes quickly for me. When she served them, I noted the plate was a kids’ plate but didn’t complain. As I ate the pieces, I realized the picture: “Oh, it’s Doc McSweetie! She’s awesome!!!” “Damnit, I wasn’t paying attention,” Erica practically muttered before saying, “Yes, I guess she is, isn’t she!” “I’m jealous! I feel like she’s a better doctor than I am! She always solves what’s wrong with her patients... I bet none of hers ever die!” Erica laughed nervously, “I bet you’re right!” That morning, I followed Erica around again but was really distracted. One patient was a Mom with a twenty-three-year-old Little boy who was having some issues with seizures. While Erica and I reviewed the scans, I noticed that she had started feeding him a bottle of milk. My eyes wouldn’t stay on the scan readings; instead, they kept getting drawn to the boy drinking his milky bottle like a good boy. ‘Doc McSweetie says that solves everything!’ As we continued through the day after him, I found my gaze continually drawn to mommies nursing their babies or giving them their bottles of milkies. She must have decided I had more to learn because she didn’t quiz me that day. That was good, as most of her diagnoses were different than I would have said! We went home that night and sat down for dinner, which was some spaghetti she had AmeniTea make us. The meatballs were definitely the best part, and I couldn’t help but use my hand to pick them up to eat them – it was so much easier than using the dull fork she gave me! “What would you like to drink, Sweetie?” She asked me. “Umm…” “Water, Tea, Milk…?” “Milk!!!” I said with a smile, thinking of how lucky that boy had been earlier to get milkies in the office! “One moment,” she said and returned with the original silicone spout sippy cup, but the nipple looked different. “That’s a baby bottle?” I asked, offended. “I’m not a baby!” “Of course you aren’t! You made it to the potty all day the last few days! You’re probably ready to go back to big girl panties if we can find some!” I nodded that. “But this isn’t a baby bottle! It’s just a cup for someone your size?” I wasn’t sure why, but that sounded wrong. Thinking back to Doc… “Erica, you keep calling me Sweetie, and I’m a doctor. Does that mean I’m Doc McSweetie?” She made a face before she laughed, “Definitely!” I laughed and grasped the bottle, only slightly noticing my hands were red with sauce from picking up the meatballs. I stuck the nipple in my mouth and gave it a practice suck. Milk came into my mouth! It was super yummy, too! I’d forgotten how good it was before I stopped drinking it! I sucked again, and again, and again! “That’s really good!!! I think the special cup really makes it better!” I told her when it was empty. “I’m sure it makes it better,” Erica said with a smile. After I had eaten all the spaghetti I could eat, I asked, “More milkies?” This time, she just smiled, “Sure, my little Doc McSweetie! Why don’t I get a clean cup, though? That one’s dirty now?” She came over, helped clean up my hands and face, and then looked at my blouse; she said, “You made quite a mess here, too…” Without warning, she pushed the highchair tray out of the way and pulled off my sweater. Leaving me naked in the kitchen on my upper body since I didn’t even have a bra anymore that fit! “Cold,” I complained. “One second, I have another onesie in your diap… bag over here.” After she helped me put on a new shirt, she carried me to the couch and soon had another ‘cup’ of milk for me. “Why don’t you see what else you can find to watch?” She said, putting it on the menu. She walked away for a few minutes as I scrolled. I saw a bunch of different shows, but no Doc! “Erica?” I asked as she came back in. “Yes?” “Where’s Doc McSweetie?” I practically whined, “I wanna see more of her?” “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Katie,” she told me. “But she’s so cool!” She hesitated, “I know she is... but it’s not a good idea for you...” “Please?” I asked. “I...” “Pretty please?” “Bu...” “Pretty please with a cherry on top?” Erica stared at me for a second and the cup I sipped from. She seemed to really think for a moment before sighing and saying, “If you watch more episodes, you’re going to get more addicted? Are you sure this is what you want? Doc really isn’t meant for adult doctors? You… you might not be able to be as good of a doctor anymore if she’s outdoing you?” I nodded, “Please!!!!!” “I guess,” she said. I watched her change the menu, and my new beloved TV show became available again. She selected the next episode and began playing it. “Yay!!!” I said, even as I began enjoying more milkies. Milkies solved everything, according to Doc McSweetie! I certainly felt much better! My cup was empty after the first episode, but I was so into watching how Doc fixed her patients that I didn’t notice. My list of things that fixed patients was now clean diapee, cuddles, milky – best was direct from their mommy, teddy, and now pacifiers! According to the last episode, a thumb could work, but pacifiers were much better! I wasn’t sure how many patients she’d seen for me to learn that, but eventually, the screen turned off again, and I looked up at Erica. “Did you have to turn it off?” I sighed, “I was learning so much about doctoring here!” She smiled, “Sorry, my little Doc, but we have to get you up tomorrow to do a few things! I figure you might enjoy going to the mall and shopping?” I nodded, “It’d be nice if we could find some better clothes!” “Well then, we’d better get you to bed!” She picked me up and held me against her warm body. I snuggled into her arms as she carried me upstairs to the bathroom. She pulled my shirt off there and pointed at my Pull-Up. “Uh-oh!” she said. “Huh?” I said as I looked down and frowned, “Oh no! I went wee-wee!” “That you did, Sweetie. It’s okay, though. You’re going to bed, and we’ll get you into a dry diaper for the night.” I poked at the Pull-Up, “When did I have an accident? I didn’t notice?” For some reason, I wasn’t overly bothered now. “I’m not sure,” she told me. Here, let’s get it off you.” Erica ripped the sides open, balled it up, and sat it on the counter. She didn’t wait for me to climb onto the potty but picked me up and sat me on it. Why don’t you sit and tinkle if you can, and I’ll be right back to get you in your jammies!” I nodded and looked down at my feet. I didn’t realize I was doing it, but some wee-wees came out, and I heard a splash. The toilet seat made it hard to see, but I could tell I’d made a little poopy too! “Wow! What a big girl!” Erica told me a moment later. She held some wipes and wiped my parts clean before picking me up to take me to the changing table. After dressing me in my diapee and jammies, she carried me to the rocking chair and did a magic trick. “Milkies!” I said excitedly. “Yep, special ones made just for you!” I had been holding my cup myself all night, but I was so tired as I went to sleep that I let Erica hold it for me. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sorry Sofia was bad last night and forgot she said Tuesday. Work forced her back on Monday and her brain needs a vacation already? 😭 If you'll please forgive the authoress and give her a Like anyway? Comments are appreciated too! Nose will go into the corner later! Doc McSweetie is one of my favorite creations of all time. I hope you enjoy her role in the next chapters! 🙂

Chapter 2: DEAN NORTHRUP LED me to a conference room down the hall, where I found our missing students and Matt finishing up with their own meeting. “What happened to you?” I asked him as I realized he now towered over me, even though he was shorter than our hosts. “Guess I’m one of the rare ones who grew. We had a couple of our students do that, too. Where’s everyone else?” “They all got assigned to the Little’s dorms,” I said. I noticed Northrup had left, and the others were further away. I closed the gap to him, and he leaned down toward me like one would a little kid. “I have a bad feeling about things for them…” I watched him give me a skeptical look. He was about to respond when I heard, “Doctor Benson?” from a new voice. I turned to see a woman in doctor’s scrubs, more than twice my height, closing the gap to me. I noted that my head didn’t even reach her hip height! “Yes?” I said though politely. “Great! I’m Erica Daniels; I’m your host at the hospital this semester!” She knelt on the ground before me and held out a hand. I took it politely, noting that her hand, compared to mine, made me feel like a toddler! “Nice to meet you. Call me Katherine,” I told her. “I was asked to give you both a ride to the apartments,” she told us. “You’re Doctor Owens, right?” She said to Matt. “Yes, we appreciate the ride!” “No problem. The history department chair will meet with you after the luncheon,” Erica told him. “Let’s get your stuff and get you all settled in!” I found myself walking beside Matt as the giant woman in front of us led us to a baggage collection area where only our bags now remained. My suitcase seemed bigger, but it was likely the loss of ten inches of height. ‘I wonder if anything will fit?!?’ I’d taken some precautions, bringing clothing smaller than my normal size and a few spare white coats in a handful of other sizes. I wasn’t ignorant of the possibility of shrinking, and I hoped that my planning would at least leave me something to wear after that. Erica led us outside the building, and I felt my jaw drop when I saw the massive size of the buildings around us. Like an Ivy League back home, the campus was stunning! Occasionally, you’d see students or others doing something with advanced tech. One group of students seemed to be playing some game with glasses on. “Here we are,” Erica said as we approached a vehicle. It resembled a sedan, even though the outside was devoid of locks or handles. It seemed designed to be ultra-aerodynamic with some very organic curves. With a button, the back of the vehicle opened, and she put our bags inside before leading us along the side. Then, Erica pressed the side of what I assumed was a driver’s door, and both back doors opened. Seeing a toddler’s booster seat before me, my stomach plummeted. “Matthew, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to sit in this seat due to your height.” “I’m taller than back home?” he asked in surprise as she patted the seat. “Yes, but you’re still about a foot short of not needing it. Sorry, the authorities here in Ames track safety seat usage quite closely.” I looked up at Matt, who sighed, shrugged, and climbed into the seat. She helped him pull a shoulder belt across him and then waved at me, “Your seat is on this side, Katherine.” Only then, on the other side of the car, I realized what kind of seat she was referring to. “Umm… can’t I at least sit in a seat like Matt?” “I’m sorry, Doctor Benson, but they told me you’re only ninety-seven pounds; rear-facing seats are required up to one-hundred and twenty pounds here.” Without warning, she picked me up and set me down in a pink rear-facing toddler car seat. “Give me your arm here,” she said politely, while I felt a firm hand guide my hand into a car seat strap like I’d done with my niece Ava just a few weeks prior. I blushed as I was grateful to have worn a pants set today instead of a skirt when she invaded my personal space even more to pull a crotch strap between my legs. I felt her pull down on the straps, and my whole body felt locked in the car seat. “There you go,” she said with a smile. “It’s a short trip over there, but I figured you wouldn’t want to walk that far with your luggage.” She closed the door, and I saw Matt’s face looking concerned. We couldn’t talk before the giant hostess climbed into the driver’s side seat, shut the door, and said, “Go to the Iliad Apartments, please.” “Yes, Doctor Daniels,” a voice responded. “It seems a little more intuitive than our systems back home,” Matt said to make small talk. “Definitely more advanced than my car,” I told him. “I’ve kept my car from high school all these years to save money trying to pay off med school bills.” “I understand that; I think I only have three more years of payments left now. Fortunately, my med school came through with extensive fellowship funds.” I tried to see out of the car windows, but my view was definitely more limited. Fortunately, it wasn’t long until we reached our destination, and I was let out after she helped Matt get the buckle. While I waited, I tried pressing the release buckle myself, but I must not have had enough strength for it. However, Erica had no problems using one hand to undo it and gave me a lift out to the ground. “That’s awkward,” I said to Matt. He nodded, “Yeah. I assume we need to find the manager’s office?” “That’s what I was told,” Erica said to me. She helped pull my two suitcases out of her car, Matthew’s one, and led us to the offices. “Good morning, looking to rent an apartment?” a tall gentleman asked. He wore a polo and slacks and had a name badge that read ‘assistant manager’ from my low position. “These two have apartments set up by Emerson?” He gave us both a look, “Names?” “I’m Doctor Matthew Owens,” he told him. “And I’m Doctor Katherine Benson,” I told him. He pressed some buttons on a tablet. “I see the accounts are all set and paid…” he looked down at me. “Are you staying with her?” he asked Erica. “No…?” She said hesitantly, “I’m just their ride?” He sighed, “Okay, I have one Tweener apartment where Doctor Owens can be situated here. I don’t have anything in Little sizes right now, though.” “Can’t you just rent her a Tweener apartment too?” He shook his head, “Our insurance company doesn’t allow it.” “What about a regular apartment?” I asked, not liking the feeling I was getting. “No can do, Doctor. Sorry, Emerson will have to help you find a different apartment.” “Can she stay with me?” Matt asked, trying to be helpful. “Sorry, you’re in a one-bedroom, and we don’t allow non-married couples like that due to some past issues with nasty breakups.” “Let me get you your key, and I’ll have someone guide you to your apartment,” he told Matt. Meanwhile, I found myself standing there lost. Erica suddenly came down to my level, got on her knees, and gave me an unexpected hug. “We’ll get this figured out, Katherine. I can’t believe they weren’t prepared for you to be a Little!” “Umm… how hard is it to get another apartment in Little sizes?” I asked. She said, “Give me a minute; let me call the person responsible for the exchange program. “ I watched her do something and realized she was talking over some device I couldn’t see. “Yes, this is Erica Daniels… Yes, we got to the apartment; we’re having a problem, though… Can you get her something else…?” I stood like a spare part for several minutes as her face went despondent. “No, I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want to stay with her students in their dorm…” I felt my blood chill thinking of them trying to make me wear that hideous uniform… or worse yet…? “Okay, please do let me know.” She looked down at me with a pitying look. “Umm… look, I know this may be awkward since we’re going to be working with each other, but I do have a guest bedroom at my house. You’d be welcome to stay there?” “I couldn’t possibly put you out like that…” I objected. “It’s no problem; I don’t have a husband or a boyfriend… so my house is kind of a waste of space?” I looked up at the useless apartment manager staring at me. “I guess I don’t have any other option right now. I should work at least until Emerson can sort this out.” “Great!” she told me. “Would you please let Matthew know I’ll be back to pick him up in an hour to go to the luncheon?” “He should be able to take a university-provided Bruber. I’ll show him how the system works,” the manager said. “Great! Well, we’ll go drop off Doctor Benson’s things then.” “Sorry I couldn’t be more help,” he told me. A short while later, I was again strapped into the embarrassing seat, and we were driving on the road. “This’ll work out better anyway, Katie!” she told me. “We can just carpool into the hospital each day this way!” ‘I hate that name. My name is Katherine,’ I grumbled inside my head. It’s hard to be rude about it, though, given that she’s helping me out.’ “Great,” I said with forced enthusiasm. Fortunately, I wasn’t strapped in too much longer as I was beginning to need to hit the restroom rather desperately. I mentally cursed myself for not asking to go after the meeting! Erica pulled into a garage and came to release me even as the door closed to the outside. Once we were inside her kitchen, she started to show me the downstairs rooms. When we came to a bathroom beside the kitchen, I asked, “Do you mind if I use this restroom?” “Umm… Sweetie, you probably want to use the upstairs hallway bathroom instead.” “Why?” I asked, even as I looked at the enormous toilet before me. “Umm… how do…?” “You get on?” she asked. “It’s going to be tough with that one. I have a step and a potty seat for my nieces and nephew upstairs, though.” I felt my blood drain even as I left my suitcases for the moment downstairs and climbed up the staircase. By the time I was shown the guest bathroom, I didn’t care about the indignities of using a toddler step and potty seat; I was desperate to pee! My panties were a bit damp as I pulled them back up, and I nervously considered the rules that had been shared with the students in our meeting! Fortunately, as I pulled my pants up, washed my hands with the aid of a step stool, and looked in the mirror, I couldn’t see any outward signs of my struggles. Erica was waiting right outside the door, “Everything okay?” “Yes, I just should have gone after our meeting. I figured I’d be at my apartment by now, though?” She nodded, “I get that.” She looked at her watch, “I think we need to get going if we’re going to get you back in time for that welcome luncheon. Why don’t you just leave your bags down here, and we’ll look at everything when we get back?” I blushed. “That’s probably a good idea. I thought I would bring some smaller sizes, but I don’t know if I brought anything small enough.” “From what I have heard, things don’t necessarily size down the way you expect all the time either,” she told me. “Okay,” I said. I grabbed what had been a small purse inside my backpack and realized what Erica had said. Before I left, the small purse had been barely big enough for my cell phone, wallet, makeup, and a couple tampons. Now, it was practically the large purse my mom carried around! My backpack itself hadn’t exploded in size, but the purse inside had behaved oddly. ‘I hope I have any clothes that fit…?’ I worried as I followed Erica back out to the car and was buckled back into the embarrassing car seat. “Why do you have two seats in here?” I asked her. “That seat is for my niece and the other one works for her brothers and cousin when needed.” “Oh,” I said. “I never kept more than a booster in my car for mine.” “You have nieces and nephews?” she asked me as she closed the driver’s door and instructed the car to drive us back to campus. “Yeah…” We had a conversation about our families then, and it was nice to connect with this friendly giant on that level. Her size intimidated the hell out of me, but she was quite gentle. The drive back to the university didn’t take that long, so we were soon navigating the buildings, and she led me to where the luncheon was being held. “I’ll come find you in about an hour?” She suggested. “That’s probably long enough?” I suggested. “You could probably come join me as a guest?” She shook her head, “I’m going to head to the bookstore while I’m here for a couple things. I’ll catch you in a bit!” I walked through the enormous doors to enter the banquet hall where the reception was held. I immediately saw Matt. “Hey,” I told him, “You made it here, okay?” “Yeah, they set up this cool autonomous ride-sharing system called Bruber for us while we’re here. You should have it too, but I don’t know what happened to the package you would have had waiting for you in your apartment, along with a university-provided phone?” I was about to ask more about that when the tall Dean from earlier said, “Good afternoon; good to see you made it back here! We’re putting all the faculty up at the head table there, if you want to take a seat?” I looked ahead and was sure if the table hadn’t been on a stage, I’d never have seen it over the tables and people in front of me! I noted two tables with a lectern and a university seal in the middle. Matt and I made our way to the table, and I found myself staring at a chair that was way too tall for my now-shortened frame. “One second, ma’am,” a uniformed staff member said then. I looked up at him and saw him holding a child booster seat that he strapped to the chair. Here, let me give you a hand.” Without warning, he unceremoniously picked me up, sat me on the booster seat, and pushed me towards the table. Matt looked at me with a bit of amusement and concern. “Guess I didn’t think through what it would be like if you shrunk that much,” he said. “The car seat earlier was bad, too,” I told him. “I can’t believe that at my new height of eight feet, I have to sit on a booster!” “I know,” I said to him. Before I could speak more with him, a tall gentleman approached us. “Hi, I’m Ryan Barnes. I’m the university president here…” We spoke for just a couple of minutes as he welcomed us. Someone signaled him, though, and he stepped between the two head tables to the lectern. “Good afternoon! It’s so great to have all of you here! My name is Doctor Ryan Barnes, and I have the pleasure of serving as the President of Emerson University! The university and I are so excited to have you join us on your exchange visits! In total, we have four sets of exchange students from four different dimensions this spring, and we’re excited for you to learn about us and for us to learn more about you all! During your stay, please don’t hesitate to contact my office for assistance if you need it! We want you to be successful and take home your knowledge and new experiences to benefit our societies!” I tuned out a good chunk of the speech beyond waving when I was introduced. I looked at the small sea of students and noted that most seemed to be in that ‘Little’ height. The few taller students mainly looked like the Nest Mothers we’d been introduced to at the Little’s meeting. I was personally astounded by just how large the portions of food were! I ordered the chicken dish and was sure the ‘chicken breast’ they’d placed on my plate was bigger than any turkey breast I’d ever made back home! Dean Northrup ended up beside me, and I asked, “How big are your chickens?” She laughed, “That question often comes up at these first meals with our guests!” Conversations were what I expected at events like this. Similar to any donor luncheons or occasional faculty dinners I was pulled to for the medical school. There was suddenly a disturbance in the room that surprised me. I recognized one of our students, Noah, who seemed to be in the middle of it. “I can’t… I’m full.” “Come on, take a bite for me, sweetie,” a voice said like an impatient parent trying to get their toddler to eat. I saw a Big holding a fork to his mouth. “No, I don’t want to.” “You need to eat your vegetables, hon,” she told him as if he wasn’t even two. I wasn’t sure what happened next, but suddenly an object flew towards us at our table! I recognized a fork and a piece of carrot landing on the ground before us. “Shit, I said leave me alone!” Beside me, I heard, “Miss Anderson, would you mind escorting that young man to my office and waiting for me there? We’ll ensure someone else helps guide your Littles to the next event?” “Certainly, Dean Northrup,” the tall girl said as she suddenly picked up the struggling Noah and threw him over her shoulder. “May I ask what’s to happen with him?” I heard Matt ask. “We’ll apply the code of conduct with him. He may not be remaining here, unfortunately, though.” I felt queasy at the way that was stated, but since chocolate was my weakness, I couldn’t help but eat ten bites of the dessert. I knew I would regret it later! I noted that Dean Northrup and Matt ended up with a different-colored dessert plate than I did. Theirs were larger portions, too, so I put it out of my mind. As everyone broke up the meal, I watched most students get led in lines like young school children out of the room and back, and I assumed their dorms. “Did you get settled at Erica’s?” Matt asked me. I turned to him, “We didn’t have much time for that by the time we made it there. I left my stuff there, used the bathroom, and we had to return.” I paused, “How was the apartment?” “I know they said it’s sized smaller, but I still have to use step stools to reach anything. It’s like being eight or nine years old again,” Matt told me. I thought aloud, “Wonder what age that would make me?” Erica showed up before we could talk more, “All done?” she asked me. “Yes, I guess we should head back to your place so I can see what fits.” “Sounds like a plan,” she told me. “See you sometime soon, Matt!” I told him. “Same!” With that, Erica led me back to her car and helped me get inside it again. “Well, Katie, shall I give you the grand tour, and you can unpack your bags now?” “Great!” I said. “Well, obviously, this is my kitchen, as you saw earlier,” she said, waving her hands around. “I don’t honestly use it all that much. I tend to use my AmeniTea more anymore since it’s just me.” “AmeniTea?” I asked. “Oh, I know you don’t have them back home. It’s basically like a self-contained restaurant. You tell it what you want, and it makes a complete meal from scratch for you in just a short time.” “Really? Just like a few things?” She shrugged, “I’ve yet to think of something it either can’t make or can’t make without a refill of some other ingredient pack.” “Huh, that’s cool,” I said as she pointed to a device high on a counter that I couldn’t see. As she gave me the kitchen tour, I noted that there was a table that my head didn’t even reach the top of. ‘I could stand up underneath it and not hit my head,’ I thought. She showed me the living room with its enormous furniture and a holoscreen she turned on briefly, to my astonishment. I noted there was a playpen folded up in the corner. She noticed my gaze, “I have a couple young nieces and a nephew who I watch during some of my off days,” she smiled. “I’m sure you’ll get to meet them since you’re staying with me!” “That sounds lovely,” I told her. I couldn’t help but note that, just like the infant car seat I’d been strapped inside, that playpen would probably effectively cage me like an infant when it was set up! She showed me a small office she had downstairs and then led me back upstairs while carrying my bags for me. “To the left is my room,” she told me before leading me past a room in the middle of the hallway, just past the bathroom I had used and down to the end. And this will be yours,” she smiled as she opened the door. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like Button and leave me a comment!!! I really appreciate that there was over a full page of comments after the first post! 💜 Things will be pretty uneven on posting dates/times for the next week and a half. I'll be out of the country with no privacy/internet the next week of Christmas. Once that's done with though I should be able to get you to a regular posting schedule! This week you'll get your next post on Wednesday. Not sure if it'll be before I go to work or after. Thanks for all of your support! I really hope you enjoy this tale! 🙂

Chapter 123: No More Malls BETH HAD BEEN eternally grateful for Fred’s timing in getting there. She put the gown on, then realized she was missing something, “Umm… Fred?” She asked when he returned. “Yes, Beth?” “Did you happen to see where the lunatic lady left my pants?” “Damnit!” He said, “I bet that’s what she shoved down that garbage chute!” “So I take it I won’t see those again?” “Doubtful,” I agreed. “Any chance you can find me some underwear?” Beth cringed, “Preferably not the diaper she wanted me to wear?” “Let me make sure you have Nikki back here first.” “Where is she?” “Not sure,” Fred replied. Right then, the Little doctor returned. Beth noted she was probably just a few inches taller than Carly. “Hi, Beth, I guess we can officially meet now? I know your dad?” Beth nodded, “He’s told me about you a few times?” “Definitely rose above the circumstances we first met,” she smiled at Beth. “Now that I’ve taken care of the psycho nurse who wanted to make up rules for you, why are you here?” “I don’t really know what happened, Doctor Nickerson. One minute, I’ve got a knife next to my throat, and I’m convinced I’m going to die, and then the next, I’m being woken up. Everything until I get to this room is really hazy?” There was a knock on the door, then, “Can we come in?” Beth recognized Megan’s voice. “Who are you?” Dr. Nickerson asked. “I’m Megan Lethbridge, Miss Sylvester’s attorney, and Fred’s sister-in-law. We’ve met a couple times?” “Right! Nice to see you again!” she told her. You have attorney-client privilege, so I’m okay with you coming in. Who is this other woman, though?” “Sorry, I’m Nikki Paulson, Beth’s bodyguard?” “Looks like you missed today?” “Well, yes and no,” Nikki said. “Okay, do you two know what happened to my patient?” “Yes,” Nikki said. “Okay, I’ll let you tell me that, then you can wait outside.” “Actually, we need to hold off on Beth hearing Nikki’s side until she’s interviewed by the police. How about we just give you the basics, and then you can go down and check on the other patient you came in for?” Fred said. “Go ahead?” Megan said, “Just a very broad overview? Just what was done to her physically, not any of the facts. I don’t want Detective James claiming we are changing stories here.” “Got it,” Nikki said. “We were cornered in a restroom at the mall by a Tweener gang. Long stories short, Beth had a knife held against her neck that I believe may have left a small nick, the reason for that gauze, and then she was a contact victim of a Pulse Gun that I fired at the hostage taker.” “So she received a full Pulse?” Dr. Nickerson said with a frown. “Not directly, but it was enough to knock her out since the assailant was holding onto her. She was unconscious for about ten minutes.” “Got it, Mrs. Lethbridge; you may stay in here? Fred, you’re also welcome since you have privileges here?” “I think Megan has it in hand, and since Nikki is outside, I’m going to go see if I can scrounge some replacement pants up since our favorite nurse apparently trashed hers.” “Make sure you purchase a new pair,” Dr. Nickerson told Beth, “and then send the receipt. We’ll dock it from her final paycheck.” “Lie back, please, Miss Sylvester.” “Please, just call me Beth?” She asked. “As long as you call me ‘Doc,’ that’s usually what everyone calls me!” “I can see that,” Beth said with a smile. She lay back on the table and waited for the scan to complete. “I’m not seeing anything directly right now; I’m going to send the scan results on to a colleague who deals with more of these effects on adults brought in by the police. I think you’re good to go if he doesn’t see anything. That wound on your neck didn’t pass through the epidermis, so give it a week, and it should be healed. It shouldn’t even scar.” “Thanks,” Beth said. “Whenever Fred reappears with something for you to wear, feel free to change into them. Since you’re conscious and coherent, I don’t foresee any reason to keep you overnight.” She sighed in relief, fearing she’d have more nurses like the first! “Here’s your purse, Beth,” Megan said, handing over the valuable bag. She opened it and found her phone inside. She quickly texted her parents an update and was just going through the bag, hoping she had a spare pair of panties, at least when there was a knock at the door again. Right then, the detective from earlier at the restaurant came inside. GRANDMA SIGHED DEEPLY, “That daughter of mine!” “You think Stacy is responsible?” Doc asked. “I’m sure she is. I’ll have to call her later and figure out what she did and how we can avoid Carly having more problems. I’m guessing the nanites used energy from the body to heal her, which meant taking mass from somewhere.” “That seems like a reasonable hypothesis,” Doc said. “It might be good to have a follow-up appointment sometime next week?” “I’ll see when we can get in; what days are you scheduled?” “Pre-consults mostly Monday through Wednesday. I do surgeries usually on Thursdays and Friday mornings.” “I’ll see if we can’t get her in here on Tuesday; she’s got an empty spot in her schedule since a class got canceled.” “Sounds good,” she said. “I’m going to go check on the results from my other patient; then we’ll get both the girls out of here!” “Thanks, Doc,” Grandma said. We were about to dress me back in the clothes I arrived in when Grandma realized there was a large hole in my sweater, and the jeans were ripped in an embarrassing spot right on my butt too. Fortunately, she had a spare onesie and leggings outfit in her bag that fit! I figured they were about to release me when a knock came on the door, and Detective Paulson arrived with Aunt Megan in tow. “Good afternoon,” he said. “I’m hoping we can get your statement now?” I looked at Aunt Megan, “This works as well as anywhere, Carly. Saves us a trip to the station.” “Okay, where do you want me to start?” “First, I need your name, date of birth, address, and phone number, please?” I gave him the basic details, and he asked, “Where do you think this began?” I sighed, “Beth and I went to a movie last weekend. We were waiting in the bathroom for a changing table when two girls tried to snatch my backpack off Beth’s shoulder. I think they thought it was a purse? A report of that incident has been made,” I said. “They couldn’t get the bag since their knife wouldn’t cut through the straps, so they hightailed it out of there.” “Go on?” “The next day, I was shopping with friends, and we heard one of our friends scream from the direction of the changing rooms she had gone to. As we were running, I noticed movement ahead of us and realized the girl from the day before was carrying a bag that matched my friend’s, who was screaming. I could see the strap was cut, so I decided to stop her.” “The report said you broke the girl’s knee?” “Detective, I hope you are not going to turn this into something we need to stop now?” Aunt Megan said. “No, but you did?” “She claimed her knee was broken?” I shrugged, “She had a friend with her again who she told to get away since she wasn’t going to make it with her. The injured girl was arrested and taken away? Then we shopped in another store or two and got out.” “And today?” “Today, we were having a good time with the girls from my family and Beth, hanging out and shopping? We’d stopped for lunch, but there was a… wardrobe issue for Nikki that she needed to take care of. Nikki, Beth, Shelby, Leelah, and I went to go to the restroom and let her sort it out. There were three stalls, so Nikki, Shelby, and Leelah each took one while Beth changed my diaper.” “You’re a college student, correct? Not an adopted Little?” “Correct?” “But she changes you?” “We have a close relationship,” I told him with a shrug. “Huh,” he jotted a note, “Okay, so what happened next?” “While she was changing me, a couple girls came inside. Neither of us was really paying attention, though. When she had me dressed and set me on the ground, I realized one of them was the purse snatcher’s partner. Right then, I realized the other looked like trouble, too. I also noted a cable running along the doors to block the stalls from opening, meaning Nikki couldn’t help us.” “Then?” “We might have tried running, but two boys came inside and shut the door behind them. We figured out one of them, ‘Tuck,’ was the leader, and the other was just another goon. I tried to stall by talking to them for a few minutes, but then he told them to grab us. At that point, I started ducking and doing my best to stay safe.” “During this ducking, I understand there were some injuries?” “They might have been really clumsy?” I said. “Hmm… One girl has a broken kneecap and dislocated joint; her other knee has a fracture. Her lip is completely ripped open, and she has a bruised trachea. The other girl has what the doctors described as a ‘destroyed’ ankle - doctors are planning an extensive surgery with nanites tonight to try and save it. The shorter male had most of his left ear ripped off, a severe concussion, and a bruised and dislocated kneecap. And finally, the final one just has a mild concussion and after effects from the Pulse Bolt fired at him.” “Detective, are you preparing to charge my client?” BETH WAS GRATEFUL that her questioning with the detective didn’t go on too long. She described a bit of what she saw with the fight but explained that once ‘Tuck’ had grabbed her and held a knife to her throat, everything just kind of became hazy. Detective James was thankfully gentle with questioning her and left sooner than she could have hoped! Fortunately for her, Fred had somehow found a pair of scrub pants in her size. He’d brought a Pull-Up, too, but Beth had been fortunate to find a spare pair of panties in her purse that she kept for just in case she leaked while she was on her period. Grateful she didn’t have to wear infantile padding instead of panties, she quickly pulled on her borrowed scrub pants over them. Fortunately, her shirt was not missing! Nikki knocked and came inside as soon as the detective left, and she waited to be discharged. “How you doing?” She asked her. “I hurt a lot!” Beth told her, “It feels like I just ran three marathons, lifted weights for eight hours, and then let a bulldozer run over me?” Nikki blushed, “Sorry, Beth, I figured you being sore was better than him slitting your throat.” “Do you…” Beth felt her words catch in her throat, “Do you think he…?” “Would have done it?” Nikki asked. Beth nodded. “I would hope not, but I wouldn’t have trusted that. That boy was cornered and very angry. I won’t be surprised to find out he was on some combination of drugs, too.” Beth nodded. “Beth, one thing I spoke with your parents and Doctor Nickerson about is that I want you to schedule some therapy appointments this week.” Beth felt her face move to alarm, “I’m not…” “You’ve just been through a traumatic event, Beth, I’m insisting the same for Carly, too.” Beth sighed, “Fine.” “Now, why don’t you go ahead and actually call and talk to your parents for a bit with an update? That way, they’ll stop blowing up my phone?” Beth felt her stomach twist, “God, they’re going to want me to come home…” “I know… but I will say your dad understands more. Call them,” she said, pushing her phone to her from where she’d sat it down. Beth looked at the phone like a snake for a long moment before pressing ‘Call Home.’ Her parents answered immediately! “Oh my god, Beth, I’m so glad you’re okay!!!!” Her mom was crying. “Me too, Mom,” Beth said. “Won’t you please come home now?” Her mom asked. She sighed, “Mom, what happened today could have happened back home too? It was just a gang?” “But at least we can be there for you here?!?” Her mom said. She saw her dad place a hand on her shoulder, standing on the couch beside her. “Addy, I know I’d feel better with her here too, but she’s right; this could have happened anywhere. Beth, Nikki told me what she knows. Can you tell me what happened?” Beth squirmed and felt practically sick as she told her parents about what happened. She wanted to leave out the knife part, but the gauze that was still on her neck wouldn’t allow that. When she finished, “Look, Mom, things would have been way worse if it wasn’t for Carly?” “Maybe, but it also sounds like she’s the reason for the attack?” Her mom answered back. Her dad shook his head, “Maybe, but I see more and more she’s exactly like her mom. Trouble just kind of follows both of them.” “Then maybe they shouldn’t see…” her mom said. “No!” She and her dad said simultaneously, and she was grateful he was an ally. “Look, Addy, Stacy had a knack for finding trouble, but she also had a knack for getting out of it unscathed, too. She went to the ends of the earth for her adopted sister, friends, and anyone she felt she could help. I can tell Carly is the same way.” He turned back towards Beth, “Look, Beth, we won’t run your life. All we can do is ask that you please be more careful?” “Don’t worry, I’m never stepping into another mall ever again!!!” Beth told him. “Well, we’ll see how long that holds,” her mom gave a nervous laugh. A nurse came in then with a tablet, “Mom, Dad, I think they’re ready to get me checked out of here; I’ll call you again tomorrow sometime.” “Okay, and I think Nikki already told you, but you will be seeing someone to talk about this during the week,” her dad said. “Yes, Daddy,” she said. “Bye.” “It’s always the same with parents, isn’t it?” The nurse told her. “Here, if you’ll go through and sign these forms here, we’ll get you out of here?” Beth took the tablet and followed the instructions as quickly as she could. All she wanted to do was get to Amanda’s, put on some jammies, and cuddle with Carly and Rings! DETECTIVE JAMES LOOKED at Megan intensely for a moment but shook his head. “No, to be honest, right now, I doubt there’s a prosecutor out there who would take the case, even if I thought they should. Carly looks like she couldn’t hurt anyone, but I worry that she seems to be leaving a trail of destruction?” I felt my blood chill, as I worried I was about to be in a lot of trouble in this foreign dimension. ‘Would I be sent to an etiquette school?’ “You really believe she did all of that?” Aunt Megan asked, with a fair amount of skepticism in her voice. “If it hadn’t been for the video I found of the department store, I probably wouldn’t. I would guess Carly was covering for Miss Paulson, but that was more than just a trip in that store.” He turned to me, “Miss Slane, I’m going to be wrapping up this investigation, and no, I won’t be recommending charges for you. As far as my report is concerned, there was a vicious attack by gang members on a harmless group of young ladies.” I felt a grateful sense of relief and only then realized my hands had formed fists that I relaxed. He paused, “They were defended adeptly by Miss Paulson. While she did fire a Pulse Gun in the mall, she did so in defense of life. The only charges being filed will be those against the members that attacked you.” “Thank you, Detective,” Aunt Megan said to him. “However,” he said, bringing back a sense of dread, “I will tell you this as clearly as I can. If I see this trail of broken bodies continue to build, I am going to have to tell the DA to seriously consider if you should be walking freely. I’m not a big fan of etiquette schools and forced adoptions, but that may be something that needs to be considered out there for the sake of society.” “That would not happen without a fight,” Aunt Megan said. “If you’re finished with your questions, this interview is over.” “Very well, have a good afternoon,” he said, closing the door behind him. Aunt Megan turned on the device from the car again for a moment, “Carly, you are going to have to be very careful from here on out… Those were serious enough injuries that I think he might have been able to make a case against you.” “Why do you think he didn’t?” “Nikki… I think he appreciated her saving his butt this morning. If it wasn’t for that, I think we’d have seen a different side of him right now.” “Got it… We’ll start with no more malls!” ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading!!! Please press the Like button and leave me a comment! So I'm going to be up front with you all about the coming chapters—or the soon-to-be-lack of them. My normal writing season usually extends through April, and then I hit June and it slows down. This year I had a lot of real world stuff that hit in April, so my season ended sooner. I may have some energy in the next weekend to get some more writing, maybe a little coming up, but we may be coming to a season break for this work until I can get to the spring again. Your comments seriously help motivate me when I'm not motivated, so please keep them up. I appreciate each of you who press the Like button and leave me a little comment or response, or more crazy ones like some of you do! (Please do watch out for the Amazons you all, because they are watching! You know who you are! 🫣 ) I have two more chapters in the can at this point, I'm hoping I can maybe get to another before I run out, but I do want you to know there will be a season break coming up here unfortunately! That being said, it's my sincerest hope I get this book completed by May this next year no matter what! Thanks again! All of my completed works, are available on Amazon Kindle. If you enjoy it please consider supporting me with a purchase! http://amazon.com/author/babysofia

Chapter 22: I WOKE UP a couple of hours later, finding myself trapped inside the crib. It annoyed me, but after speaking with my local friends, I knew she wasn’t lying about the likelihood of being inspected. I rolled myself upright and realized I was again sucking on a pacifier. Part of me wanted to be annoyed that Erica was pushing the babying card so fast again. Another part of me really felt better, giving the pacifier a suck and squeezing Honey tight as I stood up. I was just getting ready to call for Erica when I felt the first cramp. “Er…” I started to say, but it turned into a grunt as my bowels forced their contents into my diaper. I was no stranger to pooping myself at this point, but it didn’t make it any more pleasant! I felt a mushy mound of poop form at the bottom of my diaper and a sense of relief when my body was finished. A sense of euphoria hung in my mind for a second before I again realized how gross my situation was! “Erica!” I cried out, dropping the pacifier from my mouth as I did so. I heard rapid footsteps coming up the staircase and to my room. “What’s wrong, Katie?” She asked worriedly. “I…” started to say, even as Erica’s nose visibly twitched. “Made boom booms in your diapee?” “Do you have to say it like that?” I asked as she carried me over to the changing table. “Any time I clean up a poopy wittle girl, I reserve the right,” she cooed at me. “And she’s so cranky when she’s poopy too!” “Just change me, please?” I cried. “Yes, Your Highness,” she said with a smile. “Why don’t you suck on this, though, while I do this.” She produced yet another pacifier and stuck it inside my mouth, which instinctively began sucking again. ‘I thought the hypnosis was gone?’ I worried even as I felt soothed by the action. Erica smiled at me and quickly completed the change. “Now, I think you being back home is worth celebrating, so I want to go out for dinner tonight, just the two of us!” She smiled. “Let’s find you the perfect dress!” The agreement had no control over clothes, so I was unsurprised at the dress style she pulled out for me. The dress was what I considered to be a hybrid of a dress and a onesie, with a baby pink velour top, an attached skirt with a white pink and white plaid tartan style, and then the top continued through the bottom to an attached onesie to ‘hide’ my diaper. Erica had found a pair of white tights that she pulled up and put underneath the onesie flap to help hold them in place. A matching stretchy headband with a bow was pulled over my head, with my hair hanging loosely beneath it. It was still pretty cold outside, as it was winter, so I was relieved to get a coat. However, I blushed at the dress coat that matched. It was as long as the skirt, but the onesie flap could be seen no matter how I sat. The dress coat featured three large buttons, two bows on either side before it belled out, and white furry fabric on the ends of the sleeves and around the neck. Looking at myself in the mirror, I was shocked at my appearance and felt the pacifier drop from my mouth. “You look adorable!” She told me, catching the dropped pacifier before squeezing me tightly against her. “I need to get dressed to match; you play here for a few minutes, but don’t get dirty, please!” “How would I…?” I asked as she pushed the pacifier into my mouth and left my room for her room, leaving me on the floor. I found myself drawn to stare at my reflection some more then. ‘If I had shorter hair and a bit puffier cheeks, no one would believe I wasn’t a baby,’ I noted. I turned from my reflection and saw that Honey was still caged in my crib, but another fluffy stuffie was sitting beside the toybox. It was new, as I didn’t remember it before, but I found the purple stuffed elephant adorable. It was nearly half my size, so I appeared even younger as I hugged it and looked in the mirror. I rubbed my hands through the fur, which was so soft that I wanted to cuddle with it all night. I walked around for a few minutes to see that there had been a few other changes in my absence. I mainly noted that the toddler bed was gone for the first time. I had been distracted at first, and a part of me was annoyed by it, even as I knew I had no desire to sleep on the uncomfortable mattress ever again! I noticed then that in its place was now a massive dollhouse that towered over me. I was about to curiously explore it when Erica returned. “Did you find a new friend?” She asked me with a smile. I pulled the pacifier from my mouth and sat it beside me as I blushed, “Maybe she’s really soft.” “I…” she started, “I saw her in the store yesterday evening and thought you might like her. Do you want her for the ride to the restaurant?” I thought for a second, squeezing the large stuffed animal, “she’s kind of big?” She smiled, “I guess she is. Do you want another of your friends to go with you instead?” I nodded, “Honey?” “Are you sure you want to risk losing her?” She asked nervously. “You won’t let that happen,” I told her. After a last hug, I sat down and put my new stuffie back where I found her. I then held my arms to Erica to indicate I wanted to be picked up. She looked surprised but quickly settled me on her hip as I noticed her dress fabric was the same design as the skirt on mine. “Mother-daughter dresses?” I asked. She blushed, “Yes? Do you mind?” “It’s fine, don’t forget Honey!” I ordered. “Course not!” She said, squeezing me, leaning into the crib to hand her to me, and then carrying me out to the car with a diaper bag over her shoulder. “Where are we eating?” I asked. “Fiona’s,” she told me. “What kind of food do they have?” “Pasta,” she told me. “It’s one of my favorite places, but I haven’t been there in a while.” She sat me in the car seat, strapped me in, and then produced a baby bottle of juice that she handed me. “You probably are a bit thirsty after your nap?” she said. I shrugged, “A little?” “Well, there’s some juicy to get you through until dinner. It’s a bit of a drive to get to this place,” she told me. “‘Kay,” I told her. As she went around to the driver’s side, I stared at the nipple for a moment, wondering if I shouldn’t be fighting all of this more. Still, Holly certainly seemed happy enough with her life. I stuck the nipple into my mouth and noted it felt so good to be nursing juice from one again. ‘Why fight it?’ a voice inside my head asked. I vaguely remembered the stories my mother used to tell about me not letting go of my baby bottles until I was nearly three. A part of me wondered if that attachment was surfacing again. I didn’t drink all of the bottle before pulling it away from my mouth. As we slowed to a stop, Erica came around to my side. She smiled, “I have the most adorable dinner partner ever!” “You’re embarrassing me,” I complained while squeezing Honey with the hand that wasn’t holding my bottle. She laughed, “Okay, I’ll stop.” She unbuckled the straps and said, “Let’s leave Honey here.” She picked me up and replaced me with her in the seat before placing me on her hip. She managed to grab the diaper bag over her other shoulder, and as we walked in, I realized I still held the half-drank bottle of juice. She carried me up to the hostess station, “Two? One high chair, please?” The hostess looked up at me, and something about their eyes told me it was again a hologram. “Certainly! It’ll be about ten to fifteen minutes?” “That’s great!” Erica said, then moved over to the side and sat on a bench with me perched on her knee. “Oh my god, that is the most precious dress!” A woman with a daughter who was probably in elementary school cooed. “Where did you get that?” “Kelly and Killian’s,” Erica told her. “Did they sell the matching mother dress, too?” the woman asked, standing up to take a look. “They did! I couldn’t resist when I saw them,” Erica admitted. “Aren’t you the most precious baby girl ever?” The woman started cooing and looked like she was about to start trying to touch me. Not having any other defenses, I looked at the bottle and stuck it into my mouth before turning my head into Erica, the clearest sign that a baby was seeking comfort I could think of. “Shy, huh?” “Yes, she is,” Erica agreed, squeezing me tighter. Fortunately, we heard, “Bob? Party of four?” And she waved bye to me and left. “She was kind of pushy, wasn’t she?” Erica said lightly to me. I nodded, still drinking more juice. By the time we were called, a teenager, a grandmother, and a five-year-old had to admire my outfit, too. The attention made me feel good about looking cute but horrible in how I looked! We were led to a small table where a chair sat opposite a highchair pulled up to the table. “Do you mind if I pull the highchair to this side?” Erica asked, setting me down for a second. “That’s fine; I’d do the same thing,” our moderate-height waitress said. “Let me move it for you, though,” she told her. Erica picked me back up and threaded my legs through the holes in the highchair before helping me to take the coat off. “I love your matching dresses,” the waitress said, watching us. “Thank you,” Erica said. “No thank you from you?” The waitress asked me. “Thank you,” I told her, sticking the bottle back into my mouth. “Shy or misbehaved?” The waitress asked Erica. “Definitely shy,” Erica smiled. “Takes a while to warm up to strangers!” “Well, here is your menu,” she told her. “The child’s menu is at the bottom.” “Thank you,” Erica told her, even as I blushed about the child’s menu comment. I set the bottle on the table in front of me, about a quarter of it remained filled with juice, and looked expectantly at Erica. Her eyes turned to me, “You can have spaghetti and meatballs, ravioli, an alfredo pasta, or mac and cheese?” “Mac and cheese?” I said. “Really?” She asked, surprised. I nodded, “I like mac and cheese?” “Fair enough,” she responded. A few moments later, the waitress returned, “What can I get you ladies tonight?” “I’ll take the chicken marsala,” Erica told her. “And for the baby girl?” she said, nodding toward me but not acknowledging me as an adult who could answer. It was infuriating to me, but it was another reason I knew Erica was safer than any alternative right then. “Mac and cheese, please?” “Normal?” “Normal for kids,” Erica told her. “No Little additions, please.” “Very good. I’ll be back in a bit. Do you need something else to fill her bottle with?” “I have another bottle for her in her diaper bag,” she assured her, and we watched her depart. “Speaking of the diaper bag,” she said, reaching into my diaper area and squeezing, “You should be good through din-din.” She dug into the diaper bag and produced a large bib that completely covered my chest, down to the bottom of the highchair, and over my shoulders with a ruffled fabric that only emphasized the infantile girliness of my outfit. Then she just started talking to me. She actually talked with me about her life and asked me questions about my own. At that point, we’d been together for a couple of weeks, and it was the most honest conversation I’d had with her where I didn’t feel like there was an ulterior motive. That made it a bit more jarring when our food arrived. She dug out a plastic spork baby spoon and began feeding me my mac and cheese bite by bite! “I can do it,” I tried whining. “I know you can, but Mommy wants to feel wanted,” she told me. “Please?” she added. I sighed and opened my mouth. Our waitress came midway through the meal to check on us, “What a good eater your baby girl is!” “I know, right?” Erica said. “My baby girl would throw a tantrum if I did that in a restaurant,” the waitress said as Erica pushed another spoonful of cheesy noodles into my mouth. “How old is she?” “Twenty-eight,” she replied. My mind instantly made that twenty-eight months, but the gut feeling it was years suddenly was confirmed, “My Little never behaves well enough to come here,” she added. “I keep hoping someday she’ll learn to behave.” My gut twisted as Erica said, “I’m sure it’ll happen someday; just be patient.” “I’ll leave you to your meal,” she said. “Good girl,” Erica cooed at me as she left. “I know that can’t be easy to be talked about like that…” With that, when I wasn’t opening my mouth or chewing, she had me answer questions and talk again. It was embarrassing to be taken down to the level of using diapers and bibs and seen as a baby. Still, I felt genuinely happy that Erica treated me so ‘big’ besides those things that night! “One more bite!” Erica said after she had finished her dish. “I’m full…” I said. “Come on, just one more!” She smiled. I reluctantly opened my mouth and allowed the noodles and cheese that had cooled considerably to enter my mouth. “Good girl! You made that all go away!” She dug into the diaper bag for a baby wipe. Then she wiped my face clear of the cheese from when she had intentionally missed my mouth with a twinkle in her eyes a couple of times. I was glad to be free of the crusty drying goop, even as she finished with my hands and set the baby wipe on the dish. She pulled the bib off me, unbuckled me, and moved me to her lap to hold while we waited for the check. When our waitress returned with a device to scan her payment chip, she asked, “Not going to nurse her here for dessert?” Erica laughed, “I think her Little tummy is a bit too full right now. If I don’t want to wear her dinner and milkies, we’ll have to let it settle for a while longer.” The waitress laughed, “Well, I’ve been there before, probably smart. Anything else I can get for you two?” “No, thanks!” Erica said, standing up with me on her hip. She handed me the second baby bottle of juice I’d drank about half, “Carry that, please?” I nodded and watched her gather my diaper bag and my coat. I thought we’d be going out to the car. Instead, we went to the restroom, and I sat still in the stall with her as she went pee first, then led me to the changing table she pulled down from the wall. I watched from the ground as she set the diaper bag on an attached hook, pulled out a changing pad, and then picked me up to set me down on the table. She pushed me on my back even as another woman came in carrying a shouting toddler. “No diapee!!!” The preschool-age boy was shouting even though Erica had unsnapped my onesie bottom. She was pulling my tights down to my ankles when his mother calmly said, “Windel, I don’t have any more big boy underwear for you. All I have is your baby sister’s diapees, so I guess you’ll just have to wear that.” “No diapee!” I turned my head, looked at the genuine child, and felt bad for him even as professionally; I knew setbacks like this could happen to a child. “When you’re a big boy and get your poopies in the potty, there are no diapees,” the mother said to him, kneeling in front of him and holding him gently at arm’s length. “Did you get your poopy in the potty?” He shook his head, “No.” “Where did you go poopy?” “In my undies…” “Do big boys do that?” “No,” he said, even as Erica pulled my legs in the air and lifted the wet diaper out. “Who does that?” She asked. “Babies…” he said. “You’re right! Now, if you can keep your baby diapee clean and dry until bedtime, I’ll let you wear undies again tomorrow after we take your night-night diapee off.” “Pwomise?” he asked. “Promise,” the woman told him and hugged him. Erica quickly finished and sat me up after readjusting my tights and onesie and then putting everything away. “Sorry for the wait,” she told the mother. “Oh, no worries; unfortunately, we’re used to waiting for changing tables for my baby boy here!” “Not a baby,” the boy sniveled around his thumb. “Potty training certainly isn’t easy,” Erica offered. “Looks like you’ve given up?” “Oh, she’s just a Little; why would we even try at this point?” Erica squeezed me tighter to reassure me I hoped she didn’t mean that, even if there was truth to the lost cause implication. “We all have our burdens,” the woman said. “We gave up on his baby sister, too. We tried potty training her again when we did him, but she just couldn’t get the hang of it! It’s okay; her daycare doesn’t mind baby Tweeners.” Erica picked me up and vacated the changing table. As we washed our hands, I saw her lift him onto the table that he barely fit onto. I was grateful when she seemed to want to flee the room as much as I did! I was quiet on the way back to her house, finishing up the rest of the bottle by the end of the trip, and Erica noted as we entered, “Looks like it’s about your bathtime, Sweetie.” I looked at her, “Bubbles?” “Bubbles,” she agreed, “and I have some other surprises for you too!” She left me in my room momentarily while she went and changed out of her dress and into a robe to protect the dress. I was nervous about what surprises she meant. Still, that night, I was pleasantly surprised that they were essentially mini bath bombs that colored the water and added glitter. While it wasn’t the first time Erica had washed me, it was the first time I’d been ‘myself’ fully, so it was a bit awkward. She pulled out some floating water toys and got me to play with them before soaping my hair with baby shampoo. “Would you be okay with a haircut?” She asked me. I tensed up, “Maybe?” “Just turn this into a cute bob?” she suggested. “Or maybe not that short; pigtails are fun to braid,” she sighed. “I could go a bit shorter,” I told her, “But not too short, please?” She smiled, “No worries, I don’t have any desire to see you with just the whisp of hair of an infant!” I shuddered, “That wouldn’t be good,” I told her. Erica used a bucket meant to rinse out children’s hair on me a couple of times to clear the shampoo before moving on to scrubbing my body down with a soft cloth and bath gel. She seemingly hit every possible spot on my body, from my arms to my intimate areas! I blushed still as she washed my personal spots, but I knew the agreement I had made with the devil meant this would be my life now for the rest of the semester. “Let’s get you out before you turn into a prune!” she told me, draining the tub. She wrapped me in a miniature purple bathrobe she’d bought in that spending spree before diapering me in a thick overnight diaper. “Let’s dry your hair,” she told me next, carrying me to the bathroom where she used my hairdryer that had come on the trip and connected to her power with an adapter. It looked tiny in her hands but was far more comfortable than the jet engine she used! I sat still, and truth be told, I enjoyed it as she worked a tangle comb through my hair and dried it thoroughly before braiding it into a pair of loose pigtail braids that she tied off with rubber bands. “Just about ready for bed, huh?” she said. I nodded, acknowledging that my eyes were closing on their own. The fatigue and stress clearly catching up with me! “Let’s get your night-night nummies!” she told me with a smile as she sat me down in the rocking chair on my own for a second. She pulled my robe off and laid it next to the changing table, leaving me naked. I shivered in the cold, then, “Brr…” “Just a second,” she reassured me as she sat down with me in the chair and shrugged her robe out of the way. “I love having skin-to-skin with you,” she told me. I blushed but chose not to respond. Clad only in my diaper and Erica in her panties, she pulled my face to her breast, and I didn’t hesitate to begin our new routine. Suck the nipple, swallow the milk, knead the breast, suck the nipple… She sang a lullaby as I nursed, and I was soon in a deep sleep. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like Button and Leave a comment! I really enjoy seeing you all try to guess where my brain is going next in the story! I'll post the next chapter on Friday!

Chapter 16: I WAS DISORIENTED as I sat up on a foam surface. I rubbed my eyes and realized then that I was on a portable nap mat that I knew was used in daycares back home. I rolled up to a sitting position and took note of a few things. One, I was sucking on a pacifier again, and I felt no desire to pull it from my mouth, so I left it alone. Two, looking down at my diaper, only covered by the onesie, I could see it had ballooned with pee, and I had a very wet diapee right then. That also did not bother me. I looked up around the area of the room and noted only one other Little boy was still sleeping, and he was sucking on his thumb instead of a pacifier. I stood up and stretched, being noticed by Miss C then. She came over to me and wasted no time picking me up, “Looks like you had a good nap, Miss Katie!” I smiled around the pacifier and nodded, “Was nice,” I agreed. She patted my bottom and carried me to a changing table, “Let’s get you in a dry diapee, then you can play with the other kids some more!” ’Other kids?’ I thought. ‘Something isn’t right!’ “What’s with that serious face?” she asked me while lying on my back. She placed the strap across me, then suddenly started tickling me! “Staaahp!” I giggled and cried out even as I lost my pacifier from my mouth. “There we go, there’s that happy girl!” She smiled before kissing my forehead. It’s a good thing we put your paci on a strap. Do you want it back?” She held it up to my face, and I just opened my mouth in response. I gave it a couple of suckles and smiled, happy it was back in my mouth. “Thanks,” I said around it. She smiled, then popped the bottom of my onesie open and quickly changed the wet diaper. When she was done, she found my leggings and pulled them back up my legs. “Miss Mindy?” She said, carrying me over to another woman. “Yes, Miss C?” “You wanted to see Miss Katie here when she woke up?” “Thanks, I did!” The new woman I hadn’t seen yet, but she was dressed in a set of clothes that reminded me of a child therapist friend of mine. “I’m Miss Mindy, and I hear you’re Doctor Catherine?” A switch in my brain tried to toggle, but all it accomplished was me saying, “Nice to meet you, call me Katie!” Or at least that’s what I hoped she interpreted around the pacifier, which suddenly felt more awkward. I pushed it out of my mouth and let it hang by the strap. “That’s a good sign,” Miss Mindy told Miss C. “I’m going to take her down to my office, Doctor Nickerson is also supposed to come by to see me. If Doctor Daniels comes by, please let us know, and we’ll get her back over here through the back.” “Is this a good idea?” Miss C asked her. “It’s the right idea; I, for one, don’t particularly want to deal with the paperwork fiasco this is going to create one way or another. Doc wants us to try, so we’ll at least assess where she’s at.” “Assess?” I asked.” Miss Mindy set me on the ground and held a hand down to me, “Come on, let’s go for a little walk here!” I took her hand and followed her down some corridors of the daycare, out to the hospital, and down to a wing that was clearly a pediatric ward. She led me to a playroom, unclipped the pacifier from my shirt, and said, “Okay, Doctor Benson, you have some people who are worried about you, so they’ve asked me to test where you’re at with some things.” “Why?” “Well, did you used to have potty accidents?” I thought back; the memory was hazy, but I shook my head, “No, back home, I haven’t since I was little.” She looked at a tablet, “So, isn’t it a bit strange you’re back to diapers now?” I shrugged, “I kept having accidents?” “When did they start?” She asked me. I had to really struggle to think, “The first day?” “Do you know why?” I shrugged, “One of the others who came with me on the exchange said the dessert was poisoned.” Miss Mindy nodded, “That could be. Then what?” I blushed, “I don’t know? That same little mentioned milk might be a problem. Erica has some really good milk that’s unlike anything back home!” “Oh? And how do you drink that milk?” “From cups!” I thought harder and blushed, “Well... I guess you could call them baby bottles… but she calls them cups to make me feel better!” “And why should that matter?” I shrugged, “I don’t know. Doc McSweetie says babas help you feel better. Milky babas are the best!” A part of me noticed she winced but continued, “Okay, Katie, I have a short ten-question test here. Would you please answer these questions for me?” “Sure!” I looked at the screen and noticed the type looked odd. For some reason, my eyes took a moment to focus properly on the words. The first question looked very familiar from med school years ago, ‘A 3-year-old presents with fever, irritability, and a rash. What questions would you ask to narrow down the cause?’ I thought for a moment before selecting a multiple-choice answer that suggested following up with additional questions about timing and other symptoms to isolate whether it was possibly Measles, roseola, or scarlet fever. ‘Do they even have any of those now?’ I wondered. The next question asked, ‘How would you differentiate between viral and bacterial causes of fever in a 6-year-old?’ I selected a response related to the lab work and the standard viral timing of three to five days. Several other questions made me feel like I was back in med school… but also made me feel like things were more ‘grown-up’ as I went. I got to one question: How do you isolate dehydration in a toddler as the likely cause? This one didn’t have multiple-choice answers, and my brain went off into left field as I scrawled an answer on the tablet: ‘Ask the mother when the last time they had their baba! If they aren’t drinking them still, they should go back to them! Or… better yet, Doc McSweetie believes that breastfeeding is the best answer no matter the baby’s age!’ I gave a very detailed answer on the usefulness of pacifiers to another question after that. I pressed done and looked up at Miss Mindy. “How did I do?” She looked at her tablet, and I noted a look of sadness, “You did great, Doctor Benson!” “What now?” “I want to perform a coordination test. We’re going to need you to stand on this mat,” she told me. I noted that the mat reminded me of an infant playmat crossed with a dance video game I’d once seen in an old movie. “Just watch the screen, and I want you to move your feet to each of the squares when they’re shown. We’re going to start with arrows here.” I noted that the mat suddenly showed up/down and side-to-side arrows. A holo screen like the one I watched Doc on shone in the air then, and I tried to follow the directions. Unfortunately, I was really bad at it! I fell four times before she pulled it back to a side-to-side only mode, and I got sixty percent of the targets. I was then given a game of matching the colors and did marginally better. Just as I finished that one, I heard a door open and saw Doctor Nickerson. “Hi, Doc!!!” I said. “Miss Mindy has great games!” I paused, “They’re really hard, though,” I told her while feeling the urge to put my thumb in my mouth that I fought. “She does, doesn’t she?” Doc said to me. She looked up at Miss Mindy, “Can you leave for just a second, and then we’ll need to get her back to the daycare?” “No problem, Holly.” “Come sit down over here,” Doc said, leading me to sit across from her at a short table meant for toddlers. “It’s nice to see you… You’re mad at Erica?” I asked. She nodded, “Yeah, I am, Doctor Benson. You worked very hard to get your medical school degree, and I feel like she’s robbing you of everything you are. From what I see, you’re at the tipping point. Any further towards regressing, and I just don’t see how you go back to being yourself. I spoke with Emerson, and they’ve essentially already listed Doctor Daniels as your host and guardian until you go home. As far as they’re concerned, she can do whatever she wants with you.” “Whatever she wants?” I asked, “What does she want?” Holly sighed, “You, as her baby girl.” “Huh? I’m an adult… a colleague…?” Holly shook her head, “Not right now, you aren’t. Those questions were ones I gave Doctor Fairbanks to give to you since I knew they would still be used back home. You did the first half just fine, but the back half set off the hypnosis you’ve been given, and you’re only giving gibberish answers in response?” “But…” I felt my brain lock again. “I don’t have much time, Doctor Benson, so I’m going to ask you: Do you want me to at least give you a quick treatment to try and help?” Before I could give my response, there was a ding. “Ugh!” Holly complained. “I was hoping to have a few more minutes. We’ll get her back there.” She looked at me. “Think about whether you want our help tomorrow. And please don’t watch any more Doc McSweetie before you do.” “But she’s the best!!!” She sighed as Miss Mindy came in, picked me up, clipped my pacifier back to my outfit, and started carrying me back to the daycare. Midway back, I felt nervous, so I reached down to the paci and put it in my mouth, instantly feeling better! ’No more Doc McSweetie?!?’ I thought worriedly. ‘Maybe Doc Nickerson is jealous?’ I wondered. As soon as I was carried back into the toddler room, Miss C took me from Miss Mindy. “I think she needs a new diaper before her mom picks her up,” she told her seriously. I felt her poke at my diaper, and she nodded, “Yep! Just a little pee machine!” It didn’t feel wet at all as she changed me to a dry diapee, but Doc McSweetie said you should let the grown-ups handle that one. ’Aren’t I a grown-up?’ I wondered, even as I looked up at Miss C’s intimidating size and internally said, ‘No.’ I was carried out to the front, where Erica was waiting while holding the diaper bag. I noted something was off in her body language. “There she is!!!” She cooed at me with a giant smile. “Did you have fun today?” I shrugged, “I guess?” “What did you do today?” She asked me. I shrugged again, “Played?” Erica seemed to look at Miss C then, “How was she?” “Oh, she’s a perfect angel! She played dollies with new friends, had lunch, played some other games, and then got a fresh diapee, so she’d be ready to go home with you!” “Thanks for that; I know we sprung this on you at the last minute!” “No problem. Will we have Katie again tomorrow?” “At least then… We’ll see what we decide to do after that.” “Sounds good!” Miss C said, “Bye-bye,” she waved at me and spoke to me like I was a toddler. I waved back at her as Erica placed me on her hip and carried me to her car. As soon as I was strapped in, she started the drive home, and I heard her begin speaking over the phone to someone I couldn’t hear. “Hi, Mom. Are you still coming over?” I didn’t hear a response, “Great! I really need to talk to you. Today was a rough day… I may have a couple of really big decisions to make here.” When it sounded like she had hung up, I asked, “What happened?” A screen had been added in front of my seat so I could see her. She looked at me through it and said, “Well, first, you couldn’t stay with me today?” I nodded, “I missed doing rounds with you.” “Aww… That does not help at all,” Erica sighed. “Well, then, a couple of other things happened. It just wasn’t a great day at work. My mom is coming to dinner tonight, though, and hopefully, she’ll help out.” “What’s for dinner?” I asked. “Good question…” she said. “Grilled cheese and soup?” I smiled, “That’s a good meal for a bad day!” “Yes, it is,” she agreed. “So, who were your new friends?” She asked me. “Oh, that was…” She soon heard about my morning of play, but we made it home before I could talk about the afternoon. Even before I thought about it, I didn’t believe sharing about Miss Mindy and Doc Nickerson talking to me was a good idea. Many ‘wrong’ things seemed to be happening, and some part of me worried Erica was the culprit. ’It can’t be her, though; she’s perfect! She’s done so much for me and never even once complained!’ She set me down to play in my room when we arrived home. When I heard the front door open, I sat with some of the blocks, putting together a house for a moment. I was curious to see who it was, but a baby gate blocked me from going down the stairs. ‘That wasn’t there before?’ I thought to myself, even as I saw absolutely no way over it! I could hear Erica’s mom’s voice and hers though. “So what happened today?” Erica’s mom asked. I heard Erica nearly scream, “I got chewed out and threatened with being fired!” “About?” “About Katie!” “Why?” “Today, during our rounds, Katie was… well… very regressed.” ’Regressed?’ I thought to myself. ‘I haven’t…’ I physically hit my head against the wall, ‘Of course you’ve regressed! What adult poops their pants? Needs a pacifier? Drinks from a baba, or needs fed?!?’ “What business is that of theirs?” “Normally, it’s not… but since Katie is sort of my tenant and I’m supposed to be taking care of her for Emerson, it’s more complicated than that.” “So… Are you going to adopt her?” ’Adopt? That’s the second time I’ve heard that today! I can’t be adopted…’ I managed to think back to a couple faculty meetings we’d had before coming on the trip. The one thing I remembered was a brief discussion that if our students were adopted, they wouldn’t be returning with us. ‘I didn’t think that could happen to us? I thought we were protected!’ I was interrupted from thinking more about that by more conversation. Erica sighed, “I didn’t plan to?” “But…?” “Mom… this is the first time I’ve ever actually felt something like this. And she’s done it all to herself for the most part!” ’For the most part…?’ “How?” “Doc McSweetie…” “Didn’t you take her to the movie?” “I shouldn’t have… I didn’t realize how much more amped up…” Their voices disappeared then, and I really wanted to know more! Even more so, though, I really wanted more Doc McSweetie episodes!!! ‘I bet Doc knows an answer to help us both!’ Since I couldn’t hear them anymore, I returned to my room and resumed building my little house. Footsteps came near, and I saw Erica’s mom at the door. “Well, hello there, Katie!” She said with a smile while approaching me. “Hi,” I said to her. “Your… Erica asked me to come up and check on you and see if you’re ready for dinner?” I nodded, “Sure!” I stood up, and she quickly closed the gap to pick me up and hugged me. Her hug felt nice! However, her hand snaked to my leggings and squeezed the front of my diaper. “Let’s get you a fresh pair of pants before you go down, though!” I looked confused at my leggings but quickly learned she meant my diaper! She strapped me down on the table like the daycare workers, quickly pulled my leggings off, unsnapped the onesie, and surprised me by removing that, too! Without warning, she blew a raspberry on my tummy!!!!! “That tickles!” I said. “Aww,” she said with a smile. “I guess I’ll stop. You look so serious tonight for some reason, probably cause your… Erica is worried. I bet I know what will help!” I looked at her cluelessly as she grabbed each of my feet with a hand and started singing, “Lift one foot and then the other, Lift one foot and then the other Lift one foot and then the other Lift them both together.” With each motion, she moved my foot as she sang it through twice before lightly tickling me; again, I giggled helplessly! “That should have all the grumpies out of you!” As she undid the diaper tapes, she said, “And, hopefully, all the pee-pees too!” I made a face at that, but she didn’t notice as she wiped me up and put a new diapee on me. “Now, how about you wear a new outfit I brought just for you?!?” “Just for me?” I asked. “Yep!” she said and held up a dress in front of me. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like Button and Leave me a comment! Lots going on in this chapter and the next couple. I'm looking forward to seeing what you all think!

Chapter 5: I FELT A large hand rubbing my shoulder and groaned before being startled. I sat up suddenly and looked into a giant face! “Sorry, sweetie. I didn’t mean to scare you!” A face that I suddenly remembered as Erica slowly came into my brain. “No problem, sorry if I wasn’t waking up easily!” “It’s no worry!” She smiled, “I know you have some testing with your students you’re supposed to be at today, and then I think you said some advisory meetings as well?” “That’s the plan,” I replied. “Well, let’s give you a chance to shower, and I’ll have breakfast for you afterward.” “Thanks,” I said. “First…” she said hesitantly. “Yes?” I asked. “How did that…” She sighed, “How did that protection fair overnight?” A mortified thought came into my head that I had somehow been wet and had not known. However, I embarrassingly sat still as she guided the shirt up, and we could see the wetness indicator was dry. “Good for you,” she told me. “Hopefully, you have adjusted to whatever hit your system. I will leave you one of those sweater dress and legging sets with one of your Pull-Ups on the counter in your bathroom.” I blushed, “That hopefully will hide things…” “All your students will most likely be in them or diapers today; I wouldn’t worry about it!” “All of them…?” I asked nervously. “Well, the ones that are Littles will be. Would you want to take a risk on those demerits if you were them? Seriously, wearing a diaper would be the smartest thing a Little can do. If you have an accident with one on, it’s not a big deal since it’s expected when you wear them.” “And in your regular panties?” I asked nervously. She was a few steps away from me gathering things but turned toward me, “You saw some things last night, I think, so I’ll just be honest. Littles that can’t keep their pants clean don’t usually last long on their own. They’re usually adopted.” With that, she walked out, and I went to the bathroom behind her. Walking, I tried not to think about my problems the day before and that I was very much a Little! I thought she was just going to leave, but she leaned down, “These tapes should be doable to remove by your hands, but just to be safe, I’m going to pull it off for you.” She said as she pulled my sleep shirt up without warning to expose the diaper. Once she had it in her hand, she let the shirt drop, giving me my modesty, even as I watched her give the diaper a once over. “There is a little bit of brown here, but I think you’ll be safe with a Pull-Up today. Ensure you wash well in the shower, then wipe well after you go to the potty!” She made a quick adjustment to the shower controls and walked out. “This is crazy…” I breathed. I HAD HURRIEDLY washed and reluctantly dressed in the provided outfit. I was relieved that there weren’t outward signs of my padding even as I tried to work out the adoption comment. I didn’t have much time for that before we were out the door and back to the campus. Erica showed me the way to the lecture hall, where our exchange students were scheduled for placement tests. I was impressed with the tablets they used for the test, even as we quickly felt like spare parts watching the tests get taken. Midway through the test, I needed to use the restroom and found my way to one. It took me a while to figure out that there was only one stall with a stepstool to get to the giant potty. As I washed my hands, I blushed as a young undergraduate student suddenly checked my Pull-Up to ensure I was dry! “I’m a professor,” I told her, “please don’t just grab at other people’s pants!” She looked dubiously at me but said, “Sorry, professor.” With that, I returned to the test and found a package had been dropped off while I was there. These were the items I should have received in my apartment. A badge for the university and hospital, a local phone device, a tablet, and instructions on how to use my phone to access money were all inside. An apology note about the accommodations was inside, and information that they would give Erica the rent payments as long as I stayed there. ‘Not sure how long she’ll want a needy houseguest,’ I thought. I immediately clipped the badge to my sweater, hoping it would prevent grabby students the rest of the day! Matt and I ate lunch with one of the professors we’d been proctoring with before taking turns sitting in on our students scheduling meetings. By the time we wrapped up for the day, I was already feeling exhausted! The thirty-two-hour day this world had wasn’t helping things. Erica had shared her contact information with me before she dropped me off so I could call her. She was still doing rounds but mentioned I should have those Bruber services Matt was using. I triple-checked the device and saw that was the case! When the automated vehicle pulled up, I interacted with a tall male who buckled me into a forward-facing car seat that instantly appeared in the car. It was embarrassing, but something about him felt... inhuman? I discovered he had been a hologram when I was inside and searched the tablet for more information! I’d been fortunate that Erica did something where a simple scan of my face allowed me to enter her front door, which automatically opened. I’d been terrified of trying to reach the door handle alone! I’d used the bathroom again upstairs and was getting a chance to study some local information on my tablet on the couch downstairs when I heard the garage door open. Erica came in a moment later and smiled at me sitting on the couch. “How was your day, Katie?” She asked me. I shrugged, “Mostly okay. It’s definitely a weird world here. I didn’t realize holograms were so common here that they’d be driving the self-driving cars!” Erica laughed, “They are involved in just about everything now, hotel staff, daycare workers, cashiers, and more.” “That’s crazy…” I told her. “You are probably hungry by now?” She asked. I nodded, “Yeah, I could eat?” “How about we go out tonight?” “Out?” I thought nervously. “Sure, I know of a good place, and from what I know, they’ll treat you well?” “Let’s go try it, but now that I have access to my account, I’m paying?” I said. “Fair enough,” she agreed. “I’m going to change out of my scrubs; you might want to hit the restroom before we go; it’s on the other side of town.” I blushed at being told to ensure I was good and used the potty like a little girl, but nodded, “Okay.” A while later, I was buckled in the car seat for what ended up being close to a forty-minute ride. The restaurant, though, was quite normal. Instead of a humiliating booster seat or high chair, they had some adjustable booths, and my side was quickly raised with a press of a setting to get me higher to the table. A set of steps even let me independently climb up without an embarrassing lift from a bigger person! I ordered a fancy version of mac and cheese with multiple cheeses, chicken, and crumbled bread crumbs on top. It was pretty tasty, even if the plate was more food than I could eat! Just after I had paid the check, I said, “I’m going to hit the restroom before we leave?” “Sounds like a good idea, Katie, I’ll go with you.” I walked beside her to the restroom and was just finishing wiping when I heard a scream, “Let me go!!!” “But sweetie, you have pee-pee pants. I just need to help you clean up, and then we can go home.” “You know it’s not pee; it’s the juice you flung on me! I’m an adult!” “You were an adult,” the woman laughed. I felt my blood turn cold then as I opened the door and saw a woman just about my height being hoisted onto a baby changing table. Her pants were clearly soaked, but I guessed she was telling the truth because the stain didn’t quite look right to be pee in my experiences with children. Erica came out from her stall and stood protectively beside me when a taller woman than either of them came in. “You will put my friend down right now, bitch!” “She’s mine; I claim her – all I have to do is show the judge this photo of her pants!” The woman was waving her arm around with a phone. I watched in shock as the other woman grabbed the phone, stomped on it, and flung it into a diaper disposal next to the table. “We have the video showing you flinging the glass of juice at her.” I thought the woman would fight more for a second, but she looked up and said, “Fine!” She turned to the little woman still on the table, “You better hope I don’t see you again! Not only will you be my baby girl, but I’m going to blister your butt for your friend here.” I would never be able to say what happened next, but the defender did something to grapple the woman, ending up with her over her knee! She angrily ripped her skirt up and panties down and began wailing on her with her hand! “Help me!” The woman cried. I felt a hand on my shoulder, followed Erica to the sink, washed our hands, and left even as the woman continued receiving a life-changing beating to her rear. “And now you pee on me?” I heard the defender say. “Don’t worry. This is my friend’s restaurant, and she always keeps a spare pair of pants for big girls like you.” Back in the car, I looked forward at Erica as she buckled my seat. “This place is nuts, you know that, right?” She shrugged, “Seemed pretty normal to me. Brat got what was coming to her?” The door closed, and I felt my blood a little cooler, knowing she didn’t inherently disavow any of what I had just seen! WHEN WE MADE it home, I was already exhausted from the day. Erica seemed to feel the same way, so after watching an hour or so of their incredible holographic TV shows, we both went upstairs to go to bed. I had just made it to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and returned to change into one of my sleep shirts when I realized Erica was sitting on the bed. “Is something wrong?” I asked. “Have you had any potty issues today?” I shook my head, “Whatever it was must have cleared?” “Good, I’m glad to hear that!” She said with a smile. “Just to be safe, would you mind wearing an actual diaper just a couple more nights? Some portal Littles have a delay in the body’s response to whatever causes continence issues.” “You’re joking, right?” I said, “About that delay?” “I wish I was. I’d rather not see you make a mess, just in case.” I sighed, “I guess... I mean, it’s not much different than this Pull-Up,” I said. “Thanks for being mature about this!” She told me. Several moments later, I was in a diaper, and now the footed sleeper she’d talked me into wearing. I admitted it looked cute, but I hated that the mirror reflection now looked like I was that toddler again! I crawled onto the bed with the help of the step stool and quickly found myself asleep. SOMETIME IN THE middle of the night, I was dreaming about fighting off the woman from the bathroom. ‘Come here, baby, let’s change your diapee - it’s stinky!’ ‘No!’ I cried out. ‘Don’t worry, you won’t miss using that icky old potty. And mommy’s going to have plenty of cuddles for you! Just come over here!’ “NO!!!!! “I shouted as I fought off the giant woman, but I instantly realized something was horribly wrong, as I felt weightless! I had just enough wherewithal to realize it was the floor that was coming up to grab me!!!!!! I pushed out with my hands to catch myself but instantly regretted it when I hit. “Damnit!” I complained as my dominant wrist made a horrifying cracking sound! The door to the hallway flung open, “Katie, are you okay? Why are you on the ground?” I curled my wrist in naturally to my body to protect it from the pain, “I was having a nightmare and apparently rolled out of bed. I woke up just soon enough to try and catch myself. I think I broke my wrist?” She looked at my wrist and asked, “May I?” Knowing treating myself wasn’t an answer, I gingerly extended my injured arm to her. She nodded, “It looks broken to me, sweetie. Let’s go to the hospital so we can treat it.” She picked me up and carried me down the hall to her bedroom without warning. I hadn’t been inside; it was her private room, and I was surprised that it was probably triple the room I was staying in. Well-made furnishings were apparent, and you could see the open door to the master bathroom. “I’m going to just change into some scrubs real quick.” “What about me?” I asked, looking down at the very juvenile-footed sleeper I wore. “I think you’ll be more comfortable in that than anything else!” She told me. I didn’t argue due to the throb coming from my wrist. The stabbing pain sucked, and I hoped we could put some medicine in me soon to help! To my shock, she pulled her nightgown off in front of me and fully changed in the nude in front of me. I watched as she turned around and pulled on a pair of panties and a bra. She then pulled on a set of scrubs with cartoon bunnies on them. I watched her tie her hair into a ponytail, and she said, “Come on, let’s go get to the office where I can treat you.” I nodded and winced as she carried me downstairs, stopping for her purse and heading to the car. I was holding on for dear life as she sat me on the table for a second while she stopped by the fridge. I couldn’t see what she was doing. Still, I noted she looked inside momentarily before turning to me and then back into the refrigerator. A moment later, she appeared with one of the sippy cups from when she had arrived. “Here, Sweetie, drink something while we’re going. You need to be hydrated with the treatment.” I looked at her offer of a sippy cup skeptically, not helped by the odd look in her eyes, but the next wince of pain kept me from saying anything. She had to practically pry my arm inside the car to get the strap around it before buckling me in. “It’ll take us about ten minutes to get there; please try and drink that first,” she told me. I held the pink cup in my left hand, hating the pain. Not fully understanding what treatment she was suggesting, I went ahead and took a sip of the drink. “Milk?” I asked her. “Yes, trust me, it’ll help.” I wondered if she’d just snuck some medicine in, thinking I couldn’t take a pill. The more I evaluated the taste in my mouth from the first sip, the more I had to admit it was delicious. I put the soft silicone spout back in my mouth and did my best to hold the cup up with my only good hand. As I finished the drink, I noticed the throbbing was dulling a bit. It was weird, but Erica was right—the milk seemed to be helping! I was also growing quite sleepy, so I assumed I was right that she had spiked the drink. Given my depreciating pain, I was okay with that! When she unbuckled me at the hospital, I was sure I’d want to see everything, but my eyes didn’t want to stay open. If it wasn’t for the pain still being present, I was pretty sure I’d be out already! “Erica! What are you doing here?” “Katie here had a bit of a fall, I need a nanite kit?” “Sure thing, go to Exam Room Five; there’s no one in there.” “Thanks, Lina,” she told her. I was carried to the room and felt like Erica was cuddling me as a baby more than a friend. I opened my eyes and watched as the woman handed her a small vial that looked like an air syringe and a tablet. “Let’s scan it first,” Erica said, sitting me on the table. Like the first scan in the dimension, I quickly saw my body projected, but my wrist was the focus. I noted a flashing red outline of the broken bone then and groaned at being right. “Okay, this is a simple procedure, Katie, but I want to confirm you’re okay with it?” “What are you doing?” “I’m going to program the nanites to go in and repair the bone. You’ll be back to new by morning.” “Go ahead,” I told her. “Great!” I momentarily watched her play with the tablet, grab the vial, and place it in a little machine for a second, then attach it to the syringe. “Here we go, Sweetie,” she told me. I watched the injector empty where she directly injected it beside the break. A moment later, my pain increased for a second, and then I was out! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Thank you all for the likes on the last chapter! You've earned the extra chapter! (Remember, good baby boys and girls get rewarded!) Please like this one as well, and leave me a comment! I really enjoy seeing what you all are thinking! I'll post again on Friday before being unable to post for a week. Privacy/internet will be seldom or non-existent while I'm traveling for the holidays.

Chapter 124: Embraceable You GETTING RELEASED FROM the hospital was a process, so it took another hour before Beth and I were reunited. She knelt down, and we hugged, both of us wincing. “Ow,” she said aloud though. “Are you okay?” I asked, with concern, releasing her. “Yes, all of my muscles ache, though.” “Sorry,” I said. “You?” “I’m a fast healer?” She raised an eyebrow at that but didn’t say anything. Amanda, Megan, Nikki, and Fred led us to the parking lot. “Nikki, do you want to follow Fred back to the house? I’ve got to pick up the girls and drop Megan off.” “Sure, Mandy,” Nikki said. “Just let me get the girls settled in here, Fred, and I’ll set the car to follow you back.” Nikki led us to where we’d left the car earlier. Nikki opened my door and gently lifted me into the waiting car seat. Beth had opened the door for her side, and I watched her wince as she climbed carefully into her own booster seat. She wasn’t moving very quickly, and since she wasn’t done yet when Nikki reached that side, she reached in and helped with the buckles. “Thanks,” Beth said with a blush. “Trust me, I know what you’re feeling right now. The last time I was hit with one of those, I was in pain, and my legs and other muscles were cramping up randomly for a few days.” She closed the door and started up the car. When she found Fred’s car, I heard some beeps and, “Mode set to follow.” I was facing the backseat, so I could see Beth’s face, but that was it then. She looked like she was in pain then. I reached my hand out towards her and was glad when she reached and held mine. We sat silently, and both must have fallen asleep for a while. We were only woken up when Nikki turned into my grandparent’s driveway. She pulled into an area set aside for guests to park and came around to let us out. Neither of us rushed off, but we found ourselves using the open garage door from Grandpa to go inside the house with my bag on my shoulder and her purse in her hand. He knelt down and hugged us both inside. “Sorry you both have had such a rough day, girls. Your grandmother just called and said she’s picking up some pizzas on the way home for dinner.” “Great,” I said unenthusiastically. “Sounds good,” Beth said, her voice sounding like mine. “I’m going to go change my clothes,” Beth said. “Come with me?” “Sure!” I said. She started to pick me up but winced, “I think I’ll have to hold off picking you up for a day or two.” “It’s okay, I can climb,” I told her. As I clambered up the stairs behind her, it occurred to me that it was one of the only times I had gone up them on my own! With my own injuries, thankfully almost healed, I didn’t feel much pain going up. Still, one pull of my hand grabbing the banister rail to reach the top step made me remember all that the scan said had been wrong with me! At her glance, I dropped my bag in my room and headed down the hallway to hers. She closed the door behind her and then knelt down beside me, squeezed me in a hug, and bawled! BETH FELT SO emotionally spent after the day that holding Carly was the only thing that comforted her. She collapsed to the floor and leaned against the bed, holding Carly, who hugged her back. “It’s okay,” Carly told her after a few minutes. “You have no idea how scared I was…” Beth told her. “I do,” Carly said, “Seeing you being threatened like that was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.” “We can’t keep having things like this happen,” she told Carly, even as she squeezed her tightly, then pushed her further out onto her lap to where they could look at each other. “I told Grandma no more malls?” Carly suggested. “Definitely no more malls!” she agreed, nervously laughing then. Beth sniffed right then; she hadn’t noticed before, but Carly definitely had a dirty diaper. She sighed, “You need a clean diaper, and I think I want to shower before we go downstairs to eat dinner?” “I can get Grandpa to change me?” Carly said. “Or actually, I guess Tessa is probably around here somewhere, too?” “No, tell you what. Why don’t you go grab your jammies, a diaper, and some wipes from your room, and then we’ll just clean up together?” Beth blushed a bit as she said it, but they’d been around each other naked enough that she was feeling less self-conscious about suggesting something like that. “Okay,” Carly said, “I’ll be right back!” Beth started taking off her shoes and socks and digging through her overnight bag for panties and fuzzy socks to go with a set of pajamas she thought were packed. Instead, she discovered Rachel had packed a zippered footie, one of the last things she felt like wearing after nearly being stuck in a diaper earlier! She was looking through other compartments when she smelled the pungent diaper-wearer return. She turned to see Carly holding a folded set of pajamas, a diaper, and a packet of baby wipes. With a shrug, she gave up looking for something more mature pajama-wise and headed into the bathroom with Carly. “Lay down right there,” she told Carly after putting a spare towel on the floor beside the giant tub. She helped Carly shimmy the jeans off her legs, pulled the socks off, and then sat her up to pull the top off. All that was left was the diaper, and from where she was kneeling over Carly, she could see it was a doozy! She sighed, “Okay, sit still; this looks like it will probably be extra messy.” Beth pulled the tapes open and held her nose as she exposed a mess in the diaper that she could have lived ten lifetimes without seeing. It looked like her bowel movement had been incredibly runny! At least the diaper had absorbed much of the moisture, but as she wiped Carly, it was like cleaning oil off a surface. It was good that Carly brought a nearly new pack of wipes because it took half of it to make it decent enough that she was okay with tossing her in the tub with her. ‘I could have sprayed her off instead… but then that would be in the tub,” she thought, looking at the disgusting pile of wipes that she carefully rolled into the diaper. There was a diaper pail in the bathroom, so she carefully fed the toxic bomb inside of it. Fortunately, an experienced mother like Amanda kept around some of the better pails, so Beth was pretty sure there would be no further scents from the diaper as it was sealed away. “Okay, Carly, let’s get the water running here?” Beth said. She pressed the panel buttons to start the shower at the temperature she liked, then decided to bring down the temperature a couple of degrees to ensure she didn’t burn Carly’s skin. After checking it, she picked up the naked girlfriend and sat her inside before quickly stripping off the borrowed pants, panties, bra, and top she wore and joining her. She noticed Carly was just standing there and hugged her before asking, “Do you want me to wash your hair for you?” “Please?” “Here, let’s use the nozzle and get your hair all wet!” Beth washed the Little girl first, finding that caring for Carly was helping calm her down quite a bit. Eventually, she soaped her own hair and body, used her conditioner, and rinsed them both off. Neither girl talked much during the shower, and Beth sensed the intimate moment didn’t need a play-by-play from her either. She dried Carly in a towel before wrapping her in it for a second and then placed her on another towel on her bed. Her arms were about to give out earlier, even trying to pick her up, so the shower had apparently done some good on loosening things up. ‘I still hurt like hell!’ she thought as her arms spasmed for a second while she squeezed her fingers on the tape to finish sealing Carly into her fresh diaper. Carly had brought a pair of footed pajamas with her, too, so when they went down to dinner a short while later, Beth noted that they did, in fact, look like they could be sisters. “You feel better after the shower?” Amanda asked her. She shrugged, “Somewhat, my body hurts a lot, but it loosened up some of the muscles?” “You could try sitting in the hot tub tonight for a bit?” Fred suggested. “I’m sure you wouldn’t have to twist Carly’s arm to get into the water?” Amanda added as she helped Carly into her highchair. “Although she’s small enough, she has a ten-minute limit, no more in the jacuzzi than that ever at a given time.” Carly frowned but didn’t say anything. Right then, Bella, Shelby, and Ryan came in to join them. Beth watched as all three were helped into their high chairs, too. However, Bella was the only one with a bib around her neck. Beth noted that Amanda also cut Bella’s pizza into tiny bites, which she used her hands to pick up. Everyone else ate the pizza the ‘normal’ way. Fred had picked up Big-sized pizzas, so one slice apiece was more than enough for the Littles, while two was enough for her. She noted the leftovers afterward. Dinner conversation had been very quiet compared to what she had grown used to in this house. Clearly, just about everyone was upset right then. “Where’d Nikki go?” Carly asked. “She had to run back to town for something,” Fred said. “She said she’ll be back tomorrow afternoon; she figured as long as you don’t leave here, we have you covered for security.” Beth just nodded. ‘Not like she’d been the hero earlier?’ Right then, she felt the ghost of the knife against her throat and suddenly stood up, running to the nearest downstairs bathroom, and emptied her guts into the toilet. A moment later, Amanda was behind her, holding her hair as she retched again into the toilet. I WATCHED BETH suddenly run from the dining room, with Grandma close on her heels. “Would you please let me out of this?” I asked, looking at Grandpa. He looked at the half-eaten giant piece of pizza that remained, shrugged, and released me from the highchair after moving the tray to the table. I reached the bathroom where Grandma held Beth’s hair and felt my stomach turn. I could smell the vomit and knew she couldn’t feel good in that instance. I watched with sympathy as she stood, rinsed her mouth at the sink, and then caught sight of me. I walked timidly over to her and held her by the knees. Beth picked me up and held me tightly, eyes clearly full of tears, but unable to say anything for a long time. “Would you mind if we went and laid down in my room?” Beth asked Grandma. I looked at Grandma, who looked slightly torn for decency reasons, but was relieved by her nod. “You may stay together; all I ask is that you don’t have sex while you’re here,” she said lightly. “I don’t blame you for wanting a cuddle right now.” She embraced us both, saying, “I’m sorry today happened. I will bring up something for you both to drink in a bit; you will definitely be dehydrated, Beth.” Beth just nodded and carried me upstairs with her. She plopped me down on her bed, then grabbed a giant stuffed red panda. I vaguely remember her telling me about it before. She saw my stare, “Haven’t you met Rings before?” I shook my head, “No?” She blushed, “I guess I’ve kept her hidden until you’ve gone to bed…?” “Why?” “I guess I’ve just been embarrassed that I still sleep with her?” I laughed, “Like I’d have any room to talk?” I shrugged, “My sisters all still have stuffies they sleep with. Thanks to my nest mothers, I’ve got a couple, too.” She nodded at that. “So what’s her story?” “She was my daddy’s?” She blushed, “He gave her to me when I was reborn.” I knew that was a touchy subject, so I didn’t push her on that part. “Where did your dad get her?” “My mom gave her to him when she was his mommy.” “That’s got to be an odd relationship?” I asked. “It worked for them?” She shrugged, “As far as I know, they stopped acting like that when I was about three?” “As far as you know?” I asked. She nodded, pulling rings closer to one side and sliding me to where I was lying on top of her. “To be honest, I think Mom and Dad have played with him as her little girl more than once over the years. If it wasn’t for the Supreme Court role, I’d guess they’d do it more?” “That definitely would be quite a scandal,” I nodded. We sat there for a long while as she ran her hand idly through my hair. “You know, I really wonder something sometimes?” I looked up at her, “What?” “What is it like in your world, where you don’t have to worry about forced adoptions? Where adults are just adults?” I shrugged, “That part is definitely less stressful.” “You really thought it was worth it to come here?” She asked me. I looked up at her and smiled, “I hoped it would be?” “Has it been?” She asked me. “Yes, it has,” I said with a smile at her. She was still clearly upset, but at least she was talking. “Why?” “Well,” I thought momentarily about how to say what I wanted to, “I mean, becoming myself was nice?” I shrugged and smiled at her, “But the best part is getting to be here with you. That alone has been more than worth the risk!” I gave her a hug and felt her squeeze me back. “You know you’re the only reason I haven’t taken my parents up on running away from here, right?” I nodded, “I kind of guessed that. I wouldn’t blame you if you left?” She shook her head, “I have no idea where we’re going, but leaving you would feel like leaving part of me.” “You know I’m supposed to go home in a few months?” She shrugged, “We’ll see what happens? Who knows, maybe we’ll figure it out. I just want things to calm down!” I nodded at that. A knock came at the door right then, “Come in,” Beth said. “Hmm… clothes are still on?” Grandma joked as she came in with a couple of spill-proof cups. “Here’s some water for you both.” “Thanks,” I said, blushing because of the juvenile sippy cups. There was a purple and a pink one; Beth passed me the pink one before saying, “Thanks,” to Grandma. “Fred and I think it would help if you soaked in the hot tub for a while tonight, Beth. It’s not a requirement, but it might help?” “We’re already comfy in our jammies,” Beth said with a smile. “What do you think, though?” she asked me. I shrugged, “If it would help you with your soreness, it might be worth changing?” “Then we’ll have to take another shower?” She suggested. “I’ll be fine. Maybe I can hop in tomorrow morning while the dolphin here swims?” “That could work,” Grandma said. “I’ll get out of your hair,” she told us. Beth squeezed me, “Sorry, I know you would live in water if we let you?” I shrugged, “It’s okay.” I started squirming to get off her lap. “Tell you what, why don’t you lay down on your belly?” “Why?” She asked. “Just do it?” I suggested. “Hmm… Why do I think you’re up to no good?” She asked. “All good, I promise,” I smiled at her. She complied and laid on her stomach, turning her head towards me, “Now what?” “Now relax,” I told her. While I’d certainly been held on her hip and in her lap, I’d never actually climbed on her back like I did then. I straddled the top of her back and gently pushed her hair to the side as she asked, “What are you…?” Right before I began gently kneading her back with my hands. She winced at first as I hit certain spots in her shoulders, but she was purring like a kitty before long. “That feels so good!” I took a moment to kiss her neck below her hair before working my way down her back. While working on her lower back, she winced but loosened up the more I worked over her muscles. I continued all the way down onto her butt, “Is this okay?” “Uh-huh,” was all she could say. I could tell she was in a sort of trance and was glad I was having the effect on her I wanted. She willingly cleaned my disgusting diapers up; the least I could do was this! I stayed on her rump for a little bit but didn’t explore past the tissue, not intending things to go another direction that night. Instead, I continued down her legs, starting with her right and then moving to her left even as I climbed beside her. Reaching her footie-clad foot, I discovered she was actually quite ticklish. She giggled, “That tickles…” “Sorry, I’ll save that information for another time.” I smiled and moved back up her ankles and rear and then to her arms and hands. I explored her fingers and gently massaged her hands for several minutes before moving back up her scalp. “That is wonderful,” she said, clearly feeling the effects. “Your hands have way more strength than they should.” “I can do your front sometime, too,” I told her, gently rubbing her back. She rolled over, “Not now?” “That’s up to you,” I said, looking down into her eyes. “What would you massage next?” She asked me dreamily. “Maybe your face?” She took a moment to lean up to kiss me on the nose. “Then what?” I blushed, “Your chest?” “Then?” “Work my way down?” “Hmm… Seems to me like there’s another night before we go back to school?” “I think there is?” I smiled at her. “Then I’m going to hold you to that tomorrow. Massages work better without clothes, I think?” I blushed but nodded, “Uh-huh?” She kissed me gently on the lips, “Seems like we’ll have to do some experimenting.” “I’m up for it,” I smiled. She took that moment to wrap me tightly in her arms. “Thank you, Carly.” “I love you, Beth.” “I love you too, Carly.” We sat there for a few moments, “How about we go change you and then call it a night?” she suggested. “Sure,” I said. She sat up and popped a few bones as she stood before picking me up gently and carrying me to my room. She sat me on the changing table, unzipped my sleeper, and gently cleaned me up. I didn’t know what she would do then, but she was smiling as she carried me back to her room and closed the door. She pulled the covers of her bed down and placed me on the bed before joining me after turning off the lights. “Not getting up to any funny business tonight,” she told me, “But I wouldn’t mind your hands exploring again some other time.” I hugged her, then squirmed up the bed until my head was opposite hers. She embraced me tightly, and we kissed for a long moment. “Good night, Carly,” she said, “I love you.” “I love you too,” I said, and we fell asleep in each other’s embrace. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks everyone for reading! Please press the like button and leave a comment! There will be on more chapter before this goes on a season break. Thank you to everyone for your kind words above!!!!

Chapter 144: Failing WHEN WE FINISHED eating, I was walked back to Sanders by Beth and Nikki. Beth was about to hug me, but Nikki put a hand on her shoulder and cocked her head. It was then I noted we had an audience of sorts, with our interim dean talking with another older woman. Both were clearly not young, but the unknown lady seemed to be in her late seventies, I guessed. I waddled up to the front door in a diaper that was nearly in need of a change and smiled as I passed. “Good afternoon, Carly,” Doctor Shapiro said. “Good afternoon, Doctor Shapiro,” I said politely. “Have you met Carly yet? Doctor Chester?” “No, I haven’t had the pleasure?” the unknown woman said. “Since I’ve only been here since Friday, I’ve been getting acclimated. There are a lot of nests between the two buildings, so meeting everyone is a chore?” “Of course, Doctor Chester, this is Carly Slane; she’s Amanda Westerfield’s granddaughter.” “Oh, how marvelous!” the woman said. My skin felt like I had a predator prepared to strike me then. My diaper definitely warmed as my bladder responded with my ‘fight or flight response.’ “It’s nice to meet you, ma’am,” I said to her. “Same to you, Miss Slane, and please just call me Nana!” I smiled and nodded in response. “Now, are your classes going okay for you, dear? Nothing too difficult?” she asked me. “They’re going great,” I told her with a smile. “They’re honestly everything I hoped they’d be.” “Well, excellent, dear! Make sure you get that soggy diapee changed by your mommy upstairs. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for you!” “Thank you,” I said. “Have a good evening,” I told them both and waddled my way to the elevator. I pressed the button for our floor and pushed the close-door button, hoping it would move faster! Once I made it to the top, I waddled my way into the room, and Lilly smiled at me, “Hi, Carly!” She practically cooed at me with a voice I hadn’t really heard from her like some of the nest mothers. She carried me to the changing table and proceeded to treat me like I was really about a year old. She even started singing a diaper-changing song?!? “The soggy little diaper Got soggy through the day, Now it’s time for changes In the same old way. Up goes your bottom, Down comes the wipe, Mommy gets you cleaned up And your diaper’s back on tight!” I gave her a look like, ‘What’s wrong with you?!?’ When she was done changing my diaper, with me zipped into a sleeper, she finished, “Now you’re all clean and crinkly, In jammies soft and tight, We’ll rock you in the rocker And kiss you nighty-night. Mommy loves her baby, Forever, she will say, “You’re my Little snugglebug Every single day!” [*] I was still in shock at the sudden change in her personality when she said, “Come see the pretty dress your grandmother helped me get today!” I held onto her as she closed the door behind her and carried me to her bedroom. I watched as she pulled out one of the same devices Nikki used to sweep her vehicle. After a beep, I asked, “Umm… what’s going on?” She looked upset, “The new nest mother had a meeting with all of us today and the dean… They’ve been reviewing footage and aren’t sure that all of us are up to the task of being nest mothers.” “Huh?” I asked, “You’re great, though!” I blushed, “Honestly, the best, but don’t tell Miss Mackenzie!” “Not for what they want… Carly, I don’t think I’ll be able to pass it on to the others, but hopefully you can… be careful. Be very careful! They were specifically asking a lot about you.” “I’m not breaking any rules, though? Getting good grades?” “And that’s why you’re not demerited out,” she told me. “If you’re going to study too late, we need to figure out a way for you to be out of sight.” I sighed, “This is where the swearing rule is a pain.” “It sucks,” she agreed. “Now, umm… I’m just going to warn you, and I’ll try and warn the other girls… We’ve been directed to make sure that we treat you like you are at daycare.” “So treat us just like the nest mothers that were fired had been doing?” “Yes,” she sighed. “What’s to stop another protest from starting up with all of this?” I wondered aloud. “Please don’t ever say anything like that again!” she told me with desperation in her eyes. “She was clear that non-compliance from us would result in our demotions to sleeping in the nests like that Nevaeh girl. Non-compliance in Littles will be an immediate trip to adoption – no exceptions.” “I’ll try and let the girls know it’s not your idea,” I told her. “How far do you have to take it?” “Too far!” She said sadly. “That adorable diaper change song was just the start.” She turned off the device and showed me the dress; it was a beautiful creation, “I know the name of this designer! I can’t believe your grandmother knows her well enough to get a dress the same day?!?” I laughed at that, “Yeah, it’s a close relationship.” She carried me back into the room and said, “Anyway, better get you back to studying! Midterms tomorrow, if I remember correctly, for you in two classes?” “Yes,” I said. “Before we do that, I need all my little sparkles to come join me on the rug for circle time!” Lilly crooned. Willow, Everly, and Mia all had the same ‘WTF?’ looks on their face I had worn. Now that I knew the truth of what was going on, I was still thinking that! I wondered how I would deal with this latest issue… “Okay, sparkles, I need to tell you a couple of new rules we were told about today.” All of the native Littles in our nest suddenly looked like they’d been electrocuted. I guessed they had enough experience to know this was not going to be good for us! “Okay, the first one isn’t too bad, but from now on, I’m no longer Miss Lilly to you all.” I twitched, guessing where this was going instantly based on the conversation downstairs. “You need to just call me Mommy.” “Wha…?!?” Amy started to say something, but Mia read the room and put her hand on Amy’s arm to shut her up. “What do you all say to that?” “Umm… Yes, Mommy?” I said. “Thank you, Carly, that’s exactly right!” She made a forced face that I read as please don’t make me, but said, “Can all of my sparkles try that now?” “Yes, Mommy,” everyone said in unison. “Great! Just so you know, we have a new interim housemother for the nests; her grown-up name is Doctor Chester, but you all are just to call her Nana.” Zoey raised her hand tentatively. “Yes, Zoey?” “What about if we need to refer to you if another nest mommy asks about you?” Zoey asked. “That’s a very clever question, Zoey! You can say Mommy Lilly in that case, but only if it’s to a question like that.” A few minutes later, I learned that, although the ‘curfew’ had technically not changed, they had been instructed to turn off the lights an hour earlier. Additionally, open-top cups and ‘normal’ drinks, like cokes, would no longer be allowed. Sippy cups or baby bottles were the only things allowed for anyone but nest mothers. The bathroom was also going to be locked from now on except for bath times since none of us used the potties anyway. “Oh, and I think this only applies to Carly,” she said with a sad expression, “you may use your tablets and computers inside the nest for studying. You are allowed to have a phone while you’re outside the nest, but you may not possess it here in the nest. When you return each day, you must turn it into me. Additionally, you’ll need to discontinue using your EdgeSphere glasses if you have them. Your new Nana wants to ensure you can focus on your homework and get a good night’s sleep. She’d also like to see you all explore some of the dolls and toys that have been given to you all instead of icky video games!” Lilly deserved an Oscar award for her performance, given I could tell she hated everything coming down. Still, she managed to seem like a happy-go-lucky preschool worker who was great at her job! “She even said the boys are supposed to be getting their own play areas in their nests just like ours over Spring Break, too!” “Yay,” I heard Aria mutter. “Okay, Sparkles, let’s go ahead and do our chant!” I made sure to join in, of course, as we did the Sparkle Chant. I couldn’t help but note that the night of her party the week before had been a genuinely cute and happy thing; right then, it felt like a gun was aimed at each of our heads. After we all stood, Lilly said, “Carly, please bring me your EdgeSphere glasses. The next time your grandma comes, she can take them to her house for safekeeping. Girls, I have a phone case that you can use to keep your phones in until class each morning. Please bring them here now.” “Yes, Mommy,” I said to her. ‘This sucks!’ I thought to myself. ‘Good thing my contacts are secret, and I can do nearly the same things with them…’ BETH WAS WAITING on her EdgeSphere set for a couple hours before finally getting a notification that Carly wanted her to come to visit her in her space. She’d met two possible people to join Nikki’s team earlier. Still, after receiving some very negative anti-Little vibes from them, she told Nikki afterward to keep looking… “Hi Carly, what took you so long to come login?” Beth asked, having already felt more anxious from the interviews. The avatar for Carly was usually pretty animated, as it picked up her movements, but it was oddly still. “Some changes in the nests. Sorry if I come off a bit weird, I’d learned how to work in the EdgeSphere glasses, but those got confiscated…” “Confiscated?” She asked. “Yeah,” Carly said, “give me just a moment, Beth, I’m still trying to figure out this other system, and I want to triple-check that the firewalls are still active in here…” Beth watched Carly freeze like a statue for several minutes before saying, “Okay, I think that’s safe. I hope you don’t mind, but I sent Grandma a message and asked her to come here to talk to her? I don’t really want to push this connection too much. Something is funky…” Right then, Beth got a request for Amanda Westerfield to come in, so she allowed it and saw the taller woman enter. “Hi Carly, why’d you ask to see me here?” “Things are not going well in the nests tonight…” Carly said. “Are you in trouble?” “Not exactly?” Carly said. “They hired another interim dean for Littles that we met earlier, right?” “Yes, not exactly someone I feel like is a great person,” Amanda said. “I did verify she’s only temporary until they bring a new one in April.” “That’s good… hopefully everyone survives that long though. Doctor Shapiro apparently decided to bring in a different person to be the interim head nest mother.” “What’s her name?” “Doctor Wendy Chester?” Carly said. “She’s in her late seventies, I think.” “Interesting… is she the kind grandmotherly sort, or the Littles should be seen and not heard variety?” Beth asked. “She’s the sort that’s threatened all of the nest mothers?” “What?” Beth responded. “Yeah,” Carly told them, “apparently, they watched footage of Lilly, and I assume a few others, who aren’t babying us enough. New rules have been put in place that we can’t have our cell phones in the nest, my EdgeSphere glasses were confiscated, and now we can only call our nest mothers’ mommy.’” “She said as much earlier,” Amanda responded. “You did talk to her earlier?” Carly asked. “They must have just had that meeting when I dropped off her dress. It’s part of why I left her the jamming device. Carly, I believe she’s the only one in that building you should ever completely trust.” “I think I can trust Mackenzie, too,” I told her honestly. “Maybe… but well, let me go look this woman up first. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she told them. Beth watched her disappear, “You have to stay out of trouble; this doesn’t sound good,” she told me. “By the way, did you steal your glasses back to call, or what?” Carly shook her head, “You have to keep it a secret, but Grandma finally found someone who could make me a set of the contacts. These are a bit different, though, and can work completely like EdgeSphere by sending sound directly into my brain. They also connect neurally so I can have a conversation. I’m hoping I’m not muttering back in my pod, though.” “We’ll have to avoid doing this too much,” she said with a sigh. “So, what happened with your test earlier?” Carly asked. “I have no clue, Carly! I actually hope Amanda can help… I took the test, and it was like no big deal to me. I knew the answers from studying with your help, as well as the study guide our professor gave us.” “Okay, that seems right?” “Reila though… I kept waiting for her to come out! Like, I figured she’d be five or ten minutes behind me at most because we studied together the night before! Instead, she finally turned in her test when she had to as she ran out of time!” “Huh? Does she get bad test anxiety?” Carly asked. Right then, Beth got notifications that Amanda Westerfield, Addison Sylvester, and Cameron Sylvester wanted to come in. “Why do my parents want in?” She wondered aloud. “Huh?” Carly said. Beth let them in and noted her mother looked around the room with her normal critical eye. It was almost as if she wanted to complain that something was out of place but didn’t say anything. “Hi, Beth,” her dad said. She couldn’t help herself; it was virtual, but she gave him a hug and her mom a hug before asking, “Why are you guys here?” “Amanda called us,” her dad said. “Why?” “Because we know this new head nest mother of Carly’s,” her mom answered. “Oh?” “Yeah, she used to work as the head of the daycare your dad went to when he was adopted,” she said. “That’s odd,” Carly said. “Yeah, once I fired her, I honestly didn’t think she’d be working with Littles again?” her mom said. “You fired her, Mom?” “Yes, she allowed a bunch of crap to happen to your dad, and I wasn’t about to settle for that. She was the kind of corrupt ‘all littles should be babies’ type that was in tight with my mother.” ‘I always appreciate she never says, your grandmother,’ Beth thought, shuddering of any relation – adopted or otherwise – with that woman! “Hold on, we’ll come back to this mess,” Carly said. “I’m actually more worried about what you said about that test with Reila. Do you have your test results yet?” She used a virtual screen to log in and discovered they had auto-graded and posted the test. “Yes, one hundred percent,” she smiled at that. “I’m actually kind of surprised by that.” “You studied hard,” Carly said. “What score did Reila get, I wonder?” “Should I ask?” “Maybe tomorrow… was there something else with that test for Reila?” “She said none of it was on the study guide? It was all new content?” Beth felt nervous for her friend, “Honestly, she basically had a meltdown on me there.” “How is that class graded?” Carly asked. “Four tests and a project?” Beth said. “So if she gets a zero, she still can pass…” “The midterm is weighted more… I think it was like thirty percent?” “Something’s not right there, Grandma,” Carly said. “No, there’s too many plots seemingly swirling around here,” Amanda replied. “What’s the game here?” her dad asked. “What happened in the nests after that whole thing blew up?” “Honestly, it became almost like college again to me,” Carly said, “the only differences were mainly the fact we’re in diapers? Some babying, but not much? Really, it was just an occasional bit of trying to make us smile during awkward diaper changes?” “I bet someone doesn’t like that part especially,” her dad said. “I’m going to put some feelers out about this.” “Me too,” her mom added. “We need to figure out where Doctor Chester went for the last twenty-four years. I would assume she would have retired at some point, which would be why Shapiro brought her in?” “Beth, Carly, make sure you stick to the rules, study, and keep your heads down this week!” her mother said. “I’ll look into the situation with Reila,” Grandma said. “If she really did have another test thrown at her, maybe I can get a retest scheduled for her.” “If not?” Beth asked. “Well… it depends on the rest of her grades,” Amanda said slowly. “If they were bad?” Carly asked. “They’d probably offer her a choice?” Amanda answered hesitantly. “A choice?” Carly asked. “She’s only four inches above the cutoff. They’ll give her the same choice they gave Nevaeh,” Beth replied. “They…” Carly started to say. “Carly, disconnect! Someone is trying to trace who’s in here!” Amanda said abruptly. Carly disconnected without waiting for anything. “Is she okay?” Beth asked a second later. “She should be; she did a good job hiding everything. There’s just a very thorough person trying to dig right now. I need to go deal with this. Cam, Addy, I’ll call you if I figure out anything. Beth, be careful and make sure Carly doesn’t go anywhere alone. The more you and Nikki are around – the better!” Amanda’s avatar disappeared, leaving her parents. “Why can’t people just leave things alone?” Beth asked her dad. “I don’t know, sweetie, I don’t know. I do know we love you, and we’ll never let anyone hurt you!” He gave her the best hug an avatar could provide then. They talked for a few minutes more, discussing the vacation a little bit, and then they left, and she shut down her glasses. Beth wiped her eyes and had to find some makeup wipes to clean her face off of the snot and tears that had come while she’d been waiting for Carly, talking to everyone and everything else. She had one more thing she needed to do before resuming studying. ‘Reila, did you get your test score…?’ There was a long pause, and Beth ended up doing a few other things while she waited for a response. ‘Can I come to your room?’ there was a pause, ‘Maybe I could stay the night?’ Beth was really worried then. ‘Sure,’ she said in reply. When Reila arrived, she was already wearing pajamas at least and rushed to hug Beth as soon as she opened the door. She was completely in tears, “Beth, I don’t know what I’m going to do?!?” “What happened?” It took Reila a moment, “I got a thirty-three percent on that test! I basically guessed on everything!” “It’s just one test…” “I got an eight-five on my first one, Beth! The math isn’t there for me to pass!” “Well, it’s just one class, Reila…?” “Maybe, but I think there’s something else going on. My advisor already set up a meeting with the dean on the Monday after break…?” “Why?” “Beth, I think they’re trying to make me drop out or go…” “Go…?” Beth asked, even as she knew the answer. “Live in the nests…” with that, Reila was a sobbing mess. Beth held her and let her cry it out before laying her down on her bed. ‘I have to study,’ Beth thought, getting to work. After a couple hours, Rachel appeared and quietly said to her, “Beth, you really should get some sleep…?” “Ugh…” she looked at the time. “You’re right, Rachel.” She went to the bathroom, washed her hands, and then crawled in beside Reila. As she was doing so, she noticed a purple papery waistband sticking out above her pajama pants. She gently pulled the sleeping girl’s pants down to discover a Pull-Up with its indicators changed to mark that it was wet. “Crap,” she said aloud. “Rachel?” She whispered. “Yes?” “Could you help me with Reila? I don’t want to embarrass her, but she’s wearing a wet pull-up already?” “I’ve scanned her bladder contents; she shouldn’t leak if that’s your concern?” Beth groaned, “Mostly, but I also don’t feel right going to sleep with her wet? She might get a rash?” A moment later, the hologram appeared and gently pulled her friend out of the loft without warning, laying her on top of a holographic projection of a table that suddenly appeared. “What are you doing?” Beth asked. “Changing her,” she told her, “this is what you wanted, right? It’s a part of my programming, and I’m always happy to change an adorable little girl’s diapers!” Before Beth could say more, an actual toddler diaper appeared and was wrapped around her body. She pulled her pants back up and delivered her back to the bed. “There, she’ll be good for the night.” The hologram sounded pleased with herself, even as she felt mortified for her friend, who was still somehow asleep! “Rachel?” She asked a second later. “Yes, Beth?” “Please don’t put that Pull-Up in my trash? I don’t want people to think I need them?” “Do not worry, Beth, I have the evidence it wasn’t you, but I also already disintegrated it. Amanda had already given a directive if something was needed, it was not to be allowed to be known.” Beth rubbed her head; she’d had enough for the day. “Thanks, Rachel. Goodnight.” She hugged her friend and fell asleep quickly, her eyes closing. Not before wondering, though, ‘Where did Rachel get a diaper?’ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like button and leave a comment! You may not have noticed it, but there was a link to 'The Soggy Little Diaper' sung by AI on my YouTube channel. I'll be throwing a few of those songs in here and there as references; I figured readers might enjoy bringing them to life a bit more. That was one of my longer chapters in a while, and quite an eventful one. Let me know what you think, please! On the writing front, I'm finally making some progress in the past few days that I have scheduled to work on this project. I finished Chapter 170 last night, which officially gets me through to the New Year! I'm hoping to write some more in the next couple of days before I have to switch to another project. If I manage to get a few more chapters ahead, I might consider an extra chapter this week. We'll see how it goes! I'll have to return to this and continue writing again in the last part of the year and the beginning of next year. (UPDATED FRIDAY NIGHT: I'll make a deal, get this chapter to 30 likes and you get a bonus chapter Sunday! I just finished Chapter 172 and am feeling generous! 🙂) Finally, I have no idea how much it'll get used, but I started a Discord Server this week: https://discord.gg/BN39Phbj That link will work until next Thursday. (Message me after that) I started it mainly to provide you all with a place to download those AI tracks if you want. I've opened a channel about this story, where you can have more real-time discussions with each other and me, potentially too. We'll see how it goes! I don't want to see comments disappearing from this site, so I consider it an extra feature. I know it's worked for some other authors!

Chapter 27: I HAD TAKEN way too long to actually fall asleep, so I was a little disgruntled when I felt a set of hands picking me up, “Wan seep,” I said. “Sorry, baby girl. Judge Price has asked that you go back up to his courtroom,” a familiar-sounding man’s voice said. I opened my eyes and recognized the bailiff, “Oh, kay. He deci?” “I think so; we’ll have to see, though.” I felt his hand squeeze my diaper, “Actually, let’s get Miss Libni to get you changed and dressed first. I think you look a lot more comfy this way, but I don’t want to deal with an angry mama bear about the outfit,” he shuddered. ‘I guess that means Erica won?’ I wondered. I wondered how much time had passed as I was changed into another fresh diaper, the original dress, and carried upstairs. I passed numerous clocks but couldn’t read them, thanks to the damage. “How lon i’ been?” I struggled out. “About three hours?” He told me. “I heard you’re not fully regressed, so I’ll tell you they spent two hours arguing with the lawyers in chambers before Judge Price took a recess.” “Huh,” I said. ‘I guess my friends at least fought the good fight!’ I sat in his arms, thinking of the unending diaper changes, num-nums, and who knew what else to come! ‘Will Erica be okay with me like I am? Will she help me get better?’ I had initially thought she would, but I was a bit more doubtful after the little bits I knew now. ‘My friends would never have changed their minds and filed that motion otherwise?’ We eventually reached the courtroom, and I was taken the same back way he’d carried me out. I could see that Judge Price and everyone else were already seated. “Bailiff, please set Doctor Benson on the witness stand and guard her, please?” “Yes, Your Honor,” he said. With a last friendly squeeze, he sat me in a booster seat on the chair. They must have been prepared for me to sit down there. “Okay, now that we have all of the parties present. Doctor Benson, I want to address you. My understanding is that you can fully understand everything I’m saying. You just can’t speak clearly or read?” I nodded, “Yeth, Your Ho...nor,” I managed. “Sweetie, do you think you could make it without that pacifier for a little while?” I turned red and pulled it from my face to squeeze it inside my fist. “Good,” he told me with a smile. “Now, I’ve spent a lot of time talking to these lawyers. I want to tell you what I believe are facts, and then your wants will come into my decision.” “Really?” I said. “Really,” he told me. “I believe you know some of this story but not all, so I want to start from the beginning. You entered the portal with your group a few weeks ago, and a conspiracy began around your group. After some student protests, we saw some of that conspiracy exposed this week at Emerson. Frankly, it made me consider this Motion of Intervention when I normally would not.” I just looked at him, “What conspiracy?” I asked. Judge Price began telling me the whole story, far more than I knew. While I was napping, he received testimony from the third lawyer demonstrating that my ‘housing issue’ was caused by an agreement between Erica and the Dean of Littles, Dean Northrup. I glared at her, realizing it was only the first time I’d been played! He walked me through the hypnosis, beginning not just from the TV show but also from the mobile above my crib and a nightlight in the room. Both devices had been collected via a search warrant in the past couple of hours, and he showed them to me. “Do you recognize these?” I felt numb as I turned to look at Erica, who both looked stricken and ready to pounce like she had the one night! I shook at that, “I d…do,” I told the judge. “They were in your room?” I nodded, “Yeth thir.” “Let the record show Doctor Benson has confirmed the items were in her room. Both are currently banned in Ames.” ‘Banned?’ “You were brought out of the worst of your regression by Doctors Fairbank and Nickerson, something Doctor Daniels didn’t expect. That caused a hiccough, and she had to go through some hoops to make it seem safe for you to go back, all while we see Dean Northrup supported her at Emerson,” he told me. “How?” “You had to stay with her, or else?” He reminded me. “Oh,” I said. “Doctor Nickerson thought the incident that exposed you to more of the hypnotic cartoon worked a little too easily, so that’s when she deduced you were probably being exposed to other things at home.” He held up the items. “Also, it turns out your little run-in was not accidental,” he said. I realized then that the woman who had been there was in the court and seemed to be crying her eyes out. I noted then that she had a guard next to her. “All tha, for me?” I asked. He laughed and spoke quietly to me. “I agree, Sweetie, not that you’re not valuable, but I’ll never understand why people do things like this. Are we in agreement that you would rather not be put back in the care of Doctor Daniels?” I turned to her. If she’d had the worried face of a mother or looked like she loved me like she did when I was nursing, maybe my answer would have changed. Instead, it was the angry look the night she had wailed on my rear end. Her demeanor reminded me of a petulant child busted for bad behavior but refused to admit they could have been wrong. “No wan her,” I told him quietly. “Very well, I’m going to issue my rulings here. I’ll talk to you more when I’m done.” I felt my stomach grow queasy with nerves as he returned his attention to the courtroom. “When I was a young attorney here in Ames, I remember a case that it seems some choose to forget. A company millions trusted to test and vet their products properly was nothing more than a disguise for illicit abuse of Littles. While I’ll admit there are many times I approve adoption cases, I will not just blindly do so. I want to thank our third party, who made an intervention motion. That Motion is granted in full, based on the abundant evidence presented before me.” “NO!!!!!!!!” I heard Erica screech. “YOU CAN’T DO THAT!!!!!” I watched a few things happen in sync. One, Erica seemed to turn into a complete feral monster, and two, she leaped towards the box where I was. Officer Branch took her down quickly and cuffed her even as she tried punching and slapping him, “Your Honor?” he asked when he had her under control. “Please have Doctor Daniels turned over to be arraigned on charges of Contempt of Court, Assaulting a Peace Officer, and Resisting Arrest to begin. Let the DA know I’ll be speaking with him about Trafficking, Little Abuse, and Kidnapping to start with beyond that.” Erica screeched the whole time it took to remove her from the court, and I watched her parents follow her. “Mrs. Hill, you might want to remain for the rest of my motions. It’ll be in the best interest of your client?” “Yes, Your Honor,” she said nervously. “So you can get to them; Doctor Daniels is forbidden to have any contact with Doctor Benson or those who care for her. She is to remain a minimum of one thousand meters from her at all times, assuming she’s able to bail out of incarceration. The same order will hold for Doctor Daniel’s family members. Do you understand?” “Yes, Your Honor,” she said. “Very well, I think you have work to do. Get out of here.” I watched the lawyer scramble to gather her stuff and then left. “Mr. Freeman, would you and the third-party members take the place they kindly vacated?” I watched as everyone was reshuffled, including Ivy, Holly, Mindy, and the woman I remembered now, Amanda Westerfield. “Okay, before I continue to discuss what we will do to serve Doctor Bensons’ best interests, I wish to address you, Miss Thompson.” I turned to the other attorney, “Yes, Your Honor?” “We are going to assume for the moment that you had no part in the actions against Doctor Benson. I want you to make the following notes to your university of my orders.” “Yes, Your Honor.” “Order one, Doctor Benson is still to be considered protected by the agreement made when she traveled to this dimension. She is still employed, complete with salary and her living stipend.” “That shouldn’t be an issue?” she said nervously. “I know it won’t. Doctor Benson is to be allowed to travel home on her scheduled departure date, pending an assessment hearing, unless she chooses to come before me and ask for a permanent adoption free from any influences from you or others!” “Yes, Your Honor,” she said. I noted she was a bit nervous then. “Further, damages of twenty times her scheduled salary are to be awarded to her or her caregivers for as long as she remains in this dimension per month. Hopefully, with some consequences, you all will get your house in order.” “Now, Doctor Benson, I’ve heard testimony about what has been done to you. I believe you understand it would be wrong of me just to say go live on your own at this point?” He asked me. I sighed but nodded, “Yeth, sir.” “Normally, I would have been happy to give your care over to a loving mommy who had already been taking care of your needs, but I’m not going to give you to a manipulative monster like you were with. I have a few choices in this case… one, I spoke with Emerson and could have you go live in the nests with your students. You would be subject to all rules there, and I’m not sure that’s in your best interest given their clear… disservices so far?” I shook my head, “Oher opsions?” I struggled out. “I can place you with a Little Protective Services foster home, but if I do so, you can pretty much assume you’ll have a permanent adoption soon?” I whitened at that, “No tha?” He smiled, “In that case, I have two homes that I believe would care for you and might be able to get you back to where you need to be to return home?” “Who?” I asked. “Doctor Nickerson and Doctor Fairbanks are both willing to take you into their homes?” I looked at the table; both smiled at me from behind the front table. “Eiher?” I asked. “Your choice, Doctor Benson, you’ve had no good ones before; they’re both excellent. Tell you what, I’m going to recess the court for half an hour; you can discuss it with them in a conference room and decide then?” I looked at his very sincere eyes and nodded, “Pwease.” “Court is in recess for half an hour. Doctor Ivy Nickerson and Doctor Fairbanks, please take Doctor Benson to a conference room and meet with her. I need a decision on her placement when the recess ends.” “All Rise!” was called after the gavel, and I watched the judge leave, even as Ivy approached me. “Did tha weally happ..en?” I asked. She smiled, “Yes, now let’s go chat...” THE CONFERENCE ROOM was nothing special and even appeared a bit dated to me compared to the facilities at the hospital and Emerson that I’d seen. I was sat gently on the table, and Ivy and Mindy sat in chairs facing me. Holly and Amanda took seats nearby, but it was clear this conversation wasn’t supposed to involve them. “How are you feeling?” Mindy asked me. “I don thin there… are… wors… for i…” I said. “Spesially can taw well.” She nodded, “I’m so sorry, Katherine. We should have done more to keep you from Erica after we treated you.” “I never dreamed it would be this involved,” Ivy added. “So… who wans me?” I asked. “I ha..te… to be boher.” Both smiled. “Either of us can take you in,” Ivy said. “Obviously, I have Holly and am set up for a Little already, and I can help you out.” “Bu…?” “I am a little worried about you living with one of the people who may be able to sign off on your return?” Ivy said. “Mindy?” “You don’t know much about me, so I’ll tell you I am married. My husband and I aren’t able to have kids, but I haven’t felt it was right to adopt a Little.” “Bu…?” “But, I wouldn’t be really adopting you long term? If you’re staying with me, you’ll probably get annoyed with the non-stop therapies, but hopefully, that’ll let us get you back where you need to be?” “Was tha mean?” I asked. Ivy sighed, “We’ll have to see what Judge Price puts in his order, but as of right now, I don’t think your continence will be an issue with returning. They’ll probably expect a return to literacy… at least a little, and your speech to improve to let you go back?” “If I don…?” I asked, feeling my diaper warm. “Then you’ll be adopted long-term by whoever takes you home,” Ivy said. “It’s not the worst,” Holly told me. I looked at her, “Bu you docur sill.” “And you can be again,” she said. “I promise we’ll all do our best to help you!” “The first step, though, is going to be figuring out who’s going to be your adoptive parent,” Amanda said. I looked at Ivy and noted that while she’d had rejuvenation treatment, I guessed she still was more of a grandmother’s age. Mindy, well… she could have been the age of a genuine mother still. Given what she had done for me so far… WE WERE BACK in the courtroom, and Judge Price looked at me. “Doctor Benson, I know this is not the decision you would like to make, but to whom am I placing you?” I looked up at him, “Mindy, pwease,” I told him. “I think that’ll be a good decision,” he told me. “Okay, I am placing the following orders regarding Doctor Katherine Benson and her care. As previously ordered, she is still considered employed, even though her duties are not attainable at this time. The money from the fines placed on Emerson will be placed in a trust to help care for her needs. For that care, I believe she probably has items at Doctor Daniel’s residence; she may make a list with the help of her new guardian, Doctor Mindy Fairbanks, and court officers shall attempt to gather those items to return them to her after we have them looked over.” He looked at Mindy and said, “Please do not just give her those items without them being scanned. With everything Doctor Daniels did to this woman, I don’t trust her not to have added things to stuffed animals, computers, tablets, or anything else.” “Yes, Your Honor,” she replied to him. “Doctor Fairbanks, for the purposes of the state, Doctor Benson shall be considered your adopted daughter. Labeling her in any other legal capacity will likely endanger her should reprisals occur.” I felt my blood cool then. “That being said, she is scheduled to have a return trip to the other dimension on the second Friday of May. The day prior, you will return to this courthouse, where Doctor Benson will have a report on her improvement standards. She will be sent home on that trip if she meets the following benchmarks. Item one: Her speech must improve to the standard for at least a fourth-grade student. Item two: she must be able to read at least at the second-grade level again. And item three will be a desire to still return home with no further regression evident. Her continence shall not be considered in her eligibility to return home.” “An if I oo?” I asked him. “Then you’ll no longer be a baby, I will declare you emancipated, and you’ll be able to go home.” “Are there any other matters this court needs to consider?” He asked everyone. “Then we are adjourned!” He said with a gavel. Instead of disappearing, he came to me and gave me his best wishes, and I was soon in Mindy’s care. “Let’s go get this filed,” our attorney said, holding a written order for my adoption. Seeing it in black and white made me sick! It was not as sick as the looks I received in a different office shortly thereafter before I was jabbed in the butt with a chip like a pet. The congratulatory photo the clerk insisted on taking of the new mother and her daughter, Katherine Anne Benson-Fairbanks, showed Mindy and me both unsure of our new situation. I appreciated the gesture of being able to keep my name in part! “I don’t even have a car seat, Ivy!” Mindy complained to her as they walked back with us to the car after a painful shot in my rear that still had me fuming. “We’ll get that sorted out! I have a spare in my car for when Holly has the odd friend over. You’re on maternity leave now, but you have a meeting at noon on Friday in the office.” She told her. “You know you’ve just made my life more difficult,” Holly told her mother. “Now I have to replace a therapist too…” I finally cracked a bit of a smile and giggled at that, “Sowwy.” “Well, good riddance to Daniels… can’t believe that witch!” Holly said. I was soon strapped in a car seat inside Mindy’s car. “Since you have nothing, we need to stop at the store on the way home. Are you going to hold up for that?” she asked. I shrugged, “No, sure?” She looked thoughtful, “You know, actually, let’s just call my husband, and he can start being a good daddy. I don’t want to risk you being exposed to some other hypnosis… those stores are filled with them, I’m afraid!” “You th boss,” I said with a smile. I didn’t last long enough to be awake for everything, conking fully out on the way to my new home. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the like button and leave a comment! We've got just one chapter and an epilogue to go at this point! So things took a left turn at Albuquerque in the story. I'm genuinely curious how you all took the journey here! Some of you all had some suspicions on everything, but I don't think everyone put together this result? Anyway, I've been really curious to see what you all thought when we got here, so please let me know! I'll post the last chapter on Friday and the Epilogue on Saturday.

Chapter 18: I DIDN’T WAKE up initially that next morning, as I must have crashed out hard. It wasn’t until I felt Erica rubbing my stomach, “Come on, Princess Katie, time to wake up,” that I opened my eyes. “Well, good morning to you!” She smiled at me. “Already got your diapee changed, and you haven’t stirred!” I blushed, “Sowwy,” I said around the pacifier inside my mouth. “It’s okay; if you’re this sleepy, you can take a nap after we get you going into the car!” she said as she pulled me upright to a sitting position. “Arms up!” I complied and let her pull a purple t-shirt over my head with a few bees flying around, ‘So sweet!’ I read upside down was written beneath. She backed away for just a second before pulling what I thought was a pink jumper dress over my head for a second, the adjustable buckles already connected to the bib front. Only as she pushed me back down on my back and proceeded to button up snaps did I discover I was now dressed in a pair of overalls. They had a white fuzzy unicorn embellishment on the bib that I rubbed my hands over. “Soft,” I said. Erica smiled down at me, “And cute! Just like you!” She poked my nose before picking me up and carrying me to the rocking chair. “We don’t have time for your normal breakfast; I think a baba will get you through a while, though!” I looked up at her, my stomach growling, “I don’t know if that’s enough?” “Let’s try it!” She suggested, already tilting me back into the crook of her arm and pushing the bottle’s nipple into my mouth. As soon as a drop dripped into my mouth, I didn’t hesitate to nurse from it. Erica hummed a bit as she held the bottle, and I must have fallen back to sleep! THE NEXT THING I knew I was being carried into the daycare with my diaper bag on her shoulder. “Good morning, Doctor Daniels!” the receptionist said. “How is Katie doing today?” “Sleepy,” Erica told her. “Not sure if she’s getting a bug or just having everything from her visit hitting her. Might be a good idea to put her down for a nap for a bit more?” “Sure, we can do that,” the woman said. “We might just put her down in the crawler room since we have a crib, which’ll be a bit quieter?” “That’s fine. Just please put her back in the toddler’s room when she wakes up. I don’t want her spending her day crawling!” “Sure,” the woman said, “we do this pretty often for our kids.” I turned my head to look up at Erica, not wanting to leave her warm embrace, “Stay with you?” “I’ll be back, Sweetie, maybe even early today. You go with Miss B here, and she’ll take care of you.” She handed me over as she said it, and I frowned as the friendly receptionist didn’t hold me either. She bounced me up and down. “Don’t worry, Miss Katie. We’ve got you! Say bye,” she said. I frowned but waved, “Bye.” I was carried into the crawler room, where the lights were dimmed, and I was placed into a crib. “Just rest your eyes a bit, Sweetie. We’ll get you up and going in no time.” I nodded and fell asleep again. I WOKE BACK up, being carried by someone, and smiled when I realized it was Miss Mindy. “Hi,” I said shyly. “Well, hello there!” she told me, “I was told they thought you might be sleeping all day at this rate!” I rubbed my eyes, “What time is it?” “About an hour before lunch! You’ve been napping for a couple of hours.” “Oh,” I said, missing a pacifier in my mouth. It had disappeared at some point. Mindy entered a room and sat me on a comfortable office couch. I could still recognize a therapist’s office, and I felt a bit strange sitting down. “Would you like something to drink?” she asked me. “Coffee, tea, juice, or soda?” I craved milk, but she didn’t offer that. “Juice?” She returned with a lidded cup and a straw and handed it to me. I awkwardly put my lips around it like the nipple of my baby and sucked, making a mess on my shirt as some dribbled out. “Oopsie,” I said. She sighed, “Don’t worry about it, Doctor Benson.” She took the cup back from me as Doc Nickerson came inside. “Hi Katherine,” Doc said to me as she came in. I watched her climb up beside me, “How are you doing today?” I shrugged, “Okay? Sleepy?” She nodded, “That’s what the daycare workers said. What did you eat for breakfast?” “I didn’t eat anything; I just had a baba,” I told her. She nodded. “On an empty stomach, those can do that.” She looked up at Miss Mindy and asked, “Are we ready to try this?” “Sure, but remember this is likely a one-time thing?” “If we don’t do it now, I’m pretty sure she’ll be adopted sooner than later anyway.” “Try?” I asked. “We’re going to try to help you be a better doctor!” Miss Mindy said. “As good as Doc McSweetie?” I wondered aloud. “Even better!” Holly said with a smile reserved for a little kid. “Wow… that would be a really good doctor!” I found myself bouncing up and down for some reason. “How?” “Just put this headset on, Katherine,” Mindy said. “Okay!” I said, letting a weird headset that reminded me of a virtual reality goggle set from back home settle over my eyes. It was dark, and I was nervous because of that. “What now?” I asked. “Just relax,” Mindy said, even as I felt a poke and realized someone had injected something into my body. Suddenly, the world was filled with colors, but they weren’t like the Doc McSweetie colors; these were muted… more… mature colors. Earth tones, grays, blacks, but not a single pastel pink or purple in sight. It actually made me quite sad! I was in a large room, saw a portal like the one I had come through, and found myself walking up to it. No one else was around, and with no way out besides that, I decided to walk through. I forgot to close my eyes, but instead of the nausea, it was breathtaking to see a starfield compress and come at me rapidly before I felt the headset come off of my head. My head hurt, then. “Ouch… what happened?” I asked. Mindy and Holly stared at me. “Good question. What do you remember about the past week?” Mindy asked me gently. I thought back, my thoughts the clearest they’ve been in days. “Umm…” I blushed. “Even if it’s embarrassing,” Mindy said. “I’m wearing diapers all of the time now?” I asked. At Mindy’s nod, “And I guess I’ve been acting… babyish?” Holly smiled, “Yes, you definitely have.” “What happened? Why…?” “Katherine, you realize that almost every Big here wants to adopt a Little girl just like you, right?” Holly said to me. “I kept hearing that, but what do you mean…?” Like a child being taught about the birds and the bees, Holly had an awkward conversation, filling me in on everything in this world. “Honestly, how did you not already know this?!?” Holly asked me. I shrugged, “I guess I’d heard things, even the university said stuff, but I was supposed to be safe from adoption?” “As long as you’re employed,” Holly told me. “Oh… Am I fired?” “Not yet, but if you have a relapse like this, we’re going to have to do that,” Holly sighed. “Whatever you do, don’t watch any more TV of any type!” “But…” “Anything!” Mindy agreed. “And what about Erica?” “I’m going to try to get you another place to stay. For tonight, try to just be quiet and not drink any more of Erica’s milk,” Holly told me. “Her milk?” I asked. “You mean... her breast milk?!?” “How dense are you, Katherine? I’m pretty sure you’ve been drinking her breast milk since almost the day you moved in with her,” Mindy replied. “Is that why it’s so different?” I felt sick to my stomach. ‘Wait, didn’t I know this? Connor told me…?’ I felt a jolt as more knowledge flowed back into my brain as if it had been locked away outside. Holly nodded, “Yes, and in most cases, it’s okay if you trust the person. But if you keep going with Erica, I guarantee you’ll be a regressed Little who is adopted by the end of the week!” ‘I really don’t know that it would be a bad thing,’ a voice in my head said. ‘Erica is nice and loves me?’ “What now?” I asked as I shook out the odd voice. “Now, we’ll get you back to daycare in time for lunch. I’ll figure out something to do with the milk when we get you there,” Mindy told me. “And then?” “Eat your lunch like a good girl, nap, maybe play, but don’t watch TV tonight. It will take me a couple of days to get things in place,” Holly told me. “What happens if I do see TV?” Mindy sighed, “If you see another episode of your favorite show, you won’t be able to go home.” I felt physically ill then, “Trash can!” I cried out. I just managed to hold in the vomit until one was placed in front of me! MINDY WAS ABLE to convince the daycare workers I was sick and to have me nap on the mat until after nap time. It meant I avoided more milk, even as my craving for it was unbelievable! My pacifier had fallen out of my mouth while I slept, and I put it inside as a gag to avoid begging for Erica’s milk! ‘How can I be so stupid?!?’ I angrily thought to myself. Whatever Holly and Mindy had done for me had left me looking at the past couple of weeks like an outsider watching a movie. Seeing myself peeing, pooping, and crying as a toddler in my mind was almost enough to break me completely. After my ‘nap,’ I was given a diaper change and sent to ‘go play’ with the other ‘kids.’ The problem was that my ‘friends,’ Miley and Desi, wanted nothing to do with me! I had gone to sit down next to them where they were playing with dolls, then promptly watched them stand up and walk away! I tried moving next to some other Littles who were coloring, but I was quickly abandoned there, too! Finally, as a couple of girls started to leave, as soon as I sat in an area with giant foam building block things, I asked, “Why do you all hate me?” The girl was a bit shorter than me. Her hair was tied in adorable pigtails, pink bows dangling from them that matched her dress. She responded, “Sorry, new girl, but we can see you’re marked for the crawler room or worse. The last thing we want to do is go down with you.” She left without another word, and I found myself building things alone for the rest of the afternoon before a diaper change and being delivered back to Erica in the reception area. “And how was Katie today?” She asked Miss C who delivered me to her. “Oh, well, she slept most of the day, honestly. I’m worried she’s got a bit of a bug?” “Oh, is your tummy not feeling good?” Erica cooed at me as I was handed to her. Not trusting myself to answer, I leaned into her shoulder like I had been in my regressed state the previous week. It made me feel safe as she hugged me and rubbed my back. “She wasn’t overly active in playing with the other kids today, so I’m guessing she’s caught something. It’s pretty normal for a new Portal Little. It might be a good idea just to give her a bottle and let her sleep it off tonight?” She rubbed my back and bounced me, “We can do that; we’ll see you tomorrow.” Erica said, carrying me to the car, where she buckled me. She handed me a baby bottle filled with juice, “Try to nurse some of that down. We’ll see how you’re doing when you get home!” I didn’t respond; I just nursed from the bottle and wondered where everything would go now. ‘Holly and Mindy are clearly trying to ‘rescue me’ so I can go home.’ ‘Home!’ I thought back to Mom, Dad, my brother’s family, and what awaited me back home. ‘What’s so much better there?’ I wondered to myself. The bottle was empty when Erica picked me up, pressing a hand into my diaper and saying, “Still dry! You must have gone just before they changed you. Do you want to watch some TV?” I shook my head, trying not to seem too off then. Instead, I leaned into her and hugged her more tightly. “Aww…” She said, kissing my head and squeezing me. “How about we dress you in something comfier, and we can hang out together?” I nodded. I said nothing as she put a pacifier in my mouth and removed the straps from my coveralls before removing them from my legs. Then, she removed my shirt and dressed me in something I never dreamed would be my size: an infant sleep sack! The pink long-sleeved outfit was threaded underneath me, and she guided my arms into the sleeves before zipping it shut. The front of the sack had an owl divided in half by the long zipper, and a snap piece of cloth covered it. “Don’t you look so precious!” She said to me then. I closed my eyes then, hoping she’d tire of playing with me. ‘Playing with me, like some sort of doll…’ I thought to myself “Oh, what’s the matter, Katie?” She asked me, picking me up. I shrugged, “Dunno?” “Hmm… I have an idea. Let’s put you down in your crib for a moment. I’ll be right back!” As she left, I feared what she would be doing then, and I sat up. I tried to stand in the sleep sack, but it was just a little short for my legs to get a purchase on my feet without pulling my shoulders down. The best I could do was crouch like a frog… ‘Or like I’m going poopy,’ a voice in my head said. I looked down at the snap covering the zipper and thought I would be better off out of the sack. I pulled on the cover with all of my might! And pulled again! The again! The thing wouldn’t budge. As I pulled at it again, Erica said, “It’s Little proof, Sweetie. We can’t have you getting out of your outfit to make a mess!” I noted she was wearing a different blouse then, one with a stretchy neck area. I also nervously noticed that I could see her nipples – she wasn’t wearing a bra! She picked me up, cuddled me close, and said, “You must not be feeling great. You’re not nearly as cuddly today! I wonder what you caught!” Erica pressed on the mobile above my crib, and it started playing its music even as she carried me to the rocking chair and asked, “Is it your head?” I nodded. It wasn’t a lie since I had a headache trying to sort out how I felt about everything. Nothing in my world was as comforting as Erica’s embrace! “Well, let’s sit here for a few minutes,” she said, “and then maybe we can try the best medicine for it.” “Medicine?” I asked around the pacifier. She laughed, “Like Doc suggests!” Then, I realized what she meant as my brain ran back over the episodes and how mommy’s milk was the best for everything. “It won’t work though?” I said, dropping the pacifier from my mouth. “Oh, why?” she asked, catching the pacifier and holding it in one hand before setting it on the adjacent table where the bottle warmer sat. “You’re not my mommy?” “I’m not?” She asked. I shook my head. “Oh? Well, are you sure about that?” “Uh-huh?” “What makes a mommy?” she asked me. “Having a baby,” I told her. “Does it have to be her own baby?” I nervously shook my head, “No, there are foster parents?” “Right! And also, a woman could adopt too; wouldn’t that make her a mommy?” I nodded. “Well, what does a mommy do for her baby?” She asked me, beginning to rock the chair. I thought for a second, feeling like I had fallen into a trap. “She takes care of the baby?” “How?” I blushed, “She changes them?” “Right! Haven’t I changed a bunch of your wet and stinky diapees?” I felt ill but nodded, “I guess.” “You guess,” she said, tickling me for a second until I was forced to giggle and smile. “What else does a mommy do?” I shrugged, “I dunno, I’ve never been a mom?” She laughed, “Clearly. Well, does a mommy dress her baby?” I nodded. “I’ve dressed you, right?” “Uh-huh,” I said. Suddenly feeling the need to suck on my thumb or a pacifier. I was suddenly nervous. “Does a mommy carry her baby places?” “Yeth,” I said, realizing my thumb had entered my mouth. “I’ve definitely carried you around, huh?” “What else does a mommy do?” She asked, rocking a bit more. Doc McSweetie returned to my head along with all the other Littles I’d seen. “Feeds them?” “That’s right!” She said, suddenly pulling at her blouse as it confirmed she had chosen it to make her breasts more accessible to her. To me. “Now, since you’re not feeling so good, let’s give you your medicine, Sweetie,” she said, moving me beside her breast. I shook my head, “No, that’s icky!” “It’s not icky for a baby to nurse from their mommy,” she said with a smile. “We’ve already said I change your diapees, and I dress you, I carry you, I’ve fed you, so it’s time to really feed you.” “But is gross,” I said, noting that my speech was going backward again. “Oh, Sweetie, you’ve been drinking Mommy’s milk since you arrived. It’s just going to taste better directly from Mommy!” I tried to turn my head away, but she held it tight. “No!” I cried and thrashed as much as the sleep sack would allow! “Katie? What’s gotten into you?!?” The smartest thing would probably be to back off, accept the nursing moment, and fight tomorrow. But no one could say I’d been very smart the whole trip! “What’s gotten into me is that you’re forcing me to be your baby like some sort of sick pet!!!!!” I said to her, pushing her away. I just about fell to the floor off her lap when I felt her massive hands catch me and hold me out in front of her. “Katie, you do not hit Mommy!” she said coldly. “You’re not my mommy!!!” “Oh?” She asked. “And how do you think that?” “I’m an adult! I have protections!” She laughed, “You do have protection on your bottom, but that’s about the only one. And if you ever hit Mommy again, you will find it can go away quickly!” “You would hit me?” I asked. “I will spank you, which is a normal punishment for a naughty Little like you’re being!” “But...!” I tried to argue. Something in her face went from being angry to furious in no time flat! She repositioned me to where my body was on top of her knees. Without any warning, I felt the palm of her massive hand smack my butt!!! Even with the sleeper fabric and the diaper, it hurt! She spanked me again! “You!” Spank! “DO NOT” Spank! “TALK” Spank! Spank!!! “BACK!!!” Spank! “TO MOMMY!!!!!” Spank! Spank!! Spank!!! Spank!!!!! I was a blubbering mess of tears then! “I’m sowwwy,” I cried out. “Sorry, what?” She asked me. “Sowwy… Mommy,” I cried. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! What did you think? Please press the Like button and leave a comment! So this was a busy chapter, lots happened in one day! (Katie's bottom is certainly sore at the end of this!) I enjoy seeing you comments, so I'm looking forward to what you think here!

Chapter 14 I WAS LYING on the changing table when I woke up the following day. “Good morning, Sweetie!” Erica told me with a smile. “Morning,” I tried to say before realizing I had a pacifier in my mouth. I pulled it out, “Why do I have a pacifier in my mouth?” “You fell asleep with it last night?” “But why?” I asked, trying to remember yesterday. Even as I thought about it, the memories flooded my brain. “Wait… what did…?” She chose that moment to pull the zipper of the footed pajamas down, distracting me from focusing on the fleeting thought I’d just had. ‘I… pooped myself right before bed?’ I was worried! My stomach suddenly felt weird and funny. I noticed Erica bending over and doing a raspberry on my tummy like I was a baby! “Stop that,” I giggled. “You looked like you were thinking too hard!” She said, tickling me for a moment before finally letting up! “I love that smile of yours,” she told me. Right then, she leaned down and surprised me by kissing my nose. I wrinkled my nose at it but was immediately distracted by the ‘scritch’ of a diaper tape being removed. Erica cleaned me up a moment later, but instead of offering me a pull-up, she put another diaper on me. “But I wear big girl panties!” I told her. She laughed as she firmly held my ankles in the air, preventing me from squirming free. “Sweetie, I think the time for pretending you’re a big girl who’s successfully mastered potty training is over! I mean... How many times did you even make it to the potty yesterday?” I looked at her, dumbfounded, as I thought through the day. “…Once?” I asked. She smiled, “Yep, now how many wet pull-ups, diapers, and poopy diapers did you have?” I blushed. “See, if you were a toddler, there is no way we would move you to big girl pants after that. And it’s okay, I like you either way! Nothing changes here except your underwear!” I squirmed as she put some cream on my bottom before taping up the new diaper. “Now, how about wearing one of your new Doc shirts?” she asked me, holding out a frilly-sleeved purple shirt with Doc and her friends on the front. Underneath the picture, it read, ‘Real Sweetie!’ Some part of me wanted to object, but it was like another person was in my head as I began bouncing up and down. “Doc shirt!!!!” I smiled and giggled. “Arms up!” She told me before pulling it down over my head. “Lay back down real quick, Sweetie,” she told me. “Why?” I asked. She didn’t answer; she just pulled the back of the shirt and the front together, and I realized it was one of the bodysuits she’d bought yesterday. “Let’s see, leggings, sweats, or no pants?” she asked me. I made a face at that. ‘Why would I want to leave my embarrassing diaper exposed to the world?’ “Sweats?” She smiled, stood me on the floor, grabbed a pair of pants from a drawer, and said, “Step in!” as she held open the sweatpants for me. They were pink, with white and purple hearts that went down the legs. A pair of socks appeared next, and I was dressed. Looking at the mirror in the room, I couldn’t help but catch a glimpse of myself. ‘Why is there a baby in the room?’ A voice in my head asked before screeching to a halt! ‘Why do I look like that?’ ‘I’m an adult!’ When I was lifted back up, those thoughts were screaming through my mind. Erica placed me on her hip and said, “Let’s put some breakfast in that rumbly tummy!” “I’m not a baby. Please don’t talk to me like that,” I complained. “I know you’re not,” she said, looking apologetic. “Sorry, I talk to all my patients and nurses like that, too.” I nodded, noting the pat to my diapered bottom as we descended the stairs. She moved to the table without pause, lowering me into the seat and strapping me into the harness. ‘When did she start using the harness?’ I wondered. ‘It’s not the first time…?’ “I thought I didn’t need the harness?” She smiled, “Sorry, I forgot I said that. It’s already on, though. Can we just leave it on through breakfast?” She said this even as she put the white plastic tray in front of the seat and pulled a chair beside me. I felt her fasten another bib around my neck. “I don’t need bibs either? You said just that one time?” “We don’t want to get Doc dirty, do we?” I found myself nodding at that, “That would be mean.” I agreed. “Besides, remember the deal was if you kept the bib clean? It definitely wasn’t clean last time?” Erica disappeared for a moment before returning with a bowl of something. “What’s that?” I said, making a face at the brownish-gray mush. “Just some cereal?” “It doesn’t look like cereal?” I said. “I’ve heard you don’t have it in your dimension. Just try it? I think you’ll love it?” I looked skeptically at the spoon she held in her hand. It looked like a baby spoon, but I’d used a few since they were my size the last few days. With a grumble, I reached for it, “Fine.” She pulled the spoon back, dipped it in the bowl, and brought it to my face. I wrinkled my nose, “I can do that…” “Just try it?” She said. I groaned and opened my mouth, accepting the spoon in and letting the mush cover my tongue. It was… weird! Although the texture was off-putting, the flavor was like the essence of apples, oatmeal, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, all balanced perfectly. I couldn’t help but smile, “That is pretty good!” She smiled. “I’m glad you like it!” she said, pushing another spoon into my mouth. “I can do that,” I told her just before she pushed another spoon into my mouth. “I know, but isn’t letting someone else carry the load nice? You mentioned that before you felt like a kid still?” I blushed but nodded, “I guess.” ‘She’s right, it’s kind of nice not to have to do everything and be a big adult!’ She cleared the bowl of mush one spoon at a time as I tried to place what it looked like. For some reason, it was really difficult to connect my brain with the bowl and infant rice cereal. Still, once I did, I discounted it. ‘I tried some of Aria’s once out of curiosity, and it didn’t taste like anything good. This is really tasty!’ When the bowl eventually emptied, I was thirsty. Before I could ask for something to drink, Erica pulled me out of the highchair, grabbed something behind my back, and walked to the recliner she liked to sit in. She twisted me into her lap, “Thirsty?” I nodded, “I was going to ask.” “Good! Here we go,” she said, pulling another ‘cup’ of milk out. “Why do I have to drink out of baby bottles now?” I asked. She smiled, “I thought you liked your Doc cups?” “I…” I started to continue objecting, but she pushed the nipple into my mouth, and a drop fell onto my tongue! Instantly, my brain remembered that this milk was delicious, and a baby bottle was a small price to pay to drink it! ‘Besides, Doc says it’s good for you!’ While nursing on the bottle, I suddenly felt an urgent need to pee! I tried to get the bottle out of my mouth to say something, but Erica held it in place, and my mouth didn’t want to stop suckling the delicious liquid. A moment later, it didn’t matter, as my bladder spilled into the diaper! I felt her hand on my diaper to check it since she must have felt the diaper warming, even as I kept nursing from the bottle. I stayed in her lap until all I was sucking was air. “I…” was about to say something, but she turned me over her shoulder, rubbing my back and patting it. “I…” I tried to complain again right as I gave a big and very unladylike belch. “Excuse me,” I said. She laughed, “It’s okay. What a good burp!” I blushed as she pulled me back in her lap and sat me to where I was looking up at her. “So, I thought today you could have a fun day and play with your toys?” “Play with my toys?” I asked. Confused. “Honey, and your other stuffies?” She told me. “But… I’m…” I wanted to say I was an adult, but that didn’t come out, “a big girl! Big girls don’t play with stuffies?” “Oh? Maybe you’re right. But maybe there are some other toys in your toy chest? We have so many cooler things here than you do back home that you missed out on! Why don’t we go look!” She stood then and placed me on her hip, carrying me up the stairs and into my room before putting me on my feet in front of the toy chest. She opened the lid, and despite feeling like it was something for babies, I couldn’t help but be curious about what was inside! The chest was tall enough that I had to stand on my tiptoes to see inside. “Let’s see,” Erica said, kneeling beside me, “We have a couple of baby dolls?” she suggested, handing me one. I looked at the doll and noted that it was the most lifelike I had ever seen. “It’s breathing!!!” I said with astonishment. She smiled at me, “Of course, she breathes; she’s a baby, after all?” I found myself curious then as she opened her eyes and said, “Mama!” I nearly dropped her. The mouth moved as lifelike as if a human had done so. I shifted her to a cradle position and sat crisscrossed with her in my lap. Her face was incredibly realistic, and her eyes seemed to move and stare like a real baby. In fact, her whole body fidgeted and wriggled like a real baby, too! The doll’s body seemed to flex muscles and tenons just like a real baby, and it was incredible how realistic it was! “She’s not real…?” I asked, both impressed and uneasy with it. Erica laughed, “She’s as real as you want her to be, Sweetie.” Right then, she started to move her arms, and I watched in astonishment as her hands balled into fists, and she started grunting. “What’s she doing?” I asked Erica right before she started crying. “Check her diaper?” She suggested. I made a face but turned her around and pulled back the diaper like she had done with me the past couple of days. Sure enough, “Eeew…” I said and handed her to Erica. “You don’t like her?” “I… I don’t feel like I can be a good mommy,” I told her in one of my most lucid thoughts of the day. Erica hugged me and did something with the doll to stop her crying. “That’s okay,” she told me. “Is that one of the reasons you came here?” she asked me. I nodded. “So you don’t want to be a big-adult-mommy?” she asked me, a bit of teasing in her voice. I shrugged. “Well, why don’t we see what other toys are here instead?” I nodded, giving the doll one last look and seeing what Erica would pull out next. She reached in and pulled out something that looked like a sorter toy. “That’s a baby toy,” I told her. “Is it?” She asked me, throwing all the shapes out of the domed-topped toy. It was pink and purple, and I saw way more shapes than I ever remembered being in a baby’s sorter toy. She picked up a yellow dodecahedron shape and handed it to me. “Where’s it go?” I made a face but crawled closer and turned it around. I was sure I had the right spot, so I put it in, and I was shocked to see it shoot right back out of the toy with a loud buzzer sound, followed by a maniacal giggle. “That’s not quite right!” the toy said. “But…?” I said. “What color is it?” Erica prompted. “Yellow?” “So…?” She suggested. I turned the toy around and discovered a yellow-outlined spot identical to what I had tried first. I tried pushing it in, but it didn’t quite fit. I had to turn it about three degrees, and then it fit! Better yet, it didn’t shoot straight back out at me! “Still think it’s a baby toy?” Erica asked me. “Maybe…? It’s not that much different, at least?” She smiled, “Okay, let’s check what else is inside the chest.” I lost track of time as she showed me toys like the ones back home but ramped up. The Legos were more like enormous duplos—obviously, babies were bigger with choking hazards, and I learned the ‘real’ Legos were about the size of our duplos back home! Another toy reminded me of a driving toy with a steering wheel and buttons to pretend to drive a car. With this one, instead of being pretend, when you turned it on, you entered a holographic car! Eventually, Erica left me for a while to explore on my own after giving me Honey and my Tiger, Eleanor. Occasionally, I would glance at the baby doll, but it was by far the creepiest toy I had ever seen! A while later, Erica reappeared, sniffed, and picked me up. “What?” I asked her. “You’re stinky!” she told me with a disarming smile. “I…?” As she placed me down on the changing table, I turned my attention to my diaper and could indeed feel I had an accident! “When did that happen?” I asked, mortified. Erica shrugged, “Sometime in the last half hour? I didn’t smell it when I came by last to check on you?” “I…” I started to speak, but she placed a pacifier in my mouth. “Don’t worry about it, Katie. We’ll get you all cleaned up, and you can return to playing a little longer before lunch.” My first instinct was to spit the pacifier out! ‘I’m an adult!!!’ I thought angrily. ‘When did I go though? And, how in the hell did I sit in it without realizing I’d gone?!?’ One suck on the pacifier, though, was all it took for me to decide it wasn’t so bad. Erica hummed a wordless tune while she changed my diaper. It sounded a bit like Frére Jacques to me. I thought briefly of our student, who was a music major, before being distracted by the baby wipe moving up and down my butt. Erica was very thorough, and I squirmed a little in embarrassment. “Almost done,” she said to me soothingly. A moment later, I was in a new diaper and dressed once again. Erica then sat me back down on the floor and left the room. I knew something was wrong but couldn’t figure out what it was. ‘She’s treating me like it’s normal to poop my pants...?’ I thought worriedly. I decided until I could figure out what was wrong, I’d play with the odd sorter toy since the shapes were all still lying on the floor. It was bizarre because there were several options for matching the shapes, and color wasn’t the only thing that would send one flying out. I discovered one would only go in when the right side of the shape went into the right hole. Another wouldn’t go in at all until I found one side had a magnet you had to slide over. I had just pushed the last shape in the sorter when I heard a “Good job!” from above. I blushed, “I… uh…” “Was having fun?” “Maybe…?” I admitted. She tickled my side, made me giggle, and squeezed me tight. Downstairs, she buckled me in again. “I thought you weren’t…?” I was about to say, but I didn’t have a chance to complain when she again added the tray and a bib. “I feel safer with you this way,” she told me. “Also, we could get a visitor in the next few days who may be checking on some things. I don’t want us to have to move you out to a random stranger’s place?” A part of me wasn’t sure that would be a bad thing, even as internally, I struggled with the idea of being separated from Erica. “They’d do that?” I asked nervously. “Hopefully not, but that’s why you must sit with the harness on.” I nodded, “Okay.” “Now, let’s have some lunch. I made you some special soup!” “Soup?” I asked. She brought a bowl that was sort of soupy. Still, it reminded me more of a jar of vegetable beef baby food that had been a staple in my picky nephew Asher’s diet until he was nearly two. It even looked like the lumps were just scaled up, but the same. “Is that baby food?” I asked her as she dipped a spoon in. She laughed, “No, Sweetie, it’s just soup. I like having a smoother texture with soup, I feel like it tastes better?” She brought the spoon to my mouth, “Open up and see what you think?” I made a face but opened my mouth and let the spoon go in. I sucked the ‘soup’ off the spoon, and it was pretty tasty. “It does taste like stew,” I agreed. “See, I knew you’d like it!” She fed it to me, spoonful by spoonful until it was empty. “All gone!” She said after giving me a last bite. “You know I could have done that myself?” I told her. “Don’t you like not having to do everything for yourself?” I shrugged, “It’s nice to have the control though…” She laughed, “I think you like letting go of it!” I was a victim to more tickling as she moved the tray out of the way, pulled the splattered bib off my face, and wiped my hands and face. “Come on, you,” she told me, placing me on her hip. She carried me to the fridge, opened it, and I watched her grab another bottle. As she did so, I noticed something that seemed… off. There were bags of liquid that looked like they were filled with milk inside there. “Why is that milk in bags?” I asked her as she placed the bottle into something that must have been a bottle warmer. She smiled, “That’s just the way it comes here.” My brain thought something was wrong, but it felt like something blocked my usual thought patterns. Before I could ask Erica more, a beep came, and she said, “Come on, let’s go upstairs!” She carried me to my room and sat me in her lap in the rocking chair. She grabbed a blanket draped over the back of the chair and pulled it around me, practically swaddling me like an infant. “Not a baby,” I complained again. She smiled, “I know, but I think you like the milkies?” Something about milk made me smile, squirm, and nod excitedly. “Milkies!” She placed the nipple of the bottle in my mouth, and I instantly started sucking it down. At some point, I felt my eyes begin to drift shut. I woke up after a nap, and the morning repeated in the afternoon with more toy time. After dinner, Erica bathed me that night with more toys before repeating the bottle feeding. Something was wrong, but I was comfortable, well cared for, and beginning not to worry about whatever was wrong. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like Button and leave a comment! I'll post the next chapter on Friday!

Chapter 122: Nurses AS WE DROVE, Nikki filled Aunt Megan with what she had done then, too. “What are you going to say?” Nikki asked me. “Truth?” I suggested. “That may not be the best idea?” Nikki said. “We’ll see what they know?” I suggested. “Sounds like a better idea.” Aunt Megan responded. “Somehow, I don’t think those punks will want to say they got beat up by you?” Nikki said. I smirked, “No, I very much doubt that is on their minds as something to say. But do they even have anything to lose right now?” “Not much,” Aunt Megan said. “Best case is juvie for them, but more likely they get sent to a ‘reform school.’ Really, it depends on how old they all actually are?” “Even the tall one, Tuck?” I asked. “He’s got the best chance of ending up in juvie due to his size,” Aunt Megan told me. “But if they determine he needs re-raising, they can always give a sentencing that involves shrinking like they did with Beth’s Grandma.” I blanched, “Would they do that for something like this?” “Probably more likely for a kid like this that they think is impossible to rehabilitate.” “So…?” “So those four probably feel like they have nothing to lose by throwing your ‘violent attack’ against them?” “Oh,” I said, suddenly feeling my diaper warm. It was then that I realized I didn’t have any spares, and this one was filling up rather quickly. “Any chance you grabbed my bag?” “No?” Nikki said. “I think it went on the ambulance with Beth,” Aunt Megan said. “How long do you think this will take?” I asked, pressing on the padding a little bit. “Could be a couple hours?” Nikki said. “I’m going to need a change before then?” “I’m sure the hospital will have spare diapers, Carly?” Aunt Megan said. “I’m just worried about what kind they’ll have,” I said honestly. “Has anyone called Beth’s parents yet?” I asked. “Shit!” Nikki said. “Can I turn my phone back on now?” A moment later, the device Aunt Megan had was stored, even as the bodyguard was calling Beth’s parents and letting them know her daughter had been attacked again. I was glad I couldn’t hear the other part of the conversation. I imagined Nikki was visibly sweating as it went on. Nikki was carrying me into the Emergency Room check-in area when she was asked, “Excuse me, Ma’am. Are you here to check in the girl?” “Yes?” “You’ll need to check your daughter in at the pediatric hospital.” “She’s not my daughter?” “Be that as it may be, she’s small enough; we have to treat her in the pediatric unit.” Nikki was about to say something, but Grandma showed up then. “I’ll take her over there. Why don’t you figure out where Beth is? Go find her, and Megan can go wherever the detective goes first.” “Good idea,” Nikki said. “Come on, Carly, let’s go to the Pediatric Unit.” I sighed and clung to Grandma, finally finding myself coming down from my massive adrenaline rush. I began shaking, even as she rubbed my back soothingly, “You’re okay,” she reassured me, even as I closed my eyes. BETH HAD WOKEN up before they loaded her in the ambulance, but she was only now coming to her senses. “Honey,” a nurse looked at her. “Can you please tell me your name and age?” “I’m Beth Sylvester, age nineteen?” “Is your real name Beth, or is that a nickname?” Beth shook her head, “Sorry, I’m really woozy; it’s Elizabeth.” “Middle name?” “Ashley,” Beth answered. “Okay, Beth, we’re admitting you to the hospital for a scan and observation. I understand you were inadvertently stunned with a Pulse Gun?” “Is that what happened?” Beth asked. “That’s what the EMTs said?” “Huh…” Beth spent a moment trying to assemble pieces and suddenly put her hand on her neck! “Did he cut me?!?” She felt gauze on her neck. “From what I understand, they bandaged a small scratch on your neck?” “He didn’t cut through?” Beth asked. “Cut through?” “With the knife?” The nurse looked alarmed and looked closely at her neck, “If he had, you wouldn’t be speaking to me right now. I think you probably just got a scratch, but I’ll make sure the doctor looks at it.” “Where am I?” Beth asked nervously, considering the room did not look like your typical white doctor’s office. “You’re in the Pediatric Unit here at University Hospital. We didn’t get your information from the EMTs until you’d already been brought here. We can look at transferring you to the adult unit, but it may take a while to get a room?” “How long do you think I’ll be here?” she asked the nurse. “Seeing how you’re talking to me, probably not too long? It may be overnight; it’ll be up to the doctor?” “Any chance I could have my phone to call my parents?” “Do you know where it was?” “In my purse?” “Let me see what the EMTs brought in with you,” she said. Beth leaned back onto the bed, saw the control that could raise it up, and brought it back up to better support her. She noticed a tear in the sleeve of her sweater, which made her cringe. ‘This was one of my favorites!’ The nurse returned right then with a bag in one hand, but it wasn’t her purse. “That’s Carly’s bag, not my purse,” Beth groaned. “I thought the diapers looked a little small for you,” she said. “That’s because they’re for one of the girls I was with.” “The doctor will want you to change into this gown so we can run the scan and he can examine you,” the nurse said. Beth looked at the gown and cringed at the infantile pink color, castles, and princess tiaras over it in a darker pink color. “Anything less babyish?” Beth asked. “What’s wrong with it?” the nurse asked. Her own pink scrubs looked to be cut from the exact same print and designs. “Never mind,” Beth sighed. “Can you show me where the bathroom is first?” “Hold on a moment,” the nurse said. ‘Why?’ She wondered. ‘Maybe she needs to grab a wheelchair?’ When the nurse returned, Beth realized she had gone for something else. The thing in her hands was definitely not a wheelchair! IT HAD TAKEN ten minutes for Grandma to carry me to the Pediatric Wing. The HoloReceptionist took down my information and informed us we would have to wait approximately forty minutes to be seen. “Fun,” I said. “Definitely never a dull moment since you came here, Kiddo,” Grandma said. “Let’s use the time to get that wet diaper changed.” “I don’t know where my bag went?” “Maybe it went with Beth?” Grandma said, “Come to think of it, Megan ended up with Beth’s purse. So I bet your bag went with her.” “I hope so?” “We’ll track your phone later if it doesn’t turn up.” I nodded. “Fortunately, I’m a prepared and experienced mommy and grandma, so I still have some spares in my purse!” She bounced me up and down and began following signs to a restroom and changing area. As she carried me in, she hooked her bag onto the table hook and pulled out a disposable changing mat. As she sat me down on it, another woman came by. “Oh my god, your baby is so adorable!” I blushed while Grandma said, “Actually, my grandbaby!” “How lucky are you! How old is she?” “Nineteen,” Grandma said. “Nineteen weeks? She’ll be a big girl and in school in no time!” I felt my stomach twist, my face redden, and I felt the urge to hide my face with my hands. “Time does go by fast, doesn’t it?” Grandma said, winking at me. Fortunately, the woman left, and Grandma started pulling at my pants. “How did you already soak this? Did Beth not change you before that all happened?” “No, she did change me; I drank a lot at lunch, though?” “Hmm…” As she finished taping my diaper up, she pulled my shirt up a little further and hissed, “I could kill those hooligans.” “Huh?” “You’ve at least got some serious bruises,” Grandma said. “Oh,” I said. “I’m not surprised; I feel like I went through an entire tournament day in two minutes.” She finished changing me, washed our hands, and then we returned to the waiting room. She handed me a water bottle and instructed me to drink it. “Where’s everyone else?” “Your cousin’s house,” Grandma said. “Megan’s husband came and got the rest of the girls.” “Oh,” I said. “Where’s Grandpa?” “On his way in,” I heard a hearty voice and turned to see Grandpa coming in. “Sorry it took me a while.” “No problem,” Grandma said, “Any chance you can speed this up?” She pointed to the waiting room. “Actually, could he go check on Beth? I don’t like that she’s alone here?” I said. “Nikki is supposed to be…” Right then, Nikki walked in, looking annoyed. She spotted us and came over with agitated body language. “Have you guys seen Beth?” We shook our heads, “We’ve just been in here?” “Apparently, she was admitted to the pediatric unit? Of course, it took me forty minutes to get out of a nurse, and the other member of my team was turned away from even getting that information!” “So she has no one with her?” Grandpa asked. “No?” “I’ll see you in a bit, honey,” he said. “Make sure you see Holly! She’s supposed to be coming in for her.” I watched him pull a badge from his pocket and hurry through a door where I hoped he could find Beth before anything else traumatic happened! BETH HAD WANTED to beat the nurse over the head with the item she brought! Growing up, one of her friends had a grandmother who was unable to move much, so they had placed this ‘commode’ in her room, which was, in her mind, essentially a grownup training potty. Her grandmother even jokingly referred to it as such a couple of times when they were around. All Beth could remember was how horrible it smelled! The one the nurse brought in looked like a child version of the one she remembered. The heights were different, but it also looked like someone had taken the extra color left over from Carly’s nest to color it. The result was a pink and purple abomination that looked like an enlarged child’s training potty! Beth might have argued if she hadn’t needed to pee so badly, but the longer she’d sat, the more she needed to go! “Let me help you, sweetie,” the nurse said. She picked her up under her bottom and moved her towards the ‘potty.’ Beth managed to push her own pants and panties down and sat down, gratefully releasing her urine into the potty. She sighed audibly but was still out of it enough she didn’t register the hands pulling her pants and panties off. “Tisk, tisk,” the woman said. “Huh?” Beth asked, looking at the woman. She realized in horror that she was checking over her panties, and even from her seat, she could see a quarter-sized wet spot! “Well, well, I thought maybe you were a big girl since they said you’re nineteen, but I guess we’ll have to make sure we follow our protocol for Little girls who can’t keep their panties clean and dry.” Beth figured she was doomed to be put in a diaper now for however long they kept her. ‘Could they make me in the dorm then too?!?’ She was one step from hyperventilating when a male voice asked, “And what would that protocol be, Nurse Ponder?” Beth looked up at the familiar voice and was relieved when she saw Fred had come to save her just in the nick of time! “Obviously, she has to wear a diaper now?” Beth watched the nurse look at a nametag Fred was wearing, “Doctor?” “Do you know why she had such a small leak? Is it really that big of a deal?” “Clearly, she’s not ready for the big-girl potty?” “Clearly, the only thing here is a nurse who needs to find another profession.” “Who the hell do you think you are?” The nurse asked Fred. “I’m Doctor Westerfield, and even if I don’t have the power to fire you, the next doctor I’m expecting certainly does. So if you don’t want Doctor Nickerson firing you in front of this patient, and I’m sure others who would like to see you gone, I’d recommend you leave right now?” “Like she would do that?!?!” “Hi Fred,” Beth heard another small voice join the gaggle forming in her room. “Good afternoon, Holly,” he said. “I take it this idiot is finishing off her career?” The new voice asked. Beth realized then that it was a short Little in a white doctor’s coat. ‘Wait, is that the Little doctor Dad told me about?’ “Seems like it?” He said. “Personally, I just want her out of the room. Do you want to do the honors of calling security?” “Sure thing,” the short doctor said. Moments later, the nurse was gone, and only then did Beth realize she was still sitting on the potty with nothing covering her. Fred seemed to realize it, too. “Here,” he said, handing her the gown she was supposed to have put on. “Sorry, it’s so hideous. Can I send someone to look for another one?” “If I’m going to be here long, I’ll take you up on that?” Right then, some shouts from the hallway came, and he peeked out, “Give me a minute, Doctor Nickerson’s mommy just showed up, and I don’t want to see her arrested for murder today…” Beth shook her head, ‘What the hell happened to today being a simple shopping day?!?’ GRANDMA AND I were kept waiting in the waiting room for just under the forty minutes the hologram had promised us before being led back to a room. On our way there, we passed a pair of officers and a handcuffed nurse who seemed to be in a total psychotic rage! ‘What the hell is her problem?’ I wondered. The nurse picked me up back in the screening area. “Can you please remove her clothes so she’s just in her diaper?” the nurse asked Grandma. I remembered nurses acting like that only when I was very young, and I blushed at the infantile treatment. A moment later, I was in just the diaper, which I noted was a little wet. “Can you just place Princess Carly down on this scale now? Please lay her flat.” After Grandma sat me down, I realized I was on a scale meant for infants who couldn’t even stand yet! “Try to stay still, sweetie.” I winced as the metal was ice cold; the paper covering that had been placed on top did nothing to help. “Sorry, Sweetie, I know it’s cold!” She fiddled momentarily before saying, “You really are a tiny thing, but getting to be a big girl! Forty-eight pounds!” “Forty-Eight?” I asked nervously. “Yep!” the nurse said. “Let’s get your length now too!” She moved her hands and said, “Now make your body as long as you can, sweetie!” She pressed a button on a screen above me, and a beep sounded. “Forty-six inches! Almost to four whole feet!” ‘What?!?’ I thought to myself. “Now, what happened to you here?” She asked, seeing the bruises. “That’s why we’re here; she and a friend were attacked at the mall.” “Oh dear, who would attack such a sweet thing?” “Long story, can I get her dressed again?” “Please just into this gown,” she said. “I’m sure Doctor Nickerson will want to examine her closer.” Grandma pulled over the silly hospital gown, and I saw how much it looked like it belonged in our nest. ‘Do Bigs really think every little girl wants this much pink in our lives?’ Grandma and I were left alone when we were shown an exam room. “When did I shrink?” “Good question,” Grandma answered quietly. We sat in the room for fifteen more minutes before Doctor Nickerson came in. “Sorry, I got stuck dealing with a nurse who decided she wanted to pick a fight with Fred and Beth.” “Huh?” I said. “Yeah, not a smart idea. But doing it in front of your boss, meaning me? Even worse of an idea!” she said. “Now, what are you doing back here! You’re not supposed to see me like this, Ms. Slane!” “Sorry, Doc,” I said. “we were just attacked at the mall.” “I heard some of it from Beth; what happened to you?” I explained the fight as she examined the bruised areas. When I finished, she said, “Go ahead and lie down. Let’s just scan you, and I’ll see if there’s anything we need to worry about beneath the skin.” “Huh… that’s interesting,” she said a moment later. “Interesting?” I asked. “Yeah, I have a feeling you probably should be in worse shape than you are right now, Carly,” she told me. “I can actively see the nanites in the scan working to repair the damage to your body.” “I wonder if it’s logged?” Grandma asked. “I don’t know. Do you want to log in and see?” She looked at me nervously but pulled out her phone and pressed through some information on the screen. A few minutes later, she projected a view of my body holographically in front of us. “Ouch!” Doctor Nickerson said. “That looks like three cracked ribs, serious bruising, and even a broken clavicle. You shouldn’t even be mobile right now? Were you in that much pain?” “According to the log, it looks like her nanites injected an inhibitor to block the pain?” Grandma said. “Did you program these nanites like this, Doctor Westerfield?” Dr. Nickerson asked. “No, I definitely didn’t.” “Did you do this, Carly?” Grandma asked. “Mom showed me some of the basics with them, but based on everything she and you said about the consequences of messing with them, I’ve been avoiding that altogether! I don’t want to shrink?” I felt my heart practically stop then. “Wait! Did I just shrink today because of this?!?” ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading and for your patience with the timing of the last couple of posts! Please leave me a comment and press that 'Like' button. I'll be back to my slightly earlier posting schedule next week! As always, my completed works are available on Amazon Kindle. If you enjoy my writing, please consider supporting me with a purchase! http://amazon.com/author/babysofia

Chapter 133: Cookie Scenes THE NEXT MORNING, after a great breakfast, Beth and I rode back to Emerson with everyone to make sure they got back alright. Once the Littles had walked into Sanders Hall, we walked with Nikki to her car, and she drove us back to my grandparents. It wasted a couple hours, but we’d accomplished enough with the homework study session the day before that we felt like it was okay. After lunch, we hung out with Shelby at her house before returning to the main house for dinner. Grandma and I managed to have a secure call with my family back home. Mom mentioned she remembered adding a lifesaving feature to the nanites, which must have been the problem for me. “It shrunk you two inches?” she asked with concern. “Yes…” I said morosely. My sisters were still on, and Lilah said, “Well, I guess if you come home the size of a toddler, you’ll be cute enough that we’ll want to take care of you.” “Good babysitting experience!” Hannah said. Riley pinched both of them, “Knock it off, you two!” Mom just sighed while Mama looked pale. “So, do we turn off that feature?” I asked Mom. “I don’t think you can. It’s deeply embedded in the original nanite coding. I might be able to find it, but I’d worry about the unintended consequences… I mean, the shrinking is bad - but you dying is worse?” “You’re doing okay, though?” Mama asked me. I nodded, “It’s hard, but I’ve had a lot of fun too! We had a bunch of the girls from my nest, Beth’s friends, and that star actress I mentioned over for a sleepover Friday and Saturday night.” “Sleepover?” Shelby Riley, curiously. “And just what did our new sister Carly do on a sleepover?” The conversation stayed light for another twenty minutes of poking fun at me before Grandma said we needed to shut off the transmission to avoid it being cracked. After saying our goodbyes, I found my way back to my room and got a needed diaper change from Beth. Beth and I also managed to find time to get together in her room before bed and traded massages with much less clothing in the way! She wore only her panties and a sports bra, and I was stripped to only my diaper when it was my turn. “We are so doing this more on the trip!” she told me with a relaxed smile as she dressed in a pair of satin pajamas before changing my wet diaper. Grandma sadly pushed me back to my room that night, mentioning she did have a crib if she needed to keep me safely contained in my own room! I hoped she was joking? That being said, I was in no hurry to push the boundaries with her! MONDAY, WHEN WE were dropped off, we progressed to a typical day of classes, even as I received the final plan for filming our short film. Professors were beginning to plot our midterms that they were planning for the next week, too, and I realized it would be a stressful couple of weeks leading to spring break! The girls in the nest who hadn’t gone with us were a bit standoffish and jealous at first that night, but a bit of bribery in the form of some smuggled-in candy and snacks I’d brought in helped ease that. As much as I never wanted to end up in one of the nests, I was making some good friendships! Other than the stupid unicorn chant, I had to admit the girls were better to be with than the boys, too! Tuesday was upon us before I knew it. I had another therapy appointment, and I knew Beth had one, too. Still, neither of us mentioned it to each other than letting the other know we wouldn’t be where we normally met. The day flew by, and before I knew it, we were in our Narratives class while Professor Wyler was getting status checks from the other groups on our first project. “Well, I’m glad you all are finally in the can, but it sounds like editing is a major issue for all but two of the groups, and only one group is fully submitted with advertising materials, too. Instead of spending time in class, I want to give you today to work on your projects. Studio Three, if you’ll hang around for a moment?” With that, I watched the other groups leave, even as we stuck around, and I wondered how long he’d want to talk. “I want to tell you all I’m beyond impressed with your film. Every part of it is incredibly well-made and professional! You will definitely be a gem at the film festival next week!” “Thanks,” we all said to him. “Now, this next film – you’re all ready to go?” “Yes, sir, we booked a stage for later?” “I checked that before I came and went ahead and extended your time to now just to make sure you had the space. I want to let you know the soundstage cameras will be recording your filming. I plan to show that to the class on Thursday.” “Why?” Ben asked. “Because the other groups don’t seem to be able to build the cohesiveness you all have with your group. You’re the closest this class has ever had to a truly professional crew. I’ll probably save it for future years, too.” “Thanks for your confidence,” Sebastian told him. “Well, I don’t want to hold you all anymore. Good luck with this next project. At the rate you all are going, you will end up done with your projects long before the end of the year. You all can pick up another project with our resources if you want, but it’s down to just the commercial for your required projects after this short. I don’t expect most of the groups to start filming their shorts until after the break at this point. “Thanks,” Charlotte said. “We’ll see what we think at the end of the semester. Maybe we’ll pick something else up, or it might just be a way to take some of the stress off the rest of our classes.” “Totally fine if you do it that way,” he said with a smile. I walked with the group up to the SoundStage, where our scenery crew already had a set ready to go for us as a high school cafeteria. “Crew, I want to talk before we get going here!” Sebastian said, gathering everyone. When everyone had gathered, “Okay, we did an amazing job and got our first film done and completed weeks early. I’ve spoken with older students, and apparently, it’s rare for this class to have films ready for the festival at all, but apparently, they and the professors are already buzzing about our film!” Everyone cheered a bit about that. “Now, I don’t think we’ll end up doing another film after the commercial, so this is our last bit. Most of our classmates won’t finish this project until a couple weeks after the break and then be scrambling to half-ass a commercial. My hope is we can knock this out of the park, get the commercial done, and then we all can have a bit more time for our other classes?” There were a lot of nods of assent to that. “Okay, so we have seven hours right now until our most valuable asset has to get back to her nest.” There were some giggles and awws about that, and I blushed. “Too kind,” I muttered. “So, seven hours, our film is about twenty-two minutes, we are guessing. Maybe a bit longer with montages and a couple of action-scene moments. Seven hours…? Probably not enough time, but let’s see if we can’t get most of this done today. I want school scenes done first. Cast involved in these scenes, please be prepared for a lot of costume changes as we’re hopping back and forth in the timeline, but just trying to keep set pieces until we’re done with them.” Everyone nodded. “Let’s get this done,” Charlotte said with her own smile. Ten minutes later, I was dressed in an outfit I was assured was the typical ‘high school’ uniform for a Little. In contrast, Beth and Charlotte were dressed in typical high schooler clothes. I was dressed in as thin of a diaper as they could since I was going to be a foolish Little, wearing panties, for the first scene. The cafeteria was set, and we were sitting at a table with Charlotte, playing the heroine, Harper; Beth, the Tweener victim; Evelyn; the Little victim, Emma; and finally, Maddie, who was playing Annalise, the betrayer. Charlotte began the scene, “I heard the quiz in Mr. Jones’s class is nearly impossible!” I ironically complained, “Ugh... why does he have to make math so hard?!?” Beth responded in that kind of ‘duh’ deadpan voice, “Because he’s a math teacher?” Beth shrugged then, and I forced a bit of nervous squirm in my seat. Maddie continued the scene, reassuring us, “You’ll be fine. What is everyone doing after school today?” “Emma and I are just planning to go to my place and work on that project for history together,” Beth said. Charlotte’s character answered, “I’m supposed to have a softball game today?” She turned to look at Maddie, “You?” “Not sure, probably just heading home after home ec?” Beth smiled, “I heard it’s a cooking day in there today?” I practically hopped up and down in my seat with a smile, “Cookies?” The girls giggled at me, even as Maddie patted my head. “We’ll see what we make. I’ll come find you later if we make something good.” Maddie said to me. “Thanks Annalise! That’s why you’re an awesome friend!” I told her with a smile. “Cut!!!!” We heard from Sebastian. “How was that?” Maddie asked. “It was okay. I think we need to get another take or two in there. See if you four can’t make the chemistry more organic?” “Seb, please don’t put organic chemistry in a sentence here on the set. That stupid class is why I’m a theater major!” Ben, one of our set design guys, said. Everyone laughed then, and we went back to do that, which took a couple more times. We played around with the dialog as we went, and by the third time, I felt it was good enough. Charlotte did, too, “That works.” “Ethan, are we ready with that holo character sequence?” “Yep, they just need to react to it.” “Great! Quiet on the set!” At the action call, a loud crash happened beside our table, and we all turned in our seats to look at the Big Holo character holding up a shorter Little boy underneath his armpits. She was holding him out from her body as if he were a baby with the worst diaper blowout in the history of mankind! The girl said, “Pee-eww! You stinkie! I guess you’re not so ready for those big boy pants after all! Let’s go see the nurse for a diaper. Maybe we can see about keeping you in a more suitable class after this?” “Put me down!!!!” The Little wailed. The uniform pants the HoloCharacter wore were soaked, and whoever programmed them even created a ‘drip’ that reached the floor. Not all of it looked to be urine, either. It was way too realistic, and I found my stomach caught in my throat watching it. Despite knowing it was fictional, it was way too close to things I’d seen this semester! We watched them until the characters moved away, “Cut!” Sebastian called. “Sebastian, let’s do that again, I want to try some different camera coverage,” Will called out. “Reset it!” After a few more takes, we finished the scene up. Beth turned from the commotion and looked at us, “I hate when they do that.” I looked up and sadly replied, “At least you’re tall enough that it probably won’t happen to you.” “Don’t worry, we’ll protect you,” Maddie said with a smile that she genuinely made. We all stood up, and the HoloCharacters around us did, too, as we threw away trash and headed for the hallway. When we passed the doors, “Cut!” “We need to do that again,” Sebastian said. “Maddie, instead of making it a friendly smile, is there any way you can look as evil as your character? Like you know more than they do?” Maddie looked at him for a second, “I think so… I’ll try?” “Great!” Sebastian said, “Carly, get rid of the ‘it probably won’t happen’ line, and just make it so that it won’t happen to her. I want the audience to think that Evelyn is a safe character.” “Got it,” I told him. We reran the scene, and it was decided we were good. “What’s next?” Maddie asked. “Back in the cafeteria for one of the final scenes. We’ll need you all to go get to wardrobe for the new costumes,” Sebastian said. “Why do we keep filming things that end up with me in diapers?” Beth asked me as she picked me up and carried me to the back room. “Umm… this time it’s my fault, sorry…” She sighed, “It’s a good and worthy storyline. I just hate the nightmares and the blackmail images?” I squeezed her tightly from my position. “Sorry…” “I think it may be worse this time because I’m not playing a kid. I nodded silently, feeling even more guilty, but I hoped the film would show the shady side of the adoption rules. BETH TRIED NOT to squirm as she was helped out of the costume from the end scene of the film they’d just shot. Charlotte helped her strip out of the costume of the diaper after she’d already stripped out of the sized-up Littles uniform. She blushed still as she thought about the end of the last scene and hurried to dress back into the first outfit she’d worn, which thankfully was a typical high school outfit! Charlotte helped Carly switch into the thin diaper they were using to make it seem like Carly was in panties, even as everyone was grateful she’d had a real one on just now! They were in wardrobe for all of about ten minutes, and already the new scene was set with a classroom they would exit and go into the hallway from. HoloCharacter students roamed the hallway and moved around them as they filmed. They ran that part of things twice before actually trying to film since there would be so many of them! “Okay, quiet on the set!” Sebastian called out. A moment later, action was called, and Beth and Carly casually put away their tablets and supplies in their backpacks. Both girls donned the backpacks and exited to the hallway, where Maddie came up to them. “Hey, girls! I was able to make cookies; I knew you would want some?” “Thanks! You’re the best!!!” Carly told her. “Yeah, thanks Annalise! These’ll be great for a snack!” “Well, why don’t you both try one right now? That way, you can tell me how they are?” Maddie said to us. Beth gave her an odd look, even while Carly wasted no time shoveling a cookie into her mouth, dropping some crumbs on my chin that she had to swipe clear. Carly juvenilely talked with her mouth full, “These are great!!!!!” Beth shook her head and devoured her own more daintily before reaching over and wiping some chocolate from Carly’s face. “Glad you like them! Anyway, I’ve got to run; see you both later!” Maddie took off down the hallway, leaving the two girls standing there for a second. They then traveled in the opposite direction from her. “You know, she’s one of the only Bigs I would trust a cookie like that from,” Carly told Beth. She nodded and added, “Yeah, and at least she’s also a good baker!” They continued walking down the hallway and out the main doors, which a HoloCharacter opened for them. “Cut!” “What do you think, Charlotte?” Sebastian asked. “I didn’t like the placement of the cameras while everyone was in the hallway; we lost Carly’s face too often.” “Will, is it a camera thing or a HoloCharacter thing?” Sebastian inquired. “It’s the HoloCharacters, I think?” Will said to him. “Would you all please program them to walk around the trio? Wider on the camera side? Or maybe set them up to where they’ll approach and basically teleport?” Sebastian asked. “Why don’t we try all of those approaches? We have time?” Carly told them. “You heard the woman!” Sebastian said. It was a pretty short little scene, but it took five more takes, and the six cookies filled Beth’s stomach! Since they were already in the correct costumes, they were filming the next scene, just a montage, just ten minutes later. They spent about twenty minutes tweaking the scenes, camera location, and their paths before calling that scene done, too. “Four scenes down, everyone, great work!” Charlotte said. “I had some dinner brought in; let’s eat, then we’ll finish up the rest of these school scenes! We might even be able to make it to the street scene if we can keep this pace up!” Charlotte came up to Beth and gave her a quick sideways hug as they walked to the costume area, where food was set. “You and Carly are doing great!” “Thanks, Charlotte. I was glad I was at least wearing panties in the last couple of scenes we did!” “Yeah, not many more of those in the script… sorry.” “Yeah,” Beth said. “I’m going to go change Carly; I’m sure she has to be near leaking in that thin diaper.” “Yeah, I think that’s probably about right,” she agreed. Beth grabbed Carly from where she was talking to Sebastian and Will and dragged her back to the changing room before they found some food. “How can you eat that much still?” She asked Carly a moment later. “Huh?” “Those cookies feel like they took half my stomach, and mine’s a lot bigger than yours?” Carly just shrugged, “My grandfather always told me I had a hollow leg?” Beth shook her head and was glad they had Nikki to keep an eye on the food and make sure life didn’t mimic the fiction they were making! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading and leaving enough Likes on the last chapter to push this one up to this weekend! Please leave more Likes and Comments! They're like cookies, very tasty for the authoress, and needed to help motivate her to keep writing! I plan on posting the full script for this film and Diaper Diaries when we reach the end of editing. I decided to incorporate it a little differently than I did the first script for some variety! (Yes, I completely wrote scripts for both works—I traveled deep down the rabbit holes!)

Chapter 131: Animated AMANDA HAD COME up with a creative solution for dinner that night that Beth remembered doing at a sleepover with her friends once. Instead of ordering out for pizza, they each made our own. She may have used the AmeniTea often, but she’d also built an amazing kitchen when they bought the house, complete with a quartet of ovens that easily accommodated all the pizzas. ‘It doesn’t hurt that most of them are Little-sized!’ Beth found herself having a great time hanging out with her friends and Carly’s nest mates. Charlotte even seemed to be finding herself fitting into both groups’ conversations. “So, how does it work with your film career?” Reila asked Charlotte. “I would think they would want you still filming stuff?” Beth hoped her friend hadn’t just stepped in it but was happy to hear the answer, too! “Well, about two years ago, I renegotiated my contract with my agent to allow for a bit more choice when I turned eighteen. I can now say ‘no’ to things that would take me away from school. I made it clear to them that I want a degree and a normal set of ‘college years.’” “So, do you have anything you’re filming while you’re in school?” Everly squeaked out. Charlotte shook her head, “I may have a project in the summer, but nothing is set yet. My agent has been trying to convince me of a few projects, but I haven’t found one I like yet.” “So you can completely choose what you want?” Carly asked. “To a point... there’s still some contractual obligations I have,” Charlotte sighed. “Depending on the circumstances, I still have to do some contracts. I also have some projects I can’t do, or I violate other contracts.” “Like?” She smiled, “The corporation that owns Life with Charlee has some standards. I can’t do adult films, sex scenes, etc. until I turn thirty and the contract expires.” “Wow, takes the fun out of that!” Carly said with a giggle. Fortunately, Carly and Charlotte had developed a pretty casual relationship, so the rude comment only resulted in Charlotte reaching past Beth and tickling Carly’s side. Amanda gave them both a ‘knock it off’ look, and things calmed back down as everyone munched on their personal pizzas. “What next?” Livy asked. “Well, we still have a bunch of college Littles in their uncomfy uniforms... Why doesn’t everyone change into PJs, and we’ll settle in for some movies?” “Sounds like a plan; we do have two nights to do stuff!” Mia said. “Where do we change?” Livy asked. Beth found herself leading the friends to split off into Carly’s room, Shelby’s room, Bella’s nursery, Ryan’s room, and the two spare bedrooms. ‘We could all sleep in rooms and real beds if we wanted to...’ Beth thought as she changed inside ‘her’ room with Livy and Reila joining her. “How do you sleep here with this much pink?” Livy asked her. Beth giggled, “It could be worse; it could be Carly’s room?” “I’m surprised she doesn’t have a crib here,” Reila said as she pulled a long-sleeved pajama top over her head. “I guess her mom didn’t sleep in one after her aunt was adopted.” “How come we haven’t met her yet?” Livy asked. “Shouldn’t she have been around at dinner?” Beth sighed, “Umm... she was probably doing something with Fred. I think he was trying to avoid being in a room with that much estrogen?” Beth pulled her pajamas out of her bag and blushed when she realized that Rachel had packed a footed sleeper for her instead of the more mature pair she had planned on. “Cute!” Livy said. “I’m always too nervous to wear those around Emerson.” “Why?” Beth said, even as she pulled her clothes off and pulled on the juvenile jammies. “One step closer to being a Little...” Reila said for her, sounding sad. “I wish that wasn’t the case, though. I do miss wearing them. I usually wear them at home over the holiday break.” Beth nodded, “You’re safe here?” “I hope so,” Livy said. MIA AND EVERLY joined me in my room to change. We took turns switching into the pajamas we’d all brought inside my bathroom. Knowing we’d be just watching a movie, I decided a pink pair of footed pajamas looked comfy right then. “You really have embraced your inner Little, haven’t you?” Everly kidded me. Hers was a pretty plain pair of pajamas and pants and bottoms. I shrugged, “I’m sort of as close to at home right now as I can be here at my grandparents?” “Don’t you worry about Charlotte starting to cosette you?” Everly asked me. I shrugged, “If changing my diaper, dressing me up in baby clothes, or pretending to breastfeed me for a scene in our film haven’t caused it, these pajamas certainly won’t!” “What?!?” Mia asked in tandem with Everly. “I told you about the film, didn’t I?” “You said you were a potty dunce, but no one mentioned breastfeeding from Charlotte Perez?” Everly laughed. I shrugged, “Not exactly something I’m going to shout from the rooftops?” “If you were still a normal guy, you probably would?” Everly said to me. Mia giggled, “From what I understand making it to that point with her would be an impressive feat?” “I’m friends with a bunch of crazy people...” I said, exasperated. Before we could leave the room, Grandma came by and asked, “Do any of you girls need a change before you get started?” I had just pulled the zipper up my pajamas but nodded, “Probably?” Mia and Everly blushed but nodded. “We’ll start with the guests,” Grandma said to me. Both girls appeared to have become more desensitized to having their diapers casually mentioned and changed in the past five weeks. Neither acted like it was a big deal as they handed Grandma one of their diapers, and she changed them on my table before changing me. “If you need changed again before you go to bed, just give me a holler.” Grandma told us, “I’m sure the other girls can help out, though, too.” I nodded and soon found myself in the large living room where Grandma had set up what I had found out was an atypical home theater. It was much better with the Holo projection field, and the sound was equal to that of the screening rooms in the film department at Emerson. “So, what are we watching?” “What does your Grandma have access to?” Livy asked. “Probably easier to ask what she doesn’t? As long as it’s a safe film?” “Safe?” Amy asked. Mia squirmed, “Nothing hypnotic, right?” “Right!” Grandma said, coming in with Shelby following her. “There should be plenty of sleeping bags here for you, and I’ll bring some more unhealthy junk food out in a bit for you all. Anything in the menu is safe for you to watch. We want to prevent you from being exposed to other shows, though...” We began scrolling through options, “What’s Sentinel Squirrel?” Willow asked. “Oh my god, they haven’t seen that one!” Charlotte said with a squeal, “It’s great! Lots of fun!!!” “You voiced one of the characters, right?” Livy asked. “Yes, one of the squirrels,” she replied. “What’s it about?” I asked. “Evil chinchillas trying to take over the world!” Willow snorted, “What?!?” “It’s awesome,” Everly agreed. “We can start with it, then maybe do some sort of sappy romance next?” With that, I was soon treated to learning about Steve, the squirrel, and his epic adventure and love triangle with Charlotte’s character and a cooler squirrel even as they fought the evil Chinchillas trying to take over the world. They also tried to stay out of sight of the humans that lived in the house below their tree! Honestly, it was an enjoyable kids’ movie with the extra double-entendres throughout that made it fun for adults, too. “That was a lot of fun!” I said when the credits rolled, and our little group cheered when Charlotte’s name showed. “Yeah, it was,” Mia said. “I wish there was some way to take that back home; my baby brother would love to watch it!” “How old is your brother?” Willow asked. “Jacob is five,” she told her. “That’s a big gap?” She said. Mia shrugged, “There’s five of us, so the gap between me and my next sibling is really only three years, then there’s about two years between each of us?” “That’s a big family,” Charlotte said. “Do all of you have siblings?” She asked. It was then that I realized we all did have that in common. Almost everyone in the room had at least three kids in their family, while Amy was the outlier with only an older sister. “That’s so odd to me,” Charlotte said after discussing our families. “How so?” Everly asked. “Well, I’m an only child... well, sort of an only child...?” “How are you sort of an only child?” Willow asked. Charlotte flushed redder than I’d seen her do at any point and sighed, “My mom didn’t get her fix with me as her baby and couldn’t have any more children after me. That means I have... a lot of ‘adopted’ siblings.” With that, I felt the room chill a bit, as I think the others suddenly remembered they were in the presence of one of those Bigs who could easily adopt them. She seemed to get that, “Don’t worry, I don’t want to ever adopt a Little.” “Why not?” Livy asked, “Not that anyone here wants to see you do that?” She shrugged, “My mom started by adopting a Little girl, Jasmine, when I was three and potty training. She claimed she needed someone to take care of since I was her big girl then...” she sighed, “From there, it spiraled, even this Christmas when I was at home I had another new ‘baby brother,’ not that my mom hardly takes care of them.” “That seems... awkward,” I said to her. “How many?” “Little Benny made an even dozen!” she scoffed. “My mom switches off which one is ‘hers’ every day and leaves the rest to the nannies. At least the nannies tend to be kinder to them...” “You really don’t want any?” Everly asked. She shook her head, “No. If I can’t have my own kids, I have no intention of forcing someone else to pretend to be mine.” She shuddered, “The things I’ve seen my mom do... Neither my mom nor my agent will convince me to do that!” “Agent?” I asked. She sighed, “Jack, my agent, has said for the past two years that being a ‘mother’ would open up more opportunities for acting. He seems to think it would stop the teen parts from coming in, and I could start being an adult actress for real.” She snorted, “I think our film proves I’m capable of that without adopting. It’s the one positive of it!” “Do we ever get to see this mysterious film?” Shelby asked. I blushed, but Beth said, “Maybe at the Film Festival if they show it before your dorm curfew.” “When do they come out with a schedule for that anyway?” I asked Charlotte. “Last year, it was the week of the event. I think the faculty speed-watch everything before and during the weekend. I’m guessing we’ll be one of the last films that night.” “I’ll have to get permission to stay out,” I thought aloud. “Maybe because of you, they’ll put it earlier,” she said. “What time is your curfew now, anyway?” “We have to be in the dorm by ten in the evening now,” Everly said. “But at least it doesn’t involve being in the pods three hours before that!” “That was so annoying,” Willow said. “I guess the one positive of those crazy regressing things was that at least we went straight to sleep?” Amy said. “I’m sorry you all went through that,” Charlotte said. “Thanks,” Mia told her. “So what now?” “Romantic comedy time?” Livy suggested. “Trade off doing each other’s hair?” Reila added. “That sounds like fun,” Shelby said, making a rare comment. I could tell she was excited to be with the ‘big girls’ even as she was completely overwhelmed. Charlotte, in particular, seemed to intimidate her. “I have to go to the potty first, though,” she said. “I should do that too,” Livy said. I watched those not in diapers stand up and rush off to the bathrooms, leaving those of us now relegated to diapers sitting in the room. “Well, at least we don’t have to wait in lines for the bathroom now?” Mia said. “Speak for yourself,” Amy griped. “Yeah, I’d go for a long line at the movie theater of holding it if I could. I don’t even notice anymore, you guys?” Everly asked. I grimaced but shook my head with the other girls. I found myself squeezing my diaper through my onesie, trying to see if I needed to be changed yet. I could probably last until the morning, but I’d have to make sure I got a change before we called it a night to be safe. I looked at the time and saw we still had a couple hours until most of the Littles from my dorm would fade, even as we started to see the potty trained amongst us starting to reappear. Beth seemed to have found a pile of ribbons and bows from somewhere that she laid out, and the girls helped themselves to as we began to split up into pairs for the planned hair time. BETH FOUND HERSELF, noting that everyone was too intimidated by Charlotte to braid her hair like the other girls were pairing up. Seeing her sit in front of the couch, Charlotte seemed to think she was destined to be a spectator. Seeing that, Beth decided to climb on the sofa behind her. “I guess I get dibs on you!” she said with a smile. Charlotte turned her giant head back at the smaller girl, “Only if I can do yours next!” “Deal,” Beth said with a smile. Carly had come and sat beside them, squeaking as Charlotte moved her to her lap, took her hairbrush, and started working on her. Beth smirked and started on the Big starlet even as a movie began playing, which she barely paid attention to. She started by brushing out her long brown hair that passed her shoulders and went a quarter of the way down her back. She noted some faint highlights had been added and guessed it must have taken quite a bit of time to individually create the small pockets of it. It gave the effect of lightening as if she’d been in the sun more or something. They’d done some temporary nanites for the film to match everyone up, but this was the first time she’d really looked at her hair up close. It was quite healthy, and Beth had no doubts it resulted from exorbitant salon fees! Beth treated Charlotte like she did Laura when they still had the occasional hair session. Seeing everyone else doing braided pigtails in each other’s hair, she decided to do a more advanced French braid with Charlotte. Beth enjoyed gathering the hair up like Charlotte was her own doll and made everything nice and even. Occasionally, she smiled as she noted that Charlotte was similarly braiding Carly’s hair. Charlotte had dug some pink and white ribbon out of the pile that went well in Carly’s lighter-colored hair. While she was doing Charlotte’s, though, she lost track of what Charlotte was doing with Carly for long enough that she was shocked to see a heart on top of Carly’s head with the braid. ‘That’s adorable!’ she thought to herself with a giggle. Beth finished Charlotte’s hair with pink and white ribbons she’d snagged from the same pile she was using on Carly. She made cute bows that were pretty large, even on her hair. “All done,” Charlotte said to Carly. “How am I doing?” she giggled and asked Beth. “Done too,” she said. “Great!” she said. She lifted Carly and placed her right beside her, then surprised Beth by grabbing her and lifting her over her head and onto her lap. “Eep!” she said in shock. “My turn,” she said with a smile. “I never get to do things like this!” she added. Beth blushed and settled as easily in Charlotte’s lap as Carly did. It really hammered home that her seven-foot-seven-inch height, while huge compared to Carly’s, was still tiny compared to Charlotte’s near twelve-foot height. She was really only a tiny bit bigger in comparison to Charlotte than Carly was to her! She paid a little attention to the movie as Charlotte began on her hair. She just caught a glimpse of the same pink and white ribbon she’d used on Carly and Beth had used on her. With the way her hands moved gently on her head, she suspected she might be matching Carly’s hair with her heart braid. It was a lot like sitting in her mom’s lap as Charlotte worked; they were basically the same height. It was a bit crazy to think she was hanging out with someone she’d watched on TV growing up! Eventually, Charlotte gently tapped her on the back and then surprised her by moving Carly onto her lap beside her and hugging them both. “Thank you two,” she said, “I’ve been at Emerson for two years now, and this is the most normal fun I’ve had.” “Thank you, Charlotte,” Carly said. “I don’t think Beth and I would have survived the class and Kelly if it hadn’t been for you.” Beth nodded, “Yeah, the feeling is definitely mutual. I hope we’ll stay friends through college and beyond!” Right then, she noted that the movie was about done, and most of the Littles looked pretty out of it. “How about we make sure everyone has clean diapers, and then we can hang out in sleeping bags near each other until all the Little ones fall asleep?” Beth said to Carly. “Probably a good idea,” Carly said. “I’m soaked...” Charlotte, Livy, and Beth pitched in to help all the Littles get their pants changed. She noted that Shelby blushed brightly as Charlotte instinctively checked her and praised her. Shelby then ran off to use the bathroom before she needed to be changed like the others! Charlotte, Livy, Beth, Reila, and Carly gathered their sleeping bags on one edge of the room. Carly lay next to Charlotte and Beth on Carly’s other side, and then the Littles spread out around them. Snores were heard over the next movie, something Carly’s mom had brought with her in 2D that the portal Littles had insisted they show the Bigs and Everly. ‘Princess Bride’ was a cute film to watch, she had to admit. By the end, she couldn’t help but tell Carly, “As you wish,” as she cuddled up tight to her. Charlotte commented, “We should remake this here - what an adorable movie!” “Weird not seeing Littles in it other than the one character?” Livy said. “Everyone’s a Big back home,” Carly sleepily told them. It was a surprise that she stayed up later than Reila or Livy, finally leaving only Charlotte and Beth, who closed their eyes and fell asleep very late in the night! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the 'Like' Button and leave a comment! I'm making progress slowly in writing on this, and have started on the next act that's a long way from being posted here at this point. Looking forward to you all seeing what is to come within the future chapters! Please let me know what you think!

Chapter 28: THERE IS NOTHING quite as disruptive to the idea you’re no longer a child than being manhandled by a giant! I was sure of that as I found myself in Mindy’s arms, being carried inside from a garage that barely fit her car. “We’re here?” I asked her nervously. “Here,” she told me. “My husband isn’t back yet. I gave him a long list of things to get, but hopefully, he’ll be here soon since that diaper is about to burst.” I blushed, “Sowwy.” She squeezed me, “Katherine, we’re going to break you of that habit. No sorry’s for things you can’t help!” I smiled, “My mom used to say tha’.” “She was smart!” She messed with the door to the house for a second, and we were soon inside a modest but nice kitchen. “Guess I’ll give you the nickel tour. We don’t have a huge house… Still paying down my grad school loans, and as a police officer, he doesn’t make the most money.” “No worry bou’ i’!” I told her. “Than’ you!” She smiled, “Well then, this is the kitchen. I think it goes without saying, but at least for now, I don’t want you trying to make a meal in here!” I laughed, “I don’ hab coorinashion.” I frowned. She squeezed me again, “Yet! We’re going to work on that!” She walked through to a small dining room with a table that looked like two people usually sat at it and a pile of mail and other junk taking over the other half. “Sorry, I’m not the neatest housekeeper.” “Makes you leth sc...cawy,” I told her. “Convince Keanan’s or my mother of that, please?” She laughed. An open-plan living room with a small loveseat, a recliner, and a modest HoloTV was connected to the dining space. “We like to watch movies or sit quietly and read together,” she told me. She showed me a hallway from there, and the first door led to a small laundry room. “Nothing here for you, but I want you to know there are no monsters ready to jump out at you,” she told me. “Than’ you,” I told her. “Eri…a hi nursery a firs.” “I bet that witch did,” she said as much to herself. Well, we turned one of the three bedrooms into an office,” she said as she walked in a door to show me a small desk area. “And Keanan likes to play video games here sometimes, too,” she added. I appreciated that, unlike Erica’s house, this house was lived in and… normal. She left the room and opened the next door. “This is our guest bedroom. Our families live in town, so I think the bed has only been slept in twice.” I saw a modest bedroom set, a dresser, and nothing special. It was certainly not a nursery ready to accept whatever Little she picked up randomly on the street! “I seep hewe?” “Eventually… We will have to turn it into a nursery for you for the inspections and your safety.” I nodded, “Tha’s fine.” Across the hallway from that room was a bathroom that was supposed to be shared with the two bedrooms. It was clean but clearly not used much. “And last but not least is our bedroom,” Mindy said, opening the door to a master bedroom that still wasn’t the largest room I’d seen in this dimension. It paled to the sizes in Erica’s and Ivy’s houses, which made me feel better about everything. After showing me the bathroom in her room, she carried me back out to the living room, just reaching the room when the doorbell rang! “Who’s that supposed to be?” Mindy asked. I shrugged, ‘how am I supposed to know?’ She walked over to the door and looked through a screen beside it before sighing, “Damnit! Umm… Sorry in advance about this, Katherine.” “Huh?” I felt my diaper warm as I feared the worst. She opened the door, “Hi, Mom,” she said to the slightly taller giant woman outside. “Hi, Mom. You finally adopted, and this is what I get?” her mom asked. “Why don’t you come inside, Mom?” she sighed. “Katherine, this is my mom, Candice Lancet, or Grandma, as she’ll probably want you to call her. Mom, this is Katherine, and this is not a normal adoption, so there’s a reason I didn’t call you yet!” She hissed the last part even as she squeezed me protectively. Her mom looked hurt by that, “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Ih mean… Mommy is hewo,” I said with a smile. I felt Mindy’s posture change and was pretty sure the Amazonian susceptibility to being called Mommy was not limited to Erica then. Her mother’s eyes glistened with tears suddenly, and I was eventually passed to her care. “Why haven’t you changed her?” her mom asked accusatorily, “Poor thing is soaked! Though this is the most adorable outfit!” “You can hab i’,” I said aloud to that. “Don’t be snarky,” she told me as I was handed back to Mindy. “I don’t blame her. Look, Mom, I appreciate that you care, but can you come back tomorrow? Keanan is bringing supplies and some things I sent him off for, and we will work on getting her nursery together this week.” “Aren’t you going to say something about the flippancy?” she asked again. “No, because I agree. Fine, short story, Katherine had a choice today between two decent people to adopt her in court after she dealt with an abusive, manipulative, psycho-mommy trying to trick her into adoption after being hypnotized and who knows what else. Can you just leave it for now?” “Is that what she meant by you’re her hero?” “Yeth,” I said. “Aww… I’m proud of you, Mindy.” “Thanks, Mom; now, come back tomorrow afternoon?” “Fine,” she said. After she cleared out, Mindy said, “Sorry about that.” “She lef qwi’er tha’ I expe…ed?” “Me too…” she said. “Probably just decided it was time to go shopping… When she comes back tomorrow, I apologize in advance! I just don’t know how she heard already?” “Mom’s ca be snea...y,” I said. “Speaking of which, you don’t have to call me Mommy if you don’t want to?” I shrugged, “I did i’ o ge’ ‘er off your c…ase.” She laughed. “Mommy is easier ‘o say, ‘oo,” I said as we stood at a window in the living room. “We’re going to work on that, Katherine. I promise you that.” Right then, I heard a new sound, which ended up being her husband’s car pulling up. A shiny, unmarked police SUV came to a stop in the driveway. “Took him long enough,” she said. “Hopefully, he got the whole list. Come on, let’s go meet my husband!” She walked out of the front door and greeted her husband, who was getting out of the car. I could see he had a name badge on that said Lieutenant Fairbanks. He looked me over and said, “Well, hi. I see you’re the one who made my wife change her mind about everything she ever said to me about adoption with barely any notice?” His voice was full of irony, but his smile said he wasn’t angry. Mindy bounced me protectively, “Keanan, this is Katherine. Katherine, this annoying lug is my husband.” “It’s nice to meet you,” he said with a smile. “Hi,” I said shyly and clung tighter to the safety of the known giant. “Did you get everything?” She asked him. “I hope? You realize you called when I was in the middle of the office? Every secretary there is planning to ‘surprise’ me with a baby shower on Friday morning?” She laughed, “I’m sorry. Maybe it’ll help eliminate some of the things we need to buy.” “You know, we’re probably the least prepared adoptive parents of all time, right?” “Katherine is a sweetie; it’ll be fine. Now, diapers?” She asked. “I hope I bought the right ones,” he said, opening the back of his vehicle. In the middle, a cage meant for holding prisoners could be seen. Still, the back was open, and brightly colored baby supplies covered a variety of tactical boxes. Mindy wasted no time pointing out, “Looks like you did well! Bring those diapers into the restroom. While you do, I will give Katherine a bath and get her out of this hideous outfit. We’ll figure out how you did with the list of everything else afterward.” “Your wish is my command,” he said with a silly voice. “As it should be,” she told him. A half-hour later, I was out of the bath, in a fresh diaper, and wearing a pair of heart-covered onesie pajamas he’d purchased. I was sitting in Mindy’s lap at their dining room table, being fed bites of a slice of pizza ordered for dinner. One thing their house didn’t have that I’d grown spoiled with was an AmeniTea unit! “So, let me get this straight - she’s adopted, but if she can get better, we’re sending her home?” Her husband asked. I was slightly nervous that he didn’t like that for a second before watching him shake his head and smile, “That is so like you!” “You’re not mad?” She asked. “Whatever you want is what I want,” he told her. He looked at me and said, “I do look forward to at least having a temporary little girl. It’ll keep the dispatchers off my case!” “How?” I asked, not having spoken much in his presence. He seemed safe, but he was one of the taller Bigs I’d encountered, a stranger, and quite intimidating! He laughed, “At least once a day, there’s some Little they pick up, and they’ll tell me they ‘need a daddy.’” “Oh,” I said. I motioned for my sippy cup and took a sip from it. “So, how’s this going to work?” he asked Mindy. “Well, for now, you’re going on paternity leave?” She told him. “What?” “If you don’t, you and I both know the captain will have you out doing traffic stops!” “True, she’ll bust my balls over that one…” “Keanan,” Mindy hissed. “What?” “Language?” “Already starting, huh?” he shook his head. “Fine. So, what’s the plan while I’m off?” “We’re going to get Katherine settled in our house. We’ll need to get her nursery straightened out by Monday at the latest, as I’m sure someone will come by for an inspection.” “Which means we’ll need to go buy everything tomorrow?” He asked. She shook her head, “I’ll order everything for delivery tonight after we get Katherine to bed in that pack-n-play you bought.” She looked down at me, “Sorry, it won’t be the most comfy bed tonight, but we’ll get you a better crib set up tomorrow.” I shrugged, “Beas bein abuse,” I replied. She ran a hand through my still-damp hair and passed me another bite of pizza. “I figured you’d want the whole shopping experience?” He asked. “I would, but we must be exceptionally careful not to expose Katherine to any other hypnotic devices. Hopefully, she’ll be more resistant to them soon, but I want two weeks of no possible exposure. That also means no TV on while she’s in the room or within hearing distance.” He looked a bit down by that, “That bad?” She nodded, “She’s been through a lot.” I sat silently through a discussion of their ideas for keeping me isolated for a while before my eyes started to close on their own. “Looks like someone is getting sleepy?” He asked. “Yeah, can you get that pack-n-play set up?” “Where at?” “Use our room for now,” she told him. “I’m going to change Katherine, and we’ll see if we can get some stuff done while she sleeps.” “No’ tha seepy,” I tried arguing. She laughed, “Sure you’re not,” she told me. She was about to put me down in the playpen, but something was missing. “Milkies?” I asked. “Do you need a bottle?” She asked me. I was a little confused, “No milkies?” I said, pointing to her. She took a moment to clear her confusion, “Oh, I don’t make milk?” “No?” She shrugged, “I’ve never had that same reaction to Littles. I had Keanan pick up some formula, though. It’s close?” I nodded. She carried me back into the kitchen, “Keanan, can you hold her for a moment while I make her bottle?” Her husband wasn’t quite ready for the question even as I was handed to him. He laughed, “Guess we’re both going to have to get used to a bossy mommy around her, huh?” he asked as she handed me to hold in his lap. He held me gently. “You sure are a cute one,” he told me. His arms were warm, and as tired as I was, I snuggled deeper into them instinctually. At the same time, Mindy washed out a bottle and figured out how to mix everything before heating it. When she returned with it, she had a cloth on her shoulder. “Come on, let’s get you this bottle and down for the night.” “I could do that, you know,” he told her as he handed me over. “Maybe another time,” she said. “Mommy gets to do this first!” She laughed and smiled at me to reassure me even as she carried me to a recliner in the living room and settled me in the crook of her arm. “May I feed you this, or do you want to hold it?” “You,” I told her. She gently pushed the nipple to my mouth, and I latched on. I sucked the first time and made a face, and pushed it away, “No ‘ase righ,” I complained. “Sorry baby, we’ll try some others later; this is all I have, though?” I made a face but moved back to the nipple and started nursing again. Eventually, I found a rhythm, even as I registered that Keanan had taken a photo of us. Mindy rocked back and forth in the recliner and sang a soft lullaby that put me to sleep. I WOKE THE following day hearing some cursing from the room next door and feeling a crick in my neck! I stretched and stood up inside the playpen. The blinds were pulled closed in the room, but light still came in on the edges to let me know it was daytime. I felt my diaper practically trying to fall off of my hips, so I also knew I was overdue for a change! “Hewwo?” I asked. “Did you hear something?” a voice asked. “I think so. Mandi, I think Katherine is up?” Keanan’s voice replied. “I’ll go check on her,” I heard. “Close the door for now.” When the bedroom door opened, Mindy came in smiling. “I wondered when you would wake up! You slept a really long time!” “Stwess,” I told her. She grabbed me from the playpen and hugged me, “I know.” She made no false show of checking my diaper, instantly placing me on their bed on an already prepared changing mat. She soon had me dressed in a new diaper and a cute romper covered in hearts that barely pretended to have shorts to cover my diaper. Mindy carried me out to the hallway, and I heard noises inside my ‘future’ room. “Wha’s goin’ on?” “Oh, Keanan’s friends from the squad decided to come to give him a hand with your nursery today.” “Oh,” I said. “Yeah, it’s a bit like a comic routine, though; the three that came over all have babies or Littles at home, but you would think they’ve never put together a crib!” I giggled. “I love it when you smile,” she told me. I noted they must have rapidly cleared the dining room table off, as it seemed unnaturally clean then. Beside the chair she’d sat in the night before was a brand new highchair for me. “Let’s try this out. Hopefully, they put it together, right…?” I felt my stomach turn, but I was grateful that nothing fell to pieces after she put the harness straps around me! After that, she was true to her word that therapy was constant. During breakfast, she made me say the names of the fruits as she placed a few bowls on the tray. When I didn’t say ‘apple’ right, she had me repeat it a few times. When I said, “Oa’meal,” she made me practice getting the ‘t’ out every time between bringing a spoonful to my mouth. She finished feeding me by giving me a bottle of milk that I quickly identified as formula. I initially spat the nipple out of my mouth! It seemed worse than the previous night! “Icky!!!” “Sorry,” she told me. “Let’s see if you can get this formula down. I have a few others to try, too?” That didn’t work! A quarter of the way through the bottle, my stomach rebelled, and we both had to have a change! I was grateful to watch her take the can of the horrid substance and throw it into the garbage before giving me half a bottle of the slightly less bad stuff from the night before! I still made a face, but it was at least marginally better! MY BODY CERTAINLY had adapted to naps because I found myself waking up in the playpen again, but this time it was inside the living room. Keanan was sitting in the recliner, seemingly asleep, taking his own nap then, and Mindy was nowhere to be seen. I stretched and stood up, groaning at the wet diaper, pulling at the replacement romper I wore after the failed breakfast. My pacifier was in my mouth, so I bit on it a little firmer in annoyance. I walked around in the playpen and realized it was much larger to me than I would have expected. I was just about to figure out how to get someone to let me out when my body crouched for a second. ‘What’s that smell?’ I wondered for half a second before groaning. ‘Stupid body!’ I complained. As if the stench was as putrid as I thought it was, Keanan made a face and opened his eyes, rubbing them before making eye contact with me. “Oh, well, hello there,” he said, standing up. “We wondered if you would sleep half the day today!” I blushed as he picked me up, and his face twitched, “Looks like I get to be on daddy diaper duty a little earlier than I expected, huh?” I felt tears, but before I could cry, he had tickled my side, causing me to giggle instead. “No tears, baby girl,” he told me. “What you can’t help, you can’t help. Let’s just get you all smelling pretty again!” “Where’s Min…dy?” I asked him. “Mommy is at the store with her mommy trying to find some formula you won’t puke all over her.” I blushed. He hugged me, “Don’t worry about it, baby girl.” “Why call me tha’?” He looked at me as he reached their bedroom and placed me back on the changing mat, which was still there. I’d noted the closed room door still for my new room. “Well… Katherine is a bit of a mouthful for me?” I nodded. “Mommy didn’t think you’d want to be called Katie?” I thought for a second, “Is fine, call me Ka...ie.” He laughed, “I do enjoy it when she’s wrong, okay, Katie, I’ll call you that. Let’s get you out of this stinky diapee, and then Mommy left me some things she wanted me to do with you if she wasn’t back.” It was only as he pulled the snaps to reveal my diaper that it even occurred to me that a man was going to change my diaper instead of a woman. My private parts were going to be exposed… There was no time to think beyond that, though, as he pulled open the diaper and said, “I just hope I can get Mommy to change as many of these diapers as I can!” I watched him semi-gag as he cleaned me up, and it made me feel a little better about being exposed. Keanan was gentle and thorough, wrapping me in a new diaper, and soon had me on the living room floor, passing a ball back and forth by rolling it on the ground. Or at least trying! No matter how much warning he gave me, my body could never catch it when he rolled it to me. I had to crawl to where it finally stopped, and I was trying to roll it back to him. Then, no matter what I did, I would see it go nowhere, in the opposite direction, or halfway. My body just gave me no control over those skills anymore! To his credit, he somehow kept me smiling as we played. I don’t know how long before Mindy arrived with the woman I’d met briefly the day before. “She finally woke up!” her mom said. “Yes, we’ve been doing the ball therapy you wanted us to do,” Keanan said, looking up from the ground in front of me. “Than’s,” I told him. “Any time, Katie,” he told me. “I thought I said…” Mindy complained. “I sai’ i’ okay,” I told her. “Oh, okay,” she said. Her mom passed her a grocery sack she was carrying and said, “Can Granny hold you now?” “Yeth,” I told her. With ‘Mommy’ there now, I was shown the simple nursery that had been hastily assembled. It wasn’t much, especially compared to what I’d had at Erica’s. Still, the crib seemed comfier than the playpen, the changing table worked fine, and there was room for the various ‘toys’ that, while babyish, soon began serving more therapy purposes. By the time I went to bed that night, we still hadn’t found a formula that didn’t taste awful, but I was at least feeling the safest I had since I’d arrived in the dimension. My new ‘parents’ were undoubtedly far better people than Erica was! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like Button and Leave a comment! That's the final regular chapter of this book, and I'll post the Epilogue tomorrow sometime. (It may be later in the afternoon/evening depending on how many 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. thoughts I have over it!) I think Mindy was the right choice to end up with so she can have someone actually help her heal. Keanan seems to make for a sweet daddy too! Anyway, let me know what you all think. For a work that was supposed to be a 20k novella, this went on for a lot longer of a journey than I planned. I hope it's been enjoyable!

Chapter 19: ERICA BEGAN CUDDLING me as soon as I said ‘mommy’ to her. I was a mess of snot and tears then, and I just wanted to go home!!! When she decided my breathing had calmed down, she pushed me to the front of her lap again and looked down at me. “Did Holly do something to you?” “Huh?” She looked at me menacingly, “Katie Leigh Daniels! You will not lie to me!” “That’s not my name…” I cried. “It will be soon enough. Now, did something happen to you?” Her glower and threatening glance sent me over the edge, and I burst into tears again. Something about my tears mellowed her out as she pulled me back in and cuddled me. “Well, clearly something did. We’ll just have to get you back on track. You have a choice, baby. You can go ahead and be a good baby and nurse from Mommy, or we’ll watch some TV, and then you’ll nurse from Mommy.” “I just want to go home,” I cried. “Oh baby, you are home now. Don’t lie to yourself and think your life was better back there! You had to struggle and be a big adult there, but you didn’t want to be one! If you did, you would already be married and have your own babies. No, it’s clear you just want to be a little girl still, and I’m more than happy to be your mommy.” Through my tears, I registered her pulling her blouse back out of the way, and something pointy like a bottle nipple was pushed through my lips. I opened my eyes in horror as I realized I had Erica’s nipple in my mouth and was going to be breastfed one way or another. Just then, her milk dropped, and a drop entered my mouth. No matter what Holly and Mindy had done, my brain instantly associated the liquid with being too tasty to ignore! I felt my lips seal around the nipple, just like with my bottle, and I sucked. Milk entered my mouth, and I started to make a face at it… I tried to pull away… but instantly, my brain went on autopilot as I tasted the liquid and swallowed. Then I sucked again. More milk entered. I swallowed. Sucked, milk, swallowed… I must have repeated the action hundreds of times on that breast. My stomach was feeling a bit bloated then, as she pulled me away and placed me on her shoulder. I thought I was free! The hand that began gently patting my back made me realize she was just burping me. BELCH! “What a good burper you are!” She cooed at me, “Come on, I know you’ve still got to be hungry. They told me you didn’t have your lunch today!” I grimaced then and wondered how much she had known before I’d snapped. I didn’t have any time to wonder, though, as she pulled the blouse up over the first breast and then down over the next one. I had no willpower to resist then, so I formed a latch and began nursing down more milk. In the middle of what was probably only the tenth suckle on that side, I felt my body clench and, after a moment, smelled something terrible. ‘I pooped myself with no control again!!!’ a part of my brain yelled at me. ‘What do you expect? That’s what most babies do when they feed!’ another part shouted back. Eventually, I must have fallen asleep because I only barely registered Erica changing me and placing me in the crib. WHEN I WOKE up, I was disoriented. Although my nursery had blackout curtains, I could always sense just a bit of light from the sun during the daytime. It was pitch black as I was being picked up from the crib. “Ready for your night-time num-nums?” Erica cooed at me. “Sleepy,” I complained and tried to close my eyes again. “I bet that sleepsack isn’t helping that, huh?” She asked. “Let’s get you out of it, and I’ll change that wet diaper, too, before you go back to night-night.” Erica unzipped the sleepsack, leaving me naked except for a soaked diaper. I looked down at it and was shocked by just how wet it was. “Oopsie,” Erica said, “looks like you leaked a bit! Mommy forgot to put you in your night diapees, silly her!” I looked at her like the crazy woman she was and was at a loss for what to do. “Hmm… I hate to waste a diaper, but I don’t think this one will last your feeding,” she said. I didn’t respond as she placed me on the changing table and quickly swapped out my diaper for a dry one, barely taking time to wipe me down. “I’ll clean you better before I put you down in your crib!” Erica cooed at me. I didn’t understand how the relatively sweet woman had turned into a total monster on me! My butt still stung from her hand earlier as she sat down in the rocking chair. She was wearing a button-down silk pajama top, which I watched her unbutton and shrug off while maintaining hold of me the whole time. She was completely topless a second later, and with only a diaper on, I realized she was embracing ‘skin-to-skin’ time completely. She maneuvered me around to present me with her breast, “Come on, Katie, time for num-nums!” I stared as she brought me closer and closer to the nipple. It was like I wasn’t inside my body, though, as she brought me closer and closer to it. Knowing there was no other option, I allowed her to push it inside my mouth and felt the tip of her nipple reach almost a third of the way down my tongue. As soon as my tongue brushed against her nipple, a drop emerged, and I found myself again repeating. Suck, swallow milk, suck, swallow milk over and over again. The addictive taste left me constantly wanting more, and I found my hands pushing in on Erica’s squishy breast, trying to push more out. I heard her gasp once but tuned it out as I continued the mantra. She burped me eventually, then set me to the other breast again. Even if I had thought to fight it before, I had no willpower to do so as she set me at the other nipple. Only oddly thinking, ‘I like the other side better, it’s more comfy…’ I was barely conscious of her burping me again, changing a wet diaper, and dressing me in another sleep sack. “I shouldn’t have done that…” I heard her whisper in the back of my head as I fell asleep, “Sorry, Katherine.” MORNING CAME, AND I shuddered as Mommy turned on the lights to what I knew was now officially my nursery. “Good morning, Katie!” She said happily as she walked over to the crib. I found myself leaning against the railing against the wall and as far away from her as I could. I noted she looked hurt by that. “I’m not going to hurt you, Katie,” she told me. “You’re not?” I asked. “What do you call what you did to me last night?” Erica looked hurt by that. “Going too far,” she admitted. I was actually surprised she admitted that! “That’s an understatement,” I said softly. “Look…” she genuinely looked like she felt terrible. I watched her reach to her hair and pull on it for a moment in a nervous gesture I had made myself plenty of times in life. “Umm…” She sighed, “We need to talk, and it needs to be in a way you’re not scared of me. I don’t even know how to do that, though, at this point. I really am sorry… I just…” I watched tears come down her face. “Just beat me?” I said, cooly. She nodded. “I’m sorry, Kat… Katherine. Look, I can’t begin to tell you how many things are messed up in my head right now… Would you be open to us talking with a therapist present today?” I looked at her suspiciously, “Why should I trust you?” “You shouldn’t,” she told me. “Well, that’s honesty,” I said. “I pick the therapist!” She looked puzzled, “Umm… okay…? Who?” “Mindy Fairbanks,” I told her. “We meet her this morning in her office at the hospital.” “Or?” “Or nothing,” I told her, “You proved you can easily beat me into submission, and your stupid milk is addictive and mind-altering. There is literally nothing I can do. But if you really mean you’re sorry, she’s the one we use.” She nodded at that, “I’ll make a call…” Without a word, she left me in the crib, and I groaned that she hadn’t bothered to change my very wet diaper first! TWO HOURS LATER, I, fortunately, had a clean diaper and found myself sitting on opposite couches from Erica in Mindy’s office. “So, what do you have to say?” I asked her after Mindy explained her position as a therapist. She looked down at her hands before looking at me, “I’m sorry… Look, last night… I was hurt, and my hormones and instincts were on overload.” “Hormones? Instincts? Those will lead you to beat someone much smaller than you because she won’t drink out of your breasts?!?” I hissed. “Katherine, let her talk it out,” Mindy said. After a moment of hesitation, “There is something to what she is saying with our physiology.” I looked at her like she was crazy, given she was all about helping me twenty-four… thirty-two hours ago. ‘Stupid dimension, and its’ odd time!’ I griped. “Go on then, sorry,” I said to Erica. “Look, I’ll fully admit that I snuck you my milk. It started after you hurt yourself… I knew my milk would be a mild sedative and help calm you down and deal with the pain of the broken bone.” I narrowed my eyes, “That was the first time?” She nodded, “I swear! Then after that, though… well, I started giving it to you, and since you liked it, I just gave it to you more often.” “The accidents?” “The first one I had nothing to do with; I’m sure they spiked your food at that luncheon. The others… well, our milk tends to destroy your continence.” “How quickly?” I asked, “And is it permanent?” I was curious about her response, given that Holly had told me I was likely nearing the point of no return without some nanite help. She turned red, “Pretty fast… and it might already be permanent?” “Even if I never drink another drop?” She shrugged, “I think Doctor Nickerson might have some ideas with nanites, but I don’t know of a way. A build-up happens in your brain and a nerve center…” “It showed up in that scan last week, didn’t it?” I asked her. She looked guilty but nodded, “Yes.” “Okay, what about the hypnosis?” She grabbed nervously at her hair again, running her hands through the ends in a nervous gesture that I was becoming more familiar with from her. “The first time you saw Doc, I had no intention of you ever watching it! I didn’t even set any of the parental controls. Unfortunately, the system recognized you as a Little and decided you had a limit on what you could watch. Honestly… I’m grateful it was Doc and not Naomi and Oliver…?” I looked over at Mindy, “Was I better off?” She shrugged, “Debatable, they’re both pretty effective. Doc is a little… sweeter, for lack of a better word. She doesn’t push adult things on you, at least.” “Adult things?” I asked nervously. “Not something to worry about,” Mindy assured me. “You were saying, Erica?” “Umm… I panicked when I walked in and found you watching Doc and realized you’d watched a couple of episodes. I turned it off, blocked all of the bad shows, and planned on never letting you see one again.” “Then what happened?” I asked. “You were… so helpless, cute… and sweet then?” I felt stabbed by that picture. “So you showed me more?” “I warned you first?” I thought back to the conversation, “Sort of,” I admitted. “I wasn’t in my right mind, though?” She looked bashful at that, “I know… I felt horrible, but you were so cuddly after that!” “Then you took me to the movie? I assume you knew there was hypnotic stuff since you wore glasses that probably protected you?” She seemed to shrink in her seat but nodded, “I… I did. I really don’t have any excuses…” “So… where does that leave me?” I looked up at her and Mindy both. “I’m probably going to continue to have accidents, correct?” Both women nodded. “If you can drink only water for a couple of weeks, it might clear,” Mindy told me. “But you could also be permanently incontinent at this point.” I felt my anger bubble to the surface, “How could you be so damn selfish?!?” I looked up at Erica. “I went to medical school – I know you know what kind of work and sacrifice that was?!? Then, I worked for a decade, moving my way through the ranks in the hospital?!? I wanted nothing more than to help people back home!!!” Erica was sobbing at that point, “I’m sorry, Katie…” “My name is KATHERINE!” I spat at her. At that, I watched Erica stand up and flee the room. My heart inexplicably broke even further as she did so, and I didn’t know what to do. I looked up at Mindy and said, “So what do I do now?” “That’s up to both of you,” she told me. “I’m not saying what she did was okay, but she really does care for you. I do want you to try and see that, at least.” “And I might kind of like her… but not the manipulation!” She nodded, “It definitely wasn’t right. Let me call Doctor Nickerson and get her down here. She was working on some options, but I don’t know her progress.” It wasn’t but about fifteen minutes later that Holly and her tall mommy walked in. “Hi, Doctor Benson,” her tall mommy said. “Hi, Doctor Nickerson.” “Call me Ivy, please? With two Doctor Nickersons, things get a bit awkward when we use titles.” I nodded, “Okay, please just call me Katherine then.” I finished explaining what had happened to Holly and Ivy. “Wow… this is a tough one,” Ivy told me. “How so?” “Emerson assigned you to Erica as a designated mentor and also as your host. It means leaving her house would remove some protections…?” Holly said with a sigh. “Protections like?” “Well, right now, if someone attempts to adopt you, there’s a flag on your file. The adoption office has to verify that the university has been notified. It won’t necessarily nullify an adoption, but it might allow you to be returned to Erica as if she were your mommy. I felt my stomach turn at the thought of a random Amazon adopting me! “So… where do I stay? What do I do? Can I even work here anymore?” I asked Holly. “I think we have a temporary answer,” Ivy told me. “You can stay with us tonight, at least? We have a spare room set up that you can sleep in.” “Spare house?” Holly suggested. “That’s not an option, Holly-Bear,” she told her, causing Holly’s face to redden. “Guess that’s the best I can do… and work?” “I’ll have you shadow me tomorrow,” Holly told me. “Maybe we can sort everything else out by then.” I nodded at that. “Before we do that, though, we need to sort out that diaper,” Ivy said soothingly. I felt sick again, as I realized I had pooped my pants again without noticing! IVY WAS GENTLE as she changed me into a new diaper and then took me to her house to settle in while Holly continued to work. I noted that the house was imposing, but I was most impressed by the fact it almost seemed… normal? There was clearly a ‘baby’ living there, though. Toys, dolls, a playpen, a highchair, and more were all spread about the house. It didn’t feel much different in that respect than Erica’s place had. The difference was the pictures throughout the frames in the house. A smiling pair of Holly and Ivy, smiling Holly on her own, or some people I assumed were extended family and friends decorated the space. Nothing in the room seemed to show that Holly was forced into her infantile treatment. Ivy showed me the guest room, and I felt slightly nervous at the larger bed. “Umm… I broke my wrist falling out of one of those beds?” I told her. She smiled, “I know; I have a plan in place, though,” she told me. With the press of a button, I saw a set of nets come out of a compartment and surround the bed. “You won’t fall through those?” I nodded, “Thanks!” “Now, from everything I heard, you haven’t had a real meal in a while. Let’s get some food in you, and then you probably would benefit from a nap.” My stomach growled in agreement even as I let her pick me up and carry me to a highchair that I assumed was Holly’s. “What would you like? I have an AmeniTea, so it can do pretty much anything.” I thought back to the past week and just wanted the most unhealthy meal I could think of. “Hamburger and fries?” She smiled, “Sounds good!” Shortly after that, I ate my smaller hamburger while she ate a monstrous one, and she told me her story with Holly. I felt sad afterward, “I hate that Erica couldn’t see me like you do, Holly?” She nodded, “I know how hard it was, and honestly is, Katherine.” When I was done, Ivy helped me with a diaper change, and I took the chance to nap in the massive bed with the protective net sides. Time felt strange then, and things felt completely different than they had since I arrived. I only knew one thing at that moment. I was craving milk. I was missing Honey. I was craving comfort. And… I was missing Erica. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading!!! Please press the Like button and leave a comment! I really appreciate hearing from readers! I'm curious to see what you all think of this chapter. Please let me know! I'll post the next chapter on Friday! 🙂 For those of you waiting for LCW to resume, I'm hoping to make more progress by the end of posting this to be able to start posting again on that. I finally finished a new chapter this weekend. Hoping to get six or so in the can before I start posting so there's a buffer for some busy weeks I have ahead. Thanks again everyone! 💜

I have an insane weekend ahead in the real world, so I'm posting this tonight instead of tomorrow. Hope you enjoy! Chapter 135: Poor Fit WEDNESDAY PRACTICALLY SEEMED like you blinked, and you missed it to Beth. After the emotional twisting of her appointment with Dr. Sterling, and then the filming, she was in a daze on Wednesday. It didn’t help that she also found herself needing to squeeze and hug Carly like a living doll or something while they hung out! She had talked to Dr. Sterling about that the day before, and she had given her a prescription to take two to three days before her period the next month. Dr. Sterling had also given her a referral and had her blood drawn before she left to ensure there wasn’t a physical issue they needed to pay more attention to with a specialist. Carly and Beth had spent an extra hour together that night in the library before dropping her tiny love back off at the nest and spending more time in the EdgeSphere space. This time, they’d come to Beth’s, and Carly had given her a hard time about some of the art she had up. She’d spent some time a few weeks ago going through some of her favorite photos she’d taken of Carly and some that Amanda and others had taken of the two of them and added them to a wall of ‘family’ photos. As she sat down in Signals that morning, she couldn’t help but wonder what they were going to do in a couple months when Carly left to go home… After the class, she came out to find Nikki and Carly standing there waiting for her. She couldn’t help but pick up her pint-sized love and squeeze her into a hug before carrying her for a much-needed diaper change! They ate lunch in the union that day and were joined by Charlotte and Sebastian. The quartet talked about their other interests, and she watched Carly and Sebastian get into an in-depth discussion on martial arts. Given that Carly had tried to keep that information very contained, she was surprised she’d shared her interest with Sebastian. To her credit, though, she mostly just let him talk, and she asked questions! Before long, Charlotte beat her to carrying the pint-sized college student, admittedly making her a bit jealous, and they traveled to their Narratives class together. “Welcome back!” Professor Wyler said to them, “I’m happy to say that as of five minutes ago, each group has turned in their projects! To be honest, this is the first time we’ve gotten all the studios to turn things in!” There was an awkward smattering of applause to that. “The other faculty and I are planning to review the last films tonight and tomorrow; by Saturday at noon, we’ll have met and set the schedule for the festival next week. All of the films from this class, as well as the sixteen other production classes we have through the years of the degree program, will be slotted into the festival. Depending on the grade we give a film, it may be in a prime spot right after dinner or early or late if they’re not as good. The tradition is that we use the right after-dinner spot on Thursday to show the top film. That film will have a ‘red carpet’ experience for that cast and crew.” “That sounds like fun,” Carly whispered. “Hopefully, they don’t put our film too late where I can’t be there for it.” Beth shook her head; she figured they’d go early, ‘hopefully it’s not during our class time?’ “Please note that your attendance at the festival is a mandatory grade if you don’t have a class. You will need to check in with your IDs at the door. We only have a few Littles in the department; if your film isn’t being shown, you will be excused to your nest an hour before curfew to ensure you don’t get in trouble. If we show a film with one of those Littles in it after curfew, we’ll work with the administration to allow for an exemption for your curfew.” “Guess you’ll get to see it no matter what,” Beth told Carly. “I both love and hate that,” she replied. “I understand completely,” she whispered back. “Now, we have one group here that has truly nailed the concepts we try to teach in this intro class on how to work as a production company. Studio Three turned in their full project earlier than anyone ever has, and we were curious to see how that happened. Their production is in no danger of being graded anything less than a ninety by our faculty. I expect the average of the five grades from each judge to be higher than that. ‘I wonder if it’s just Charlotte that made that happen?’ Beth wondered. “They got Charlotte Perez, no wonder!” she heard some griping nearby. “So why did their film work so well?” Professor Wyler asked. “They have already started on their next production, which most of you probably will do next week or likely after Spring Break with midterm conflicts. We recorded the entire SoundStage on Tuesday when they began filming, and I want to show you some clips of how their studio works.” Beth squirmed; she’d gotten semi-used to seeing herself in the last project as they edited, but the behind-the-scenes footage seemed awkward to watch. In total, the professor showed thirty minutes of clips showing setup, costuming, retakes, discussions that Sebastian and Will had, Carly and Charlotte’s contributions, and even her own at times. Other scenes showed how the scenery team and sound recordists set up each scene efficiently while they would go back to wardrobe. The projection turned off, and Professor Wyler asked, “So, now that you’ve seen them work. I want you to consider a few things that I saw they did well. Number one, they knew their roles in the team. Camera crew, scene crew, lighting crew, costuming, directors, and cast never fought over who was in charge of something.” Beth nodded at that, thinking of the time she went with Carly to help the other studio. “Sebastian, how many scenes did your crew finish filming Tuesday?” He thought for a second, “I think we have just a little left of an eighth scene? We had an effect we had to clean up from before a costume change and decided to put the rest off for today and Saturday?” “How many scenes are in the short, Carly?” he asked. “Seventeen,” Carly told him. “Carly is actually one of the interesting members of their crew to watch,” Professor Wyler said. “While I think a lot of you probably keyed into their having an experienced star as a producer and cast member, I think you probably glossed over Carly. She wrote the script they chose to do but never got offended if a cast member riffed the scene a bit. Taking the ego out of your behavior can help a great deal with working together!” “What else did you notice?” Beth sat for the rest of the class, embarrassed and proud, as the class discussed the crew’s professionalism. Little things were mentioned, like noting that we had dinner catered as a group so they could all stay fueled and physically prepared for filming. ‘Not everyone has that kind of money,’ Beth said to herself, even as she thought she might offer to do the dinner that night. Professor Wyler gave the class the final hour to meet as groups so they could get their shorts figured out. He caught their group and said ‘thanks’ before they all disappeared to the soundstage. However, Beth caught Carly herself that time and carried her to a nearby bathroom to change the droopy diaper. There was a little bit of poop, but not a full load too, ‘She’ll probably need another change soon.’ She thought as she carried her off to the stage after washing their hands. As she arrived in the wardrobe area for Charlotte and Gary to help her get dressed, she wanted to run right back out! I STOOD THERE while Charlotte first helped Beth into a diaper over her panties and then helped her dress in the chosen dress for the scene that her neighbor gifted her. Beth was normally about a Size 7 or 8 in the girls’ department, but this dress was labeled a size 4T on the tag. Because the top was smocked, it stretched over her chest without too much work. The puffed sleeves had plenty of elastic in the light cream-based fabric, and they stretched over her arms just fine, even if they were evidently a little stretched and strained on the elastics around her biceps. What was infinitely apparent though, was the height difference in sizes, as the skirt only barely covered the extra thick diaper if she stood still. Anytime she moved, it would be exposed for all to see what she wore underneath the flowery dress. I saw she made an uncomfortable face and gave her a hug. “Sorry,” I told her. “We could change the script and get them to give you something better?” She sighed and returned the hug, “No, this makes sense in the story. I hate being in the story, but I do think maybe this is the kind of story that might make a difference, Carly. Your turn.” Beth picked me up and handed me to Charlotte, who sat me on the table. My diaper was swapped for the ridiculous film diapers, and then a purple t-shirt with ruffled sleeves was pulled over the top of me. It had a few sketches of flowers in some rectangles printed across the front, but it was mainly just a solid light purple. I’d caught sight of the tag and saw ‘3T’ on it, and I watched it drop over my head and felt it land on my shoulders, even as I felt the hem of the shirt land at my ankles. Beth giggled, “Sorry,” she said. I saw myself in the mirror and noted the neck of the shirt just barely clung to the edges of my shoulders. The shirt had little flutter sleeves that poofed from my shoulders and flopped down halfway down my side with the opening. It covered my flat breast area, but I knew if I actually had development, there would have allowed a view of ‘side-boob.’ The hem of the shirt falling so low made it look like I was wearing an ill-fitting dress. It was, in a word, ridiculous! But, if a mom only had clothes for a three-year-old and a four-year-old? Well, this was probably about as good as she would do for us in a pinch. I was pretty sure I would have been at least grateful to not be naked and in only a diaper - or worse, still covered in poop! Charlotte couldn’t resist the giggle anymore, “Okay, you definitely look like you’re playing dress-up in your big sis’s clothes right now.” I stuck my tongue out at her, “Sorry! Some adoptive mommy is falling down on the job.” She laughed, “Let’s go get this started so we can get you out of these ridiculous outfits sooner than later!” I had to give the crew a lot of credit for not making a bigger deal of the ridiculous costumes! We were soon set up to continue filming, leaving the neighbor’s house to finish ‘Scene 4’, which we hadn’t quite gotten fully filmed. “Action!” Charlotte held both our hands, still in our old shoes, as we toddled out the house’s front door, carrying trash bags filled with our old clothes and backpacks again awkwardly on our backs. Sophia, as the neighbor, said, “Please take good care of them!” “I will,” Charlotte replied, picking us both up to place on her hips and walk down the street to where her house was supposed to be nearby. “Cut!” Sebastian called. “Do we need to do that again?” “No, that’s all perfectly fine,” Will said. “No reason to retake it.” “Okay, let’s finish up this walk to their new home. Remember to pause at the yellow house, Charlotte.” “Yes, Seb,” Charlotte practically rolled her eyes as she readjusted her hand under my bottom. Mine was fully covered, but I worried a bit that she would pull the top over my shoulders if she readjusted me too much. Meanwhile, she just had her hand underneath Beth’s diaper. There was absolutely no way people would not see her diaper throughout most, if not all, of the following scenes. We resumed filming, and Charlotte paused in front of a yellow house that was meant to be Beth’s character, Evelyn’s. We took a few minutes to really set the impact of that on Beth’s character. She managed to cry and then put her head on Charlotte’s shoulder quite convincingly as they walked away toward Charlotte’s character’s house. “Cut!” Sebastian said on the final take. “Who would have thought thirty seconds without dialogue would have been the toughest thing we would film so far?!?” Charlotte had set us down for a break, “It happens more often than you want to know!” “Anyone need a bathroom break?” Sebastian asked. Beth nodded, “Yes, please.” “Carly needs a change, too,” Charlotte said. “Did it show on camera?” “Let me look,” Will said, reviewing the footage as we stood there. “No, that dress... I mean shirt... completely covers her. I think you’re good; go ahead and change her.” “Great!” Charlotte said, picking me back up and following Beth to wardrobe. She’d forgotten the stupid tapes on her diaper, so she had to wait for help, quickly going to the potty. At the same time, Charlotte swapped me to a fresh diaper, reattached the tabs on Beth’s, and then went herself. We resumed filming our walking into the house a few times and finally were back to dialogue. At the call to action, Charlotte looked inside the house to verify her parents were both gone as expected and set us down on our feet. Beth’s skirt flew back up for a second before settling down, and my shirt almost came off. Charlotte gently tried helping us with both wardrobe issues even as we stared up at her from the ground. “I can’t believe that bitch!!!!” Charlotte said. She placed a couple of trash bags on the ground she’d had us holding that held soiled clothes. We set our backpacks down there then, too, even as Charlotte’s own backpack slid from her shoulders down beside them. “Ugh! How are we going to fake this adoption?” She asked us. I shook my head and wobbled nervously, holding my arms tight to hug my body. “You can’t. Annalise recorded the whole thing from behind us. She’s got all the proof she needs that we have that fake maturosis condition.” “There’s got to be a way around that, Emma! My mom and dad? How...?” Beth was portraying every fear she’d ever had since she was Little of being adopted then. Tears showed on all of our faces. “No matter what, you’re going to be able to see your parents, Evelyn. I promise you that... Let me call my dad. Maybe he’ll have a better idea…” Charlotte said. “Cut!” Sebastian said. “Let’s do that a couple more times, Seb, I don’t like the camera angles. I hope the girls can manage that again... it’s gut-wrenching,” he added. “Whatever,” Beth said, clearly not wanting to repeat that scene too many times. Gary and Sophia came over and helped us clean up our faces to do it all again. Three more times later, they felt they had it. “Let’s deal with the call with your father, then we’ll break for dinner,” Sebastian said. “Beth organized a delivery of a good spread for us!” “Thanks, Beth,” everyone said as we retook our places. She looked a little happier, knowing people appreciated that, but I could tell this was hard on her. We set up a shot where Charlotte called her father and wandered around a bit on the floor in front of us. A couple cameras were set to also catch shots of us as we listened and reacted to what she said. The crew also had two cameras in another room set up as her dad’s office at a law firm. Charlotte started the new dialogue after the phone went through, “Daddy?” Charlotte paused for the response. Jackson, who had been dressed in a suit and makeup and graying hair to make him look older, asked, “Harper? What’s wrong?” We obviously couldn’t hear it on our side, so we didn’t react. I only knew the response! “Umm... I need help...” There was another pause for him to respond, “Where are you?” “I’m at home...” she told him. On the other side, I knew he was asking if whatever it was could wait until he got home. “No...” Charlotte paused convincingly, even putting a nail between her teeth to chew on it, “I need your help before the adoption office closes.” “What?!? You’re too young to adopt!” That part intentionally made it through to our hearing, and I winced at it as planned. “Daddy, Annalise poisoned Evelyn and Emma at the end of school today. She followed them down the street and was going to adopt them! I got to them first, at least... What else can I do?!?” I knew that he responded, “I’ll be right there, sweetie... your mother is going to kill us both!” “Cut!” we heard. “How was that?” Charlotte asked. “Pretty good, I think?” Sebastian said. “Unless we just want to eat up extra disk space for no reason, I see no reason to shoot that again,” Will said a minute later after looking at the footage. “Great! Thirty-minute dinner break, everyone!” Sebastian said. “Thanks again, Beth, for the meal!” AFTER ENJOYING SOME pasta served in large pans that had arrived, we had a potty break for Charlotte and Beth and a diaper change for me before resuming filming. We shot a cut to Charlotte’s character’s dad arriving and hugging him before hugging both of us, too, since we were family friends. One of the points of this whole mess was that the characters had grown up together, and we weren’t strangers. After we were happy with the transition, Charlotte started the dialogue, “So Daddy, how do we get out of this?” Jackson replied as the dad, “Harper, unfortunately, you can either adopt them or Annalise will do so.” “I’d much rather have you as a mommy than her any day of the week,” I told her. I tried to make myself seem so exhausted, that I’d cried myself out for the moment. Beth nodded and sighed, even as she held the skirt of the dress as low as she could, “Maybe we can do something different later, but I’m with Emma; you’re a better mommy.” “Don’t think we won’t help all three of you girls. Also, with you being their mother, you have the right to make decisions for them. That’s a good thing in this case.” Jackson told Charlotte as he placed a hand on her shoulder. He was one of the few Bigs in our group who was taller than her by a few inches, which helped the fatherly look a bit. Charlotte replied, “How does that help? Their futures and freedom are being ripped away from them – and I have to be the one to do it?!?” He hugged her, “We’ll talk more about it in the car, sweetheart. The adoption office closes in forty-five minutes, and it’ll take fifteen to get there. I called your mom; she’ll meet us there, too.” We were gathered in Charlotte’s arms, along with her backpack, which served as her purse, and headed out the door. “Cut!” Four more times on that, and we were done with that scene! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the like button and leave a comment! I'm in a couple-week stretch in the real world that will be exhausting, and unfortunately, the worst of it is probably this weekend. I won't respond until late tomorrow night to any comments, probably, but please do leave them so I have a chance to see what you think! I very much appreciate all of you! 💜

This is a special, 'Sorry for being later' on Friday, celebrating over 500k reads on this story, and an early happy birthday to @Moon3ye bonus chapter. Hope you all enjoy! Chapter 130: Weekend Getaway BETH WOKE UP and headed off to breakfast with Carly and a couple of her nestmates who would be going to Carly’s grandparents with them that afternoon. “How did the party go?” She asked. “Great!” Willow said. “Yeah, that cake was amazing, Carly,” Amy said. “I’ve only ever seen cakes like that on TV before.” “What was the cake like?” Beth found herself asking. “Here,” Carly said. She’d had the foresight to take a picture of the cake with her phone. “That’s adorable!” Beth said. “The whole night was,” Everly said with a smile. Beth noted that Mia had sat down with them, but she didn’t seem as put together with her hair this morning as she usually did. Her hair was a bit of a mess, and that was a red flag for Bigs. She debated trying to help, but Willow beat her to it, “Mia, do you have a brush with you?” “Yes?” She said timidly. “Hand it to me?” Beth watched Willow brush Mia’s hair into a ponytail and tie it off with a white scrunchie. She was surprised that Lilly had let her leave the nest like that. ‘Maybe she partied too hard after they all went to sleep...?’ “Thanks,” Mia said. “Mia, we got permission to go to my grandmothers today for the weekend with you all. What time is your last class?” Carly asked. “Do I have to go?” Mia asked nervously. “Yes,” Willow said. “When else are we going to get off campus?” “Fine... I’m done after lunch?” “Great, meet us at the nest. Pack clothes and anything you need to study for two days; we’ll bring you all back here Sunday.” Carly told them. “Who will change us?” Mia asked nervously. “I can help, or Carly’s grandmother?” Beth said reassuringly. “I’ll be around too?” Nikki said gently. Mia nodded nervously, “Sorry, it’s been a hard week so far.” Willow hugged her, “That’s why we’re getting out of here for a couple days!” As Beth and Carly made their way to their first class, she got tired of looking down to talk to Carly and picked her up to place her on her hip instead. “What...?” Carly said. Beth just tickled her stomach through the jacket she’d worn to block the cold, “You know you like being held.” Carly’s blush confirmed that even as she leaned in closer to Beth’s body. “Is everything okay with Mia?” she asked Carly. She shook her head, “No, she’s in the worst major any Little could be in, and now she’s dealing with bullies.” “Oh...” Beth said in reply, “Anything we can do?” Carly shrugged, “I’ve done all I can. I suspect Grandma is going to do what she can now?” Beth’s hand was on Carly’s bottom and she could feel there was a bit of a squish to her diaper. “Let’s get that soggy diaper changed before I drop you at class,” she told Carly. “Beth...” she whined. “Hush,” she said and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. They found the bathroom nearest to Carly’s first class to change her quickly, and then Beth dropped her off in her class. “See you in a bit!” Beth said. Once they were down at her class, Nikki said, “Beth, you realize you’re doing the smothering thing again, right?” Beth sighed, “Yes, and I don’t think I can stop...” “Kids!” Nikki said with a sigh, even as she sat beside Beth to keep her safe, as she learned less about her class in two hours than she would have learned in five minutes with Carly! I FINISHED MY last class of the day, feeling good about how all of my classes were going. I’d started completely clueless on some terms, but in the seven weeks I’d spent in the dimension, I felt like I had come to understand the material at least as well as my fellow classmates! Beth and Nikki came from her math class as I approached her classroom. After a quick diaper change, we started walking towards our dorms when we ran into Charlotte. “Hey, Charlotte,” I said to her. She looked lost in thought and looked down, “Oh, hey Carly, Beth, Nikki... How are you doing?” “Good,” I said, “Friday’s done, and the weekend is here!” “Doing anything special?” She asked me. “Actually... yeah, we’re going to have a bunch of my nest mates and Beth’s friends over to my Grandmas for the weekend. Actually...” I thought for a second, “You’d be more than welcome to join us too if you wanted to?” She looked shocked, “Really?” Beth seemed just as surprised with my suggestion as me, but she said, “Really, we think you’re a great friend?” She paused, “You could get away from campus? We’ll plan to get some study time in, but we’re also planning on spending some time in his grandma’s pool, watching some movies, probably nails, hair, and all that stereotypical slumber party fun?” Beth patted my head, “This one didn’t really get much of a little girlhood!” Charlotte winced and laughed, “No, I guess she didn’t. I’m still sorry about that, Carly,” she told me. “Don’t worry about it,” I told her. “So, you in?” “When are you leaving?” “About thirty minutes?” Beth said. “You know what... yeah, I’m in. That sounds like fun, and I can avoid my agent that way, too!” I was curious about that statement but never had a chance to ask her more about it before we reached the dorm area and split off. In the nest, I found Willow, Mia, Everly, and Amy loading their backpacks with spare diapers. “I don’t hardly know what I’ll wear,” Willow complained. “You have the unicorn onesie?” Amy said with a smirk. “And not much else other than uniforms...” Willow said sadly. “You’ve got that outfit?” I heard her saying. “I have a couple things that might fit?” Everly offered. Since she was the only native Little in our little group, she had some spare clothes. In the end, I watched her help Mia and Willow with a few things. “Anything you have?” Amy asked with a smile to me since we were about the same size. ‘Or had been before I shrank last weekend,’ I thought morosely. ‘Grandma never said if Mom got back to her... But she probably wouldn’t over the EdgeSphere link.’ “Quite a few things at my grandparents? I don’t keep much here?” “Well, we’ll have to raid your closet there!” she said with a smile. “Thanks for bringing us with you,” she added. “I think they stopped with the hypnotic movies on the weekends, but I still don’t trust them,” she whispered. I nodded in agreement, “It has saved me to not be here.” I added, “Sorry...” “Not your fault you were smarter than us!” “Not sure about that,” I laughed. Lilly arrived right then, “Are you girls ready for your big weekend?” She asked. “Yes, Miss Lilly,” the other girls all responded. “Make sure you mind your manners around Doctor Westerfield; she’s one of the most important people at the university.” “Yes, ma’am,” the girls said. “You all have everything? Toothbrush? Diapees? Wipees? Jammies? Clothes?” she went through a list of things, getting nods from the girls. I didn’t have to take anything but my backpack, which was already loaded, so I was the only one without one of the matching pink unicorn duffle bags she’d procured for the girls to use. “How about I walk you out to your ride?” She asked. It wasn’t really a question, and soon, she guided the five of us outside, where I saw a large Luxuria Limo waiting for us. “We’re going in a Luxuria?” Everly asked incredulously. “That thing is huge!” Mia said in awe. “Oh, that’s right. When we went to the mall, we rode in my grandma’s and Nikki’s cars, didn’t we?” I asked them. “Who’s paying for this?” Miss Lilly asked aloud. “My parents,” Beth said, coming around from behind her. “You all beat us, I wasn’t expecting that!” “They were ready to go when I got there,” I told her. I saw Livy and Reila behind her, and Nikki was shadowing Beth. “Just waiting on Charlotte?” Beth asked. I motioned to where she was walking up with a small rolling bag, “Nope, she’s here too.” “Shall we get going?” Nikki asked. “You’re...” Everly said, seeing Charlotte up close. “Charlotte,” she smiled at her, “just a normal college girl like you.” Mia pulled the star-struck girl along, and unfortunately, we soon got the joy of being fitted in ‘appropriate’ car seats. Amy and I were in our infant carriers, complete with toys on the handles to obviously entertain us. Willow, Mia, and Everly were placed in rear-facing toddler seats, Reila got a forward-facing one, and Beth and Livy objected but were placed in five-point booster seats. “I swore my dad fixed that setting,” Beth grumbled beside me. “At least you don’t have toys?” I told her while beating one of the stupid rattles overhead. “So, what’s so great about this crazy car?” Amy asked. “Well, you can get drinks?” Beth said. “Drinks?” Mia asked. “Why yes,” the Luxuria attendant reappeared, “I was going to let you get settled first. What can I get you all?” “I’ll take an iced latte,” Beth said. “Normal preferences?” It asked. “Please,” she told it. Charlotte asked for the same, while the other girls asked for water, cokes, and tea. Finally, the attendees asked, “And you, Miss Slane?” “An iced tea would be fine,” I told her. I couldn’t see much with the odd reversed infant car seat. The Luxuria had reconfigured its typical open seating to benches moving across to accommodate so many child seats. A moment later, though, a holographic hand offered me a baby bottle. “Umm... I don’t need...” I heard from beside me. “Why do I have a baby bottle?” Mia asked. “A sippy cup?” I heard Livy exclaim. “Luxuria, we can all handle normal cups?” Beth told it. “I’m sorry, Ms. Sylvester, but my programming forbids me from accepting that statement from you.” “What about from me?” Nikki asked. “Sorry, the command has to come from the account holder.” “I am the account holder!” Beth said exasperatingly. “No, your mother is.” “Maybe we take a couple of cars back instead,” Beth said. “Sorry, guys.” “We could try to switch the ride to my account?” Charlotte offered. “Not worth it,” Beth said. “I’ve seen things go haywire before on something like that.” “Well, when in Rome,” I heard Mia say. “What did you end up with?” I asked, unable to see her. “What else, a baby bottle?” “Same,” I sighed, staring at the nipple. I’d had to suck on one in the film, but I’d managed to avoid it elsewhere. Seeing nothing else to do, I stuck it in my mouth and sucked on it. “At least the latte is pretty good,” one of the girls said. It was a longer drive to Grandma’s house when she wasn’t driving. I knew she had to be doing something with the programming to speed up her vehicle since she tended to stay on auto still. When we eventually reached the house, the Luxuria attendant gently pulled me from the seat, “Ms. Sylvester, would you like me to change the babies’ diapers?” “That’s okay,” she sighed, “We’ll take care of my friends inside.” “Very well, have a good day, and please travel with us again soon!” On the ground outside, my friends looked astonished at the massive house, and some looked at my aunt’s house. “Is that a playhouse?” Charlotte asked. “Yes,” Grandma answered her, appearing. “That’s my daughter and her kids’ playhouse. I let them pretend to be grownups there.” I raised an eyebrow at Grandma, who gave me a look. Clearly, she must not trust Charlotte completely? “Come on inside, and we’ll get you all settled,” Grandma told us. “These stairs are huge,” Amy told me a moment later when we approached the staircase that led upstairs. “You girls can choose if you want to sleep in sleeping bags in the living room altogether. Or, you could probably share our guest rooms and the other rooms here with the trundles if a couple of you are willing to sleep in my daughter’s crib. We could also break out the playpens if you want it to be a bit more comfy?” She looked at me for the lead, “I think the sleeping bags would be better?” I suggested, looking at everyone else. “Yeah, that’s more of what I think of a sleepover as,” Willow said nervously. “Great!” she said, “I’ll get Fred to help bring them down. In the meantime, I’m guessing a few of you need fresh pants?” I saw several blush, but pretty much every Little nodded. “We have a couple of changing tables upstairs?” Without asking, Beth picked me up, and I watched each of the taller members of our group follow her lead. Nikki, Grandma, Livy, and Charlotte each picked up one of my friends. Charlotte grabbed Willow and Amy with their permission, and the hike up the stairs began. Ten minutes later, with clean diapers, everyone was sitting in ‘my’ room sitting down. It was a big enough room that even with a Big, three Tweeners, and five of us Littles, we had plenty of space on the bed, rocking chair, bean bags, and floor. “Oh my god! This is so cute!!!!” Mia said, looking at a tiny frilly baby dress that had been my mom’s as she looked through my closet. “This looks too small even for our munchkin, though?” I blushed, “It was my mom’s,” I told her. “How tiny was she?” “Thirty-four inches when she went home,” Grandma said as she came to check on us. “Do you need anything? Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes?” Everyone was silent for a moment or said, “No thank you,” to her. “So your mom, like, really just came here?” Charlotte asked, “And then let you come?” I shrugged, “Yeah, she’d come on a trip with her parents when the portal first opened. She fell in love with the technology and Emerson and set up the trip for herself?” “Wait, how does your Grandma come into this?” Everly asked. “Mom had talked to one of the rare, free, shorter people she’d encountered and gotten the straight story. That meant she decided the right foster parents, so to speak, seemed like a better idea than the dorms. Back then, things were even harder to make it through if you were in them,” I added. She nodded, “I’ve heard... So how’d she set that up?” “She spent a fortune on a transdimensional ad and met up with a couple of the people via transdimensional video call to vet them. One of the couples she considered ended up being a horrible set of people – Mom got kidnapped by them later – but the other was Grandma and Grandpa, who were apparently amazing.” “They let her be a grownup?” Reila asked. I shook my head, “Mom was their baby when she wasn’t in her classes. She did everything an adopted Little does at times.” “Even...?” Livy asked. “What?” I asked. “You know...?” She said, pointing to her breasts. “Breastfeeding?” I asked, enjoying the blush that came to her face. “Yes?” I told her “Eew...” I heard a couple of the girls say, even as Everly had a strange look on her face. “It’s pretty much inevitable if you get adopted,” Livy said to us. “Why?” Willow asked. “They can’t help themselves,” I told her. “Even now, Charlotte is probably having issues with so many of us around?” She blushed. “Sorry to call you out,” I apologized to her. “It’s pretty normal, I was already having issues since before we were filming, though,” she told me. “Issues?” Amy asked. “Lactating?” “You mean Miss. Maddy didn’t take stuff to make that happen?” Willow asked. I felt bad that the girls were reminded of that horrible girl. “No, it naturally happens,” Charlotte said. “It’s part of why the Big and Little dynamic began.” “Oh,” Mia said, “That kind of explains that better.” “What better?” Reila asked. Mia blushed, “How quickly all the other girls in my classes just started feeding the Littles at the daycare? I couldn’t imagine that all of them had been pregnant, but I didn’t want to ask?” “Probably smarter not to ask,” Livy told her. “Yeah, it would only seem like you were too interested,” Everly said with a shudder. “I don’t know how you even handle being in that daycare for your class.” Shelby chose to make an appearance right then, having come home from school. She looked intimidated as she looked around the room, “Hi, Shelby,” I told her as I stood up and hugged her. “Everyone, this is my cousin Shelby.” “Hi,” she squeaked, even as she realized Charlotte was there. “You’re...” Charlotte smiled, “One of Carly’s friends.” Shelby looked at me, “Mom was right; you and your mom do get into the craziest situations...” I laughed at that. “Come join us?” I asked her, scooting closer to Beth, who suddenly picked me up and placed me on her lap. I looked up at her to complain, but she just smirked and settled her arms around me. ‘Hard to be grumpy when she’s cuddling you,’ I thought to myself. It was fun hanging out with everyone there, and I couldn’t help but feel good about the weekend for once! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like button and leave a comment! I'm just finishing starting Chapter 157 now, so I have a fair lead time on you all at this point. 157 finally ends the current Act we're in as well. Glad to be making some progress here. Your comments and Likes always help inspire me to keep making that! Please keep leaving them! I don't know if it's possible or not, but I really am trying to finish this book in the next few months. It's going to be tough as there are 2-3 Acts remaining to finish the story, and my muse keeps taking little side-trips here and there! (Hopefully a positive for you all!) Thanks for reading!

Chapter 12: ERICA MUST NOT have tried very hard to wake me up the following day. She just put me on the changing table, and I woke up while she was taking off my night diapee. “Oh, good morning, Doc McSweetie!” She told me, playfully tickling my stomach. “Don’t do that,” I said, not really wanting to wake up. Something about my brain felt a bit clearer right then, but I was still really woozy from something. “I feel strange,” I told Erica. “Probably just the long hours of our days,” she told me. “We have eight more hours in a day than you do, and I think the past couple of days, I’ve seen that catching up to you.” She pulled the diaper open and said, “Wet today, Sweetie. “ I leaned back and slammed my head lightly against the mat, “Just when I thought I was getting better!” She picked my ankles up and said, “You’ve also got some poopy in here too.” My shock was evident, “While I slept? That shouldn’t be happening!” She shrugged, “You’re a Little! Remember I told you the first day it’s pretty normal for you all to struggle here.” “Didn’t you say that was because I just encountered something odd with my body?” She nodded, “Initially, that was probably the cause. The longer you’re here, though, I notice others, and you, struggle more with this and other things.” I groaned, “Well, hopefully, I’ll do better while I’m awake.” I thought back in my head, “You said we’d go shopping today?” “Yep! After we get done with our late breakfast here!” “Late?” “Yeah, it’s already eleven-thirty!” She said with a smile. I had to really think that morning to translate that was sometime around nine back home. “I slept that long?” “You definitely did!” she told me. “Wow,” I said. As I woke up, I noted she was dressing me completely without much assistance from me. I soon had a fresh Pull-Up that I hoped I’d keep dry! She’d put me into jeans and a sweatshirt with Emerson University emblazoned. She buckled me in my high chair downstairs but put the tray on instead of pushing me under the table. “Why didn’t you just push me under the table?” I asked. “Oh, I already ate breakfast. This way, I can give you a hand more easily!” She pulled the highchair beside her usual chair. I noted a cup of coffee at her seat, and then a ‘cup’ of Plapple juice was placed on my tray! “I know you enjoyed your milkies in this last night; I thought maybe you’d like to try some juicy this way, too?” I nodded, taking what I knew was definitely a baby bottle to my mouth and nursing it. ‘Doc is right, it’s sooo much better this way though!’ At the same time, she went to the AmeniTea and returned with a plate of eggs and sausage. I watched her cut up the eggs and leave them on the table, leaving my view for a second as she moved behind me. I tried to see, but I was strapped in the harness for some reason and hadn’t noticed her buckling me in. She held my hair up a moment later as she put something around my neck. “A bib?!?” I asked in surprise. “How come? I’m not a baby!” She seemed to smirk at that, which made me mad! “I’m not!” “Oh, Sweetie, I know you’re not! But you were having some problems last night, and I don’t want to change your clothes again before we go shopping! Would you please just wear it right now?” She added, “I’ll let you eat dinner without it tonight if you don’t want to wear one?” I stared at her. Something wasn’t right. This wasn’t right. I was an adult! A doctor! Her peer! Instead of complaining, I found myself nodding, “Okay.” While eating, I heard her talking to someone; I figured it was on the phone. “Hi, Mom!” There was a pause. “No, I think it’s a good idea for us to skip this week. We just need a bit more time to ourselves?” ‘That’s nice. I like being with Erica; she’s so nice to me!’ I heard another pause. “No, we’re going to go shopping, maybe do another fun thing together. Then we’ll spend the rest of the weekend recovering from our busy week.” ‘Other fun thing? I wonder what that will be?!?’ There was another pause. “No, not quite; I think we’ll be to that point by this week. I wasn’t sure, but I think it’s for the best. We’re almost to using those all the time. It’ll make life much easier when we make the switch.” ‘I wonder if she means switching me to a different apartment? I have really enjoyed staying here, but I’d understand…?’ When she got off the phone, I was only about halfway done with my eggs, but my bib already looked like it had some on it! “Who was that?” “Oh, that was just my mommy; she wanted to see if we were coming over today.” “We’re not?” “No, I want to hang out with you.” “Were you talking about me switching to living in my own apartment now?” I asked, scared she would say yes for some reason. “Oh no, definitely not, Sweetie! I don’t ever want you to leave! At least not until you’re supposed to? No, that was…” She paused for a second, making me wonder what was going on. Erica looked guilty as she continued, “About switching to a different way of getting around in the stores, I wanted to talk to you about!” “How?” “I’ll show you when we get to the mall! Now, you’re not done yet, are you?” I looked down at the plate and thought, “No?” “Can I help you so it goes faster?” ‘Why do I need help?’ “Sure!” I opened my mouth as she began to feed me spoonfuls of eggs. I also occasionally picked up the sausage with my hand to take a bite, sometimes feeling the juice on my cheeks and some pieces of egg. ‘I should feel bad about this,’ a voice said. It faded quickly, though, with each bite. When I was done, she said, “Finish your juicy cup! Then we’ll clean you up, go potty, and head to the mall!” I smiled at that and bounced a little in the seat. I used both hands to grab onto my cup and sucked all of the juice down just like Doc McSweeties said we should! ‘Not as good as milkies, though; I hope I get more of those later!’ For some reason, the ride to the mall was more comfy that day. I felt safer in my rear-facing car seat. It kept me nice and secure, and I felt like I was always getting a hug! When we pulled into the parking lot, I expected Erica to come straight over to let me out, but instead, she went to the trunk. After digging around for a few minutes, she approached my side and opened the door. “Surprise!” She told me after she unbuckled me. I looked at the ‘surprise’ and noted it was a stroller. “Why a stroller? I’m not a baby?” “Of course you aren’t, Katie! But, Sweetie, we’ll be doing a lot of shopping today, and I don’t think your little legs will be quite up to keeping up with me the whole day?” I thought briefly, “It is hard in the hospital sometimes… No one will care, though? I’m a doctor; should I be sitting in a stroller?” “You’ll be fine. I know Doctor Nickerson sits in one sometimes!” she said. “It’s super-duper comfy too!” I looked at her. Something really was wrong… “Okay!” I said. She placed me in the stroller and hooked the harness straps around me. “Do I really need these?” I asked. “I don’t want you to fall out if I start driving crazy!” She said. I felt myself tense up, “You drive crazy?” She laughed at me, “No, but you never know!” I laughed with her and began looking around the crazy place—this mall! Just the entrance doors towered above me so far! She pushed me around for a few minutes before taking me into a store, Toonies! Just for Littles! “Toonies?” I asked. She pushed me around, “You’ll see!” I had difficulty seeing much of the racks from my vantage point. Still, suddenly, I had no problem seeing my favorite character! “Doc!!!” I said, wriggling, wanting to see the outfits closer! She laughed, “Okay, just a second, my squirmy Katie, I’ll get you out so you can help me pick some sweet clothes!” I giggled, “That was a good pun!” “Glad you liked it!” I smiled as she picked me up from the stroller and stood me on the ground. All around me were tons of options with Doc on them!!! “What about this one?” Erica said to me, holding a light lavender shirt. Doc was shown standing in her coat, looking at a screen. “It’s cute, but this one’s better!” I said, pointing to another. We walked around for at least twenty minutes, and soon, our arms were filled with outfits to try on! “Excuse me, we want to try on this?” Erica asked a worker by the changing booths. The woman was a bit shorter than her. She looked at Erica and then at me and said, “Awww, do we have a fan of Doc McSweetie?” The giant suddenly intimidated me, and I hid behind Erica’s leg. “Yep! And not sure why she’s being so shy about it suddenly?” “It happens; my girls are the same way!” She handed her a tag. “Use booth five. You can leave anything that doesn’t fit or you don’t want in the room. I’ll clean it out after you leave.” “Thanks!” Erica said. Erica and my piles were different in what we picked out. I’d picked a lot of t-shirts, a couple of sweatshirts, and one pair of scrubs with her face in a pattern on them. “My pediatric patients will love these!” I told her with a smile. “I’m sure they will!” “Too bad they don’t have a set for you!” I said to her. “Oh?” “We could be twinsies!” She laughed, “I’ll keep an eye out.” Erica’s pile was filled with embarrassing onesies, a couple of rompers, a couple of dresses, some leggings, one pair of pink bib overalls, and finally, several sets of pajamas. “I don’t need this much…” I said to her when we were going to pay. “You lost everything, so you do,” she reminded me. “That’s right… do you think this store has bras in my size somewhere here?” She giggled, “We’ll look for those next.” After a worker rang everything up, I said, “I’ll pay!” Before she could insist. I had my phone in her bag, so she handed it to me, and I paid for everything. “That was a lot!” I said. “It was, but you loved all of it!” She smiled, “And you looked so cute in them too!” I smiled at that! We shopped at several other stores and waited in line when I suddenly felt an urgent need to go. “Erica?” I asked from my stroller, but she didn’t hear me. “Erica!” I asked again. Her face finally appeared, “Yes, Sweetie?” “I need to go potty!” “Just a moment, we’re next in line! I’ll take you as soon as we’re done!” “But…” I was about to say when the stroller pushed forward, and I heard beeps as they rang up the dresses that I wasn’t entirely sure I would wear. She claimed I would need formal dresses for several events and holidays. These looked less like those and more like baby pageant dresses! The need to pee made me forget about them, though, as she finally pushed me out of the store. I undignifiedly held myself on top of my pull-up, trying to squeeze it in! I saw a sign for the restroom, and she pushed me towards it! She had opened the harness and just sat me down on the ground when I felt the dam break. I whimpered. “Oh, Sweetie!” she said soothingly, “I’m so sorry! We just needed to be a little faster!” She rubbed my back briefly and held me before asking, “Did it all come out already?” I nodded yes, embarrassed. “Okay, let’s get you out of that icky thing and into a dry one!” I looked up to see six changing tables along the side of the bathroom. ‘Why do they have six of them?’ I wondered. Mercifully, they were empty, and so was the bathroom! Erica carried me to the nearest one and sat me on the edge of it for a second before digging inside the bag. “Oh…” “Oh…?” I asked. “What’s wrong?” She sighed, “Sorry, I ran out of spare Pull-Ups the other day and didn’t replace them?” I groaned, “So I’ll have to wait to change until we get home?” She shook her head, “No, we’ve got a better option.” I looked at the diaper she was holding, “I don’t need…” “It’s all we have, Sweetie! It’s no big deal, you’re just a Little, and most Littles wear these.” I wanted to rebel. “Didn’t Doc tell a mommy that in an episode last night?” I suddenly nodded, “She did! That was right before she told the mommy how important it was that her Little get milkies…” “So…?” “Fine, Doc’s always right,” I said. She laid out a changing pad first, then placed me on my back and changed me like she did my night diapers. It was embarrassing when a girl who probably worked in one of the stores came by and saw me naked and getting wiped, but at least Erica was good at changing diapers. I was not happy about being in them, though! She used the potty while I stood beside her, and then we washed our hands. While we were leaving, I saw something. “There’s a Doc McSweetie movie?!?” Erica looked up, “Why, so there is!” “Can we see it?!? Please?” “I don’t know…?” She said. “Do you think you can handle wearing a diaper instead of a Pull-Up for that? I figured we’d just go home otherwise?” “No! We have to see it! Please!?!?” “Okay, we’ll do that and lunch at the same time. The theater serves both!” “Cool!” I said. “Let’s drop off our stuff and put your stroller in the car, then we’ll go to the theater!” “Do we need tickets?” “I’ve got it taken care of!” She smiled at me. “Wait, was this the surprise?” I asked, and she moved to the back and began pushing. “Yep!” She said with a warm voice. “Yay!!!” I kicked my feet back and forth a bit because I was bored as I was pushed out to the car. I worried a little bit about the people seeing me as a baby, but I knew there was nothing I could do to help my potty problems at this point. Back at the car, Erica placed the bags in the back and unbuckled me. “Isn’t the theater here?” I asked her, noticing it was near where we were parked. “Yep! And that’s why we’ll leave your stroller here.” ‘My stroller?’ I wondered. ‘When did she have time to buy a stroller for me anyway?’ I was interrupted from my thoughts as she picked me up suddenly, carrying me on her right hip while slinging the diaper bag over her other shoulder. “Come on, I know you’ll love to see more of your favorite Doc!” I smiled at that, “I can’t wait!!!” I felt safe as she carried me, but I held onto her too, leaning my head against her shoulder as we waited to use a scanner she waved her watch over. A female holographic attendant smiled at us and said, “Enjoy the show!” “Thanks!” I said. There were several Doc McSweeties posters and a couple of holographic displays around the inside. “Let’s take your picture there!” she told me, pointing to a scene with a sign about taking your picture. It had a life-sized Doc McSweetie standing there in 3D. I giggled, “Yay!” She sat me the projection, and to my surprise, the hologram reached its arm around me and pulled me close. The image was solid! It felt strange, but she held her arm around me until Erica said, “Got it!” “Can I see?!?” I asked when she picked me up. She pressed something on her phone, which also projected it in full 3D. “Wow! That’s cool!” “And someone is adorable too!” A woman with her own Little said. “Yes, she is,” Erica agreed. “Here to see Doc McSweetie?” The woman asked. “Yep! My little Doc Sweetie here loves her!” “I’m a real doctor!” I told her. “I bet you are the best too!” she smiled. It bothered me that she gave me the smile you give a small kid playing pretend. Before I could get more annoyed, Erica carried me into a theater with recliners and couches. The couches had little rotating tables attached to the front of them, which could move up and down vertically and move closer to the person or out of the way. I could see several mothers with their Littles beside them, all set up. “This is us!” She said, sitting in a seat and placing me beside her. We were in a room that dropped down to a low bowl. Each row was stacked higher than the last so I could see without a booster seat, even with my short height! I noticed some quiet music and ads playing in the bowl on the holo display, which intrigued me until I saw Erica looking at the menu. “What is there?” “Well…” she said, “here’s the Littles menu.” I looked at the paper she handed me. I made a face at it because it wasn’t very large, and there wasn’t a single word or description on it—just a number beside each of the seven choices. The pictures showed a set of corn dogs, a cheese pizza, a pepperoni pizza, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, and a hamburger. The back side of the menu had a coloring page! “Do I have to order from here?” I asked, embarrassed. She asked me, “You remember how you felt about the hot chocolate here?” “It’s delicious?” “Well, they make some special food on that menu that I guarantee you will love! Why don’t you just pick one out? If you hate it, we’ll order something else. The movie is two hours long?” I looked at her skeptically but said, “Chicken nuggets?” “I’m sure you’ll love them!” “Can we get popcorn, too?” She laughed, “Our meals come with that for after the food! You also get a drink in a commemorative cup I saw!” “Ooh, does it have Doc on it?” “It might!” Just as I was about to respond, a waitress appeared out of nowhere, and I guessed she must be another hologram. “Welcome to the show! Are you interested in ordering dinner?” she asked Erica. “Yes, please!” “What are you having?” The projection asked. “I’ll have the steak sandwich,” she told her. ‘That sounded good! I would have ordered that!’ I thought to myself. I was distracted as she finished her order, and Erica told her, “And she’ll have a nugget meal.” “Sauce?” Erica looked at me, “What do you want?” “Sweet and sour…?” “We have that,” the projection confirmed. “And to drink?” “Plapple juice?” “Noted, anything else?” “That’s it for now.” “I’ll be back shortly with your drinks,” the waitress said, dematerializing into thin air. “That’s kind of creepy,” I said. Erica laughed. I noted the ads in the front featured many local businesses playing. Over half were for daycares, which made sense, with so many kids being the show’s target audience. ‘If adults only knew how great Doc was!!!’ Our waitress returned and dropped off a soda Erica had ordered, then handed her a couple of wrapped packages. I was curious about that for a second. Still, I was distracted by the commemorative ‘cup’ that had been delivered for me. “This is a baby bottle?” I said skeptically with a frown. ‘Why do I keep being given these?’ “It’s just a cup,” Erica told me. “But a really special cup! See how it has Doc McSweetie on it? Isn’t that neat?” I was about to argue, but the more I looked at her, the more I realized the graphics were moving, and it was almost like the bottle… cup was telling the story from an episode. “How do they do that on there?” I asked, looking up. “Just technology,” Erica said. I realized something was weird then. She was holding a piece of cloth with Doc McSweetie on it. “What’s that?” “Oh, it’s a special souvenir they gave us?” She smiled, “Do you want to wear it? You can show how much you love McSweetie?” I was skeptical; I knew it was nothing more than a baby’s bib, but I couldn’t argue against it for some reason, just like the bottle. “Yes, please!!!” I said instead. She velcroed the bib onto my neck like she had the other day, and I looked down to see it had a catcher pocket on the bottom that surely a big girl like me didn’t need! I needed a distraction, so I took the large baby bottle and nursed some of the juice. “That’s good!” I said with a smile. “I’m glad you like it!” Erica said, “I’m sure you’ll love the food too!” Something was going on then, though, and I noticed she had donned what looked like 3D glasses. “Do I get a pair of those too?” I asked. I didn’t want to miss any special effects! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ What did you think? Please press that Like Button and leave a comment! This was my penance for forgetting to post on Tuesday. 🤦🏼‍♀️ Anyway, next Chapter will be on Sunday! Appreciate the comments and feedback everyone! 🙂

Chapter 139: Facts of Life “LET’S TAKE THAT twenty-minute break!” Sebastian said, “There are doughnuts over there if anyone needs a snack!” Beth skipped those, instead asking Nikki to help her out of the diaper and go potty again before they started again. They had four more scenes to film, but one of them was a shopping trip – that had sucked in the first film they had done, and one was a weekend montage as they dealt with their new lives in the characters’ home. After the potty trip and a change for Carly, she asked her, “How are you doing?” “A bit tired,” Carly admitted. “I think these next scenes are some of the most emotional?” “When we’re done today, we’re just going home, right?” “That’s my plan,” Carly said. “So my Grandma’s feels like home now?” “Yeah, it really does,” Beth told her. “You know I’m sure she would love for you to stay there during the weeknights? You’re not like me and stuck in a nest?” Beth sighed, “Yes, but I’d probably see you less, leaving immediately after classes to leave campus?” “Yeah… but you’d be safer?” “I guess you know about everything?” She asked quietly. “Grandma told me some of it?” “You didn’t say anything last night?” Beth asked. “I didn’t want to be too pushy?” Beth hugged Carly, “Thank you.” “Maybe you can properly thank me later?” Carly suggested, wagging her eyebrows with a tone and behavior she’d never seen from her. “You need to behave, Little girl; you’re not too big for me to take over my knee,” she laughed. “There’s an idea…” Carly joked back. Beth facepalmed. They had enough time to grab a drink of water from the containers Nikki was watching over. Then, the shooting restarted with shots of them walking out to the parking lot. They made it clear that the dad had taken the mother’s car since car seats were already in it. Beth and Carly buckled in, and then the vehicle was programmed to drive to the Little Superstore. That sequence took five takes to get everything lined up correctly and demanded a lot of patience from Carly and Beth since they were just living props! ‘They could really just use dolls for this kind of scene,’ Beth griped internally. ‘The screenwriter owes me another massage!’ Eventually, they were ready to fill in the mom with a conversation on the way to the store in the car. The front driver and passenger chairs were again turned toward the backseat as Ava began to motherly chew out her ‘daughter.’ “So, just what the hell suddenly makes you adopt? Especially your two best friends?!?” “Mo...” Charlotte tried to interrupt. “Best friends who are both perfectly capable of using the potty, by the way?!? But you forced them into diapers?!? And then made them use them?!?!?!?! I raised you better than this, Harper Elaine!!!!!” The anger that Ava displayed was honestly impressive to Beth. She sat silently still in the booster seat, grateful that it wasn’t her mother chewing her out! ‘Ava will make a great mother someday,’ she thought. Beth responded then, though, “It’s not her fault...” She hesitated as if the word was hard to say, “Grandma.” Ava abruptly looked dumbstruck and like she’d hit a wall. The maternal need of a woman to have grandkids seemed to override her for a second, but she resumed, “How can you say that? You’ve already been accepted to college, Evelyn! So has Emma!!!” “If she didn’t do it, Annalise was going to,” Beth said with resignation. “Anna poisoned us at the end of school with cookies...” Carly sighed, “She was the only one I would have ever trusted besides Harper, and she did that to us!” Carly hissed. “I swear, Mom, I never wanted this!” Charlotte said, making tears leak from her eyes. She gripped a miniature stuffed animal she had clipped to her backpack like her life depended on it. Clearly, her character’s emotions were at an overloaded point, too. “Annalise?!?” she looks doubtful, “She’s been your friend since you were little girls too, why would she...?” Suddenly, Carly spoke up, “The rest of the cookies are still in my backpack.” Squirms in the seat. “I didn’t think about it until now, but you can test them.” “I’ll get my husband to get someone to do that; if that little girl did that, I’m going to see her punished.” She takes a deep breath, “What happened?” “Cut!” Sebastian called out. “That was gold,” Charlotte said, “I don’t really want to redo that again unless there were horrible filming issues, Will?” “I had closeup cameras on all of you throughout, one on Carly and Beth, another on you two, and then an overhead through the car roof we can cut to. I don’t think we need anything else?” “Good!” Charlotte said, “Ava, that was amazing, by the way!” “I was just sitting there glad I wasn’t the one getting chewed out,” Beth smirked. The crew laughed. “Okay, Carly, you called for a silent montage to tell the story to the mother, but I think we should go ahead and adlib it and record the exchange,” Sebastian suggested. “You can take the sound out since the audience knows the story, but maybe it’ll give a fade spot, or it’ll just be cutting room floor material?” “That works,” Carly agreed. They only did the sub-scene once, with Charlotte telling the main story and Carly and Beth adding their point-of-view in occasionally. After another cut, they resumed filming the dialogue. “Damnit! I’m going to have words with that little girl!” Ava said, clearly angry. The simulated trip to the store ended, and Ava and Charlotte exited the car, opening the back doors. Ava looked at them through the door beside where Beth was buckled in. “I’m sorry this happened to you girls. We won’t let this be the only future you two have. For now, LPS will expect to see Harper taking ‘good’ care of you. As soon as we’re done with that, we’ll get you back to being as big as we can...” Ava shook her head and glared across to Charlotte as she unbuckled Beth. Carly was just being picked up when she added, “This is not how I was supposed to become a grandmother, Harper Elaine!” “Cut!” WE TOOK A break to reset cameras before filming us being carried into the store. Charlotte carried Beth inside while Ava took care of me. Both grabbed separate carts and put us inside the seats. It was too big of a seat for me, while Beth looked crammed in despite still fitting. She turned a shade of red that was fitting for the moment, and I noticed that the short dress would never cover the diaper as she sat there. There were a couple of restarts, but we were pushed through the store, starting with the diaper aisle. It was like yesterday all over again for me as two boxes were placed underneath the cart for each of us. One for daytime and one for night. Baby wipes, sippy cups, baby bottles, bibs, and a ‘real’ car seat for Beth joined the items quickly. Ava tossed in a baby monitor set without pausing to look at options. The camera focused on a ‘baby proofing’ service, which would add handle covers, outlet covers, corner protectors, and more to the house. Charlotte used a store scanner meant for bigger things to be delivered and scanned, making the purchase obvious. That was a suggestion from one of the crew members who had experience with a ‘new sibling’ right before she came back from the Winter Break. To her credit, she thought it was as much bullshit as the ‘mom’ of Charlotte’s character! Eventually, we had done enough shots of shopping and pushed into the baby furniture area of the store. Here, we reset the cameras and resumed dialogue. Charlotte whispered to her mom. “Do I have to buy them cribs?” “Until LPS stops coming, yes. We can get convertible ones… maybe in the future you can convert them to toddler beds if they’re good girls.” She made it seem like that was for an unknown audience listening in via spies. “You also need to get them a playpen and a highchair for Emma; we can probably just use the booster seat at home for Evelyn. It has straps on it, we just never used them. Go ahead and pick out cute bedding and mobiles, too. LPS will require you to show that you can be a good mommy since you’re practically just a little girl yourself.” Ava had improvised a few things around the original dialogue, but I had to admit I liked her changes. She finished her last line by gently brushing through her loose, somewhat frazzled-looking hair before putting a comforting hand on Charlotte’s shoulder. “Cut!” Sebastian called. “One of the crew members is in shot on my view,” a cameraman called. “Damnit!” Sebastian said, “You’ve got to remember to stay out of frame!” “We do need to do it again,” Will said. “Ava, I like what you did there, but why don’t you try…” Charlotte gave some suggestions, and despite the annoyance of filming it all again, it went better and was worthwhile! With that segment of dialogue completed, they moved on to filming background scenes of Charlotte and Ava shopping and picking out the ‘perfect’ cribs for the girls. The crew followed the script and got closeup footage of signage specifically showing the crib chosen for Evelyn being an extended size to '100 inches.’ Shots showing documentation for Charlotte placing the order for delivery of the cribs that will be there within three hours, which was a service for ‘urgent adoptions.’ Finally, we moved on to the clothing areas of the store and resumed dialogue recording. Charlotte held up a dress that would actually fit in well on the campus for Beth to wear, “This doesn’t look too bad?” Ava responded, “No, dear, pick cute things that a toddler will love! Their maturosis is flaring, and they’re only going to be happier babies if they’re wearing bright clothing!” she smiled after saying that loudly. Then she leaned over and whispered, “You can look for normal-looking clothing later, or maybe even your dad will bring her own clothes later.” “But...” Charlotte went to argue and stick up for her friend. Ava whispered back, “LPS will expect you to transition them to their new role. They’re your babies now, not your friends.” A hug was given to Charlotte and a kiss to Beth and myself to ‘reassure’ us. Then they went to town, picking out cutesy actual clothing mixed in with the HoloClothes. “Cut!” Gary came out and showed Charlotte which clothes were real and how to tell before we began shooting again. He had outdone himself, placing a whole cartful of options of babyish dresses, onesies, rompers, footed pajamas, nightgowns, and other clothing appropriate for an infant for my character and a toddler for Beth’s character. Both of us were changed into ‘better’ clothes during the scene with tags pulled off to scan. I could tell Beth was much happier in the bibbed overalls that actually covered her diaper! After the change, I wore an infant playsuit that looked similar to what I’d seen Aunt Bella dressed in one night. Filming moved to the check-out, where the total was a bit over five thousand dollars. Ava was seen covering the overage for her new granddaughters. Eventually, we recorded leaving the store, strapping into the car seats, and finally getting done with the shopping scenes! “Cut!” Sebastian had called out. “We’re going to take an hour’s break for lunch. Charlotte, who paid for this one?” “Carly did, actually,” she said. “Carly?” he looked at me, “How?” “Ask me some other time. I’m going to warn you, I chose something with some flavor; there’s some mild stuff for the wimps, though!” Beth poked me at that, even though, sadly, few crew members could join me for the spicy side of the Mexican-like food. One who did immediately regretted it. I didn’t laugh too loud… I did laugh, though! BETH SPENT LUNCH eternally grateful that Carly had ordered milder options, even as she was even more grateful several crew members joined her in her choices. Seeing Caleb regret going toe-to-toe with Carly as she dumped the spiciest of sauces on her food was entertaining, though! Owen had been busy with a play he had been doing with the theater department the previous evenings. He had finally had a chance to help that day. He seemed to feel like an outsider this time but made some suggestions here and there. “Beth?” Owen said. “Yes, Owen?” “Next year, I have to do a show for my theater class that I choose, direct, and probably act in, too. Would you be interested in joining the cast for it?” Beth was flattered, “Maybe? Let me see how everything works out next year? It’s been an interesting semester?” He nodded, “Of course, I just wanted to see if you’d be interested! The members of this cast are all doing great, but you’re the right size and kind of girl I want to use for that?” “If I can, I will,” Beth promised him. “Great!” he said with a smile. Beth thought that was a bit weird, while Carly said, “That’s cool! He’s pretty picky on acting?” Carly mentioned. “Yeah, he is,” she agreed. After lunch, they resumed filming, with the girls returning to Charlotte’s house. While she had Charlotte and the girls wait inside, Ava went back outside and brought in one of the purchases – a playpen. Ava opened it up as Charlotte watched. With a couple of unscripted directions, Charlotte picked up Beth and placed her inside, followed by Carly. It was clear by the fact the wall only reached just below Beth’s armpits that it wouldn’t contain her forever. Still, she sat down inside and held Carly on her lap in the ‘safe place’ a new mother could leave them alone as Charlotte and Ava made more trips to the car. Neither Beth nor Carly had to act much to show their fatigue and displeasure at being penned up like babies in the playpen. Jackson came from the ‘upstairs’ area where he’d apparently made it back and was working on a room for them. After he helped bring in the rest of the items, Beth and Carly were removed from the playpen and placed on Charlotte’s knees. She hugged them protectively on the couch beside Ava. Jackson sat in a recliner, looking at them from the side. The whole sequence was free of dialogue, but it took an hour to film before they finally reached the final dialogue parts in the script. Charlotte’s character asked, “What now?” Jackson gave her a tired smile, “Well, I managed to get the guest bedroom cleared out. The hallway and the office are cluttered with stuff right now, but it’s at least ready for their cribs and changing table to be delivered. You should put them to bed when that’s done.” Charlotte squeezed them tight again, “I meant... what do we do now with the girls?” Jackson rocked in the recliner several times, finally saying, “Harper, they’re your babies and responsibility now. I know this was done to protect them, but that doesn’t change that you’re now their mommy?” “Ugh!” Charlotte roared, almost at a scream but more controlled. “Dad… I mean, I’m going to school Monday, right? What do I do with them? Do I have to put them in a daycare to be mindlessly babied?” Jackson shook his head, “No, actually you don’t have to do that?” “I don’t?!? What can I do then?” “Harper, you’re their mother. You can enroll them in any institution you want. If you want them to go to preschool? They go there. Elementary school? Middle School?” He raised his eyebrows, “High school?” He pauses, “That’s all up to you.” “Wait! They can still go to high school?” Charlotte asked in shock, and a bit of hope came through. “Yes, you may re-enroll them, and they can continue. Evelyn will have to wear the Little uniform like Emma now, but they can even still graduate with you.” Beth asked, “Really?” Hope just barely dangling in front of her character. Ava chimed in, “To be honest, that’s what better be happening!” In Beth’s opinion, she played the very annoyed mother character quite well! “It will! What about their parents?” Charlotte asked. Jackson rocked the chair several times, sighed, and said, “Emma’s dad wasn’t surprised she got adopted... He was actually happy it was you who did it. Jay says he’ll come over next weekend to see her after she gets a chance to adjust. Suggested if she does need to be placed in a daycare, the one he knows his wife is in would be good.” Beth squirmed at the very real conversation Carly had written here. It was rarely shown on television that Littles had families from which they were ripped. It was one of the redeeming spots of what would otherwise be a typical ‘adoption’ film. “That would be really embarrassing for mom to see me like that… But Daddy doesn’t hate me?” Carly’s voice trembled as if tears could start again, even though something she hoped wasn’t as bad as she worried seemed okay. Jackson quickly and forcefully responded, “Of course not, Emma! He’s sad, but let’s face it... you had an uphill battle just like your mama did.” Beth hesitantly and softly asked, “My parents?” “They’re upset... I’m not going to lie to you, Evie. I was worried your mom was going to rip my eyes out… But they don’t hate you – and they never could.” Jackson sighed, “Your mom promises to come visit and... even offered to babysit sometimes if needed. They’ll probably come over next weekend, too. Both of your families will box up your belongings, and I’ll pick them up Sunday.” After a moment of silence that seemed right, Charlotte said, “Things are never going to be normal again, are they?” “They won’t be the same again, Harper, but you don’t have to limit them like other mommies do. You won’t be able to go to separate colleges, but you could even enroll them at the same school you attend.” “That’s legal, honey?” Ava asked in surprise. Jackson responded, “Harper is their mommy; she can do whatever she feels is in their best interest.” He paused before saying, “The one thing we do have to talk about, though, will be potty privileges.” “Since they had poopy accidents, I have to keep them in diapers? Don’t I?” Charlotte asked. “Yes, I don’t see any way around it. Your mom is going to talk about a couple other things you’re going to have to do to keep up appearances, too.” A doorbell sound came across that I knew we’d redub in the edit. Jackson stood, “That should be their cribs and things. I’ll go let the delivery crew in and help get their nursery sorted.” He left. “Cut!” Sebastian said. Two more takes later, Jackson was filmed leading up three crew members and a painting robot to go upstairs to the new nursery. When that was good after two takes, they continued with the dialogue. Charlotte began, “What did Dad not want to say, Mom?” Ava looked uncomfortable as if she was about to explain the ‘facts of life’ to her. “LPS is going to be really skeptical about you raising them... You are going to have to make a really great show of being a good mommy.” “I promise I’ll do anything! I don’t want to see them going to an orphanage – that would be even worse than Annalise taking them! Tell me what I have to do?!?” Charlotte added an urgency to her voice. “Get ready for sore nipples,” she said bluntly. “Huh?” Charlotte said. Beth gasped, “Both of us...?” Ava said calmly, “Yes, both of you. It’s an important bonding process, according to ‘experts.’ Harper, you probably need to publicly feed them in the cafeteria on Monday, too.” Right on cue, Charlotte began crying with tear tracks down her eyes. As ‘reality’ hit the trio, Beth and Carly started crying, too. It was unscripted, but it seemed right that Ava joined a group hug and a cuddle with the trio. “Cut!” Sebastian said. “Do we need that part about breastfeeding?” Ethan asked. “Yes,” Charlotte said. “Our scriptwriter did some great things in this script, and I hope, even if this isn’t seen widely, that you all get her message about freedoms being ripped out here.” “Everyone loses in this,” Beth muttered. “Basically, yes,” Carly said. Charlotte put her hand on Carly’s back and rubbed it, but they were still sitting on the couch. “Okay, we just need to record the montage of them settling into their new lives,” Sebastian said, “Let’s get this done, and then hopefully we have some weekend left!” After the sixth outfit, being fed in the booster seat, Carly in the highchair, ‘nursing’ in a rocking chair in the nursery and on the couch in the living room, diapers changed on a changing table, ‘playing’ with dolls with Carly, and a good hour of moving from activity to activity they felt they had enough for a thirty second to a minute of montage to be accompanied with a soundtrack. “That’s a wrap, folks!” Sebastian said, “Great work!” “Let’s get you out of that damn diaper,” Charlotte said to Beth. “Those are the best words I’ve heard all day!” she replied. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like button and leave a comment!!!!! I have a crazy long day today, so it'll be late before I respond to any comments, but know they'll be appreciated when I finally get home! Thank you to all of you who do regularly comment!!!! 💜

@Moon3ye Reminded me of this third birthday of posting this work, and I remembered I had wanted to do an extra post this week when I thought about that a while back. So, thank them for making it happen! (And thank you again for the adorable picture of Rings! Definitely not ready for big girl pants anytime soon!) 🙂 Hopefully I caught most of the errors on my edit tonight, my apologies if I missed stuff! Chapter 138: Courtly Scenes THE NEXT MORNING, Beth woke up to Amanda gently shaking her shoulder, “Come on girls, time to get up so you can get to the university.” “What time is it?” Carly asked. “Too late for a swim,” Amanda told her. “Ugh… Maybe when we’re done?” “We’ll see; it won’t hurt you to skip a day?” “I haven’t skipped one since I started again here?” She laughed, “We’ll see. Beth, get yourself ready, I’m going to get this girl into the shower and then dressed. You have thirty minutes. Get a move on!” Beth hated feeling rushed in the morning but knew it was their own fault for not setting an alarm. She’d gotten spoiled with Rachel and distracted by Carly from remembering the previous night! As she took a quick shower, she couldn’t help but feel her arms and back felt the best they’d ever felt, thanks to that massage. When Carly had massaged her front, she’d felt in heaven as she gently kneaded her breasts and fought every urge to pull her into her chest to start sucking on her nipples! ‘Ugh, what’s wrong with me?’ They somehow managed to be on time to the soundstage, having eaten a breakfast sandwich apiece on the way there in Nikki’s car. “Go ahead and head back to wardrobe,” Sebastian said as we walked in. Nikki followed us back and helped Beth and Carly don the diapers and ill-fitting adoption costumes again. “I hate how exposed this makes me,” she complained to Carly. Carly shrugged, “Been there, done that! It’s actually a little weird being more covered than you.” Charlotte was soon there, and the rest of the cast, involved in their first scene of the day, made it to their places. They began by recording their entrance to the courthouse a couple times. Charlotte carried us both on her hip as if to ensure there was an ironclad ‘claim’ that both girls were her new babies. ‘Sadly, that is all too realistic,’ Beth tried not to shudder. They stood in line behind some HoloCharacters for several moments as Charlotte baby bounced them both a bit. In front, there was a Big HoloWoman who was carrying a Little girl in poopied clothes that resembled the mess they’d dealt with. Holo-created mess still streaked her legs leading to the ground, and their effects crew even had a small bit of it on the ground. The pacifier in the girl’s mouth was clearly one of those horrible locking ones she’d seen. She had a sad look and looked miserable. Charlotte shifted for a second, her hand obviously on Carly’s bottom, and whispered to her, “Oh Emma, why didn’t you tell me you need to potty?” “I didn’t think I was allowed?” she made her voice tremble as she said it. It was the sound of someone worried that their world was about to end in massive pain. Charlotte sighed and made it obvious she hated what was happening. The control of her body language as an actress had been apparent to her as a kid watching her, but up close, it was amazing. “As soon as we get out of here, we’ll talk. My dad does a lot of legal cases with adoptions; he’ll tell us the rules... and we’ll figure out ours…” Charlotte squeezed Carly a little tighter in a reaffirming hug before she turned to her other side to make eye contact with Beth. “Do you need to go?” The script called for Beth to squirm, which didn’t take much effort given how uncomfortable the moment felt, “I think I can hold it a while longer?” she quietly replied. Just then, the HoloMom in front of them stepped away, and the receptionist, played by Amelia, said, “Next!” Jackson stood beside us silently the whole time but finally said, “Go on,” softly to Charlotte, “You have to do most of this. I’ll stay with you, but you’re their mommy and must be the adult.” After stepping forward, Charlotte took a deep breath, “I’m here to adopt my two little girls here.” Amelia looked up with a bored expression, “Their names?” “Emma and Evelyn.” “Your name?” Amelia asked, still in a bored ‘I do this every day, eight hours a day’ voice. “Harper Kensington.” Beth patiently sat on Charlotte’s hip and watched as Amelia typed on a screen for a moment and then handed them a tablet. “We close in twenty minutes, but you’re in here before then, so the judge will see you no matter what today. Please complete the forms on this tablet as quickly as possible so he doesn’t have to stay too late. Same for the rest of the staff. Your information will be duplicated to each file, but your baby girls need theirs entered separately. It’s all set for that. Who is that with you?” Jackson stepped forward then, “I’m her attorney.” “I’ll let the judge know you have council.” Charlotte said, “Thanks.” She carried us to some chairs and sat us down on either side before sitting down with the tablet. “Cut!” they heard. “I think we need to do that again,” Charlotte said. “Carly’s diaper isn’t obviously wet… we have PooPloders that just do a pee substitute, right?” Gary answered, “Yes?” “We probably should give both girls one. It’s not in the script, but Beth’s character should definitely need to use that diaper by the time the courtroom scene is done?” Charlotte said. Beth blushed, “Maybe wait to load mine until we get to that?” “That’s probably a good idea. We’ll have to take a bathroom break at some point. Gary, Charlotte, can you get Carly hooked up?” “On it,” he said. Beth watched the crew reset alongside Jackson and Nikki then before they came back and reshot it. This time, it was very obvious that Carly’s character had used that diaper! ‘Not as wet as yesterday’s still, though,’ she fought a giggle until after the ‘cut’ came again! I WAS SITTING beside Charlotte as we filmed her ‘filling out’ the forms for us. I had been tasked with programming the tablet to stream a live recording to a nearby drive to match our film clock and ensuring it looked right as she did so. Beth and I looked at the screen from beside her with the looks of two people who were losing everything then. It included information on her character’s name, address, occupation, income, etc. Because the character was still living at home, some information from her parents was entered. I noted that she had to click that no nursery was ready yet. She then began putting in our information of Beth’s character’s ‘Old name’ of Evelyn Olivia Merriweather,’ changing to ‘Evelyn Olivia Kensington.’ My character’s name was changed from ‘Emma June Fairchild’ to Emma June Kensington.’ Even though it wasn’t really happening and wasn’t us, I had no trouble generating tears from my eyes per the script by the time she’d reached the final page on the tablet. Her ‘dad’ sat beside us still as she hugged us and headed up to the desk. Right then, Ava walked in; she was playing Charlotte’s character’s mom. She dived in to hug her daughter and then also quickly hugged us both reassuringly. She had a quick, quiet, unscripted conversation with Charlotte and her ‘husband’ as we stood beside them. There wasn’t enough time to tell the whole story to her, though, as the HoloMom that had entered in front of us had been called not long after Charlotte started entering the information on the forms. Before fully explaining why her daughter was becoming a mommy to her best friends, Amelia said, “Ms. Kensington?” she looked at our group, “The judge is ready now.” Charlotte picked up Beth and me and led her father and mother into the door beside her desk. “Cut!” We went back and hit that section of the script a few more times due to technical problems, and eventually, we got to our courtroom scene. None of us had seen the setup yet, so our first time was just before we filmed it. “This isn’t right,” Beth said. “Huh?” I asked her. “This isn’t how this would be set?” “Umm… are you sure?” Sophia asked. “My dad’s a judge, trust me – I’ve been on lots of days with him and my grandmother watching.” “So what needs to change?” I asked her. Thirty minutes later, we’d made the adjustments and began filming a more accurate scene, according to our resident expert! It was a small room relatively compared to what you expected from a courtroom on TV. There were some elements you would expect, like a bench for the judge, a small witness stand beside them, and a small table and chairs on either side of an aisle if there were two parties to a dispute. Jackson gently guided Charlotte to a seat at one of the tables, and she placed Beth and me on her knees in her lap. Ava, playing her mother, sat down in the row behind them. A HoloCharacter played a court clerk who was set to take notes on a device. At the same time, another holo police officer looked bored to the side. Jacob was playing the judge then, “Good afternoon, just squeaking in here before we close today?” “Yes, Your Honor,” Jackson replied. “Mr. Kensington, you don’t come into this court for these cases very often. I note you share the same last name as the applicant?” “Yes, Your Honor, Miss Kensington, the plaintiff, is my daughter.” Jacob said, “Seems unusual for a daughter of yours to not only adopt this young but also two girls?” “Circumstances being what they are, I believe she will be a good mother.” Jackson managed to speak both with resignation and a firm belief in his fictional daughter’s abilities then. “Miss Kensington, I see here that you are seeking the adoption of Evelyn Olivia Merriweather, age eighteen, a Tweener, and Emma June Fairchild, age eighteen, a Little. Since Little adoptions are simpler, let’s begin with her. What makes you believe she has proved her maturity demands a caregiver?” Charlotte startled me with her firm delivery, “Both girls pooped their pants in a massive mess in public today. Both required new outfits and needed a caregiver. It would have been wrong for me not to take them in.” “They’re both classmates, it appears? What should make you the one to adopt them? Especially two?” “Your Honor?” I spoke up tentatively. Jacob glared at me. It was the look that one would get right before a spanking, perfect for the role, “Little girls shouldn’t speak without being spoken to Emma, but can I help you?” I spoke up, “She… She should be our mommy because we want her to be.” “Really?” He gave a surprise look of shock, “That wasn’t the opinion of the last fifteen Littles in this courtroom?” “We love our mommy; she’s a good friend, and she wants to take care of us the way we need,” I said as convincingly as possible. He gave me a skeptical look but turned his eyes to Beth. “Evelyn, do you agree? You’re a Tweener, so you have a few more rights even if you had poopy pants in public?” ‘A few more rights,’ I thought to myself. The more I researched, the more I felt Littles might have had more rights than Tweeners! It was part of why I stuck that into the script. He delivered it just right, too! I looked over at Beth, who squirmed in her seat, and I could tell she had suddenly activated her PeePloder. After a moment of looking stricken, she said, “Yes, Your Honor, I know that I’m just a little girl too and need a mommy. Please make Harper our mommy.” Jacob turned back to Jackson, “Mr. Kensington, can your daughter provide for two little girls? They’ll need a place to stay during the days while she finishes high school? College?” “Your Honor, this is an unusual situation, but I believe it’s in the best interest of all three girls for this adoption to take place. I am fully aware of all the services available to their care, and her mother and I will support our grandchildren with money, housing, and childcare as needed.” Jackson said the lines with conviction. Jacob looked at all of us for a long pause before saying, “Far be it for me to get in the way of what looks like a loving family getting together here. Miss Harper, I do hope you understand there will be inspections from Little Protective Services within a week to ensure you have the proper resources to care for both of your daughters since I see you don’t have a nursery set up for them. There’s no backing out for them; should you not properly care for them, they’ll become wards of the state?” “I understand, Your Honor. I promise to do everything I can to love and care for them.” Charlotte responded. Jacob then said in a very official-sounding voice, “Very well, I declare that Evelyn Olivia Merriweather and Emma June Fairchild are no longer adults, with the legal rights implied as such. They are now both considered minors and are to be henceforth named Evelyn Olivia Kensington and Emma June Kensington. Their adoptive mother is Harper Elaine Kensington.” He used a small gavel to strike the desk before him, “Congratulations to the new family! The clerk’s office is standing by down the hall. They will chip your daughters and provide the adoption packet.” Charlotte told him, “Thank you, Your Honor.” Right then, he left, and Charlotte, Beth, and I were wrapped in a bigger hug by Jackson and Ava. Seeming to be the perfect family. After a moment, we walked out of the courtroom. “Cut!” “That was a long sequence in one take,” Beth said. “Yeah, it was,” Jacob said. “I still say I should have been the judge again,” Jackson kidded him. “Hate to see you typecast Jackson!” Jacob said back to him. “Besides, you’re like the star of the film for part of this!” We all laughed and stood in the hallway while Sebastian, Charlotte, and Will took a look at the instant playback. Our small group talked as we waited for them to conclude how the footage looked. “Let’s do that again,” Charlotte said. “Gary, we need to do another PeePloder for Beth.” “I’ll work on that right now; I’ll have it ready in five!” “Beth, I want you to wait until after your line about making me your mommy before you activate the PeePloder this time… Let’s see how that feels?” “Gross?” Beth said. She smiled when she said that, though. “That bad?” Sebastian asked. “Actually, no, the diaper absorbs that quickly. The PooPloders are a whole different story. They’re disgusting!” Everyone laughed at that as we took the time to reset to film that sequence again. As we waited for Beth, Gary, and Charlotte to return from changing the diaper and preparing the new PeePloder, I participated in a discussion with Will, Sebastian, Jackson, and Jacob. We debated whether we should break up the scene more to make it easier to shoot and edit later. “Honestly, Sebastian, I don’t think the length of the scene is a problem,” Jacob said. “We all remembered our lines?” “It seems more organic if it’s one take,” Will added. “We can always do it this way again and then break it up?” I suggested. “Maybe do a cut right after Beth uses the PeePloder?” “Was that the only concern?” Sebastian asked. “That was Charlotte’s main one?” Will responded. “Let’s try it in one chunk again; we’ll come back midway through if we need to for another take.” Ten minutes later, we were able to restart, and thankfully, everyone liked the next take! “Let’s get the clerk scene in next, then we’ll take a break for twenty minutes while the crew resets to the parking lot and store scenes,” Charlotte directed. “Sounds good, Charlotte!” someone called back. There was less dialogue in this next scene and more just covering our walk out of the courtroom, taking a right down a hallway, and then going inside an office, ‘Clerk: Records and Adoption Chips.’ We filmed a brief montage of Charlotte talking to a worker who clearly just wanted to leave and go home. We were placed on the counter one at a time and stabbed with a fake syringe to insert our adoption chips. Mom had told me about them and how hers had been neutralized. “It was good because I was able to get through the portal to go home without the alarms going off, but it was also scary – I knew that at any time, someone could take off with me, and it would have been almost impossible for Amanda and Fred to fight them without that chip.” I shuddered when I thought about what a real chip would mean. That really was the final death blow signaling that you belonged to that Big. If you managed to escape, the stupid slavery-like laws would force any free state like New Haven to return you unless you somehow got lucky and got the right judge. Beth had told me of a case her adoptive grandmother had ruled on when her father worked for her. When something was written in the Constitution, it was almost impossible to find a way around it! By this time, the diapers we were wearing were wet from the PeePloders and, in my case, my own pee! Beth’s hung as low under her dress as mine had the day before, and my own was feeling like it would fall off, too. It played into the dialogue, though. Isabella acted as our clerk because her lines were past the threshold for a HoloCharacter. She started the dialogue scene after we recorded the chipping several times. “Here is your initial adoption stipend; there’s two thousand per girl on these cards. You’ll receive an additional two thousand on the fifteenth, Tuesday next week, and that day each month. Make sure you get them their cribs, car seats, clothes, and, of course, their diapers out of that – LPS will check up on what they’re being used for occasionally. You will qualify for this stipend until you have an income that exceeds fifty thousand a year. The girls must visit a doctor for a checkup within one week.” Isabella was managing the same bored tone as Amelia had earlier, seemingly eager to get them out of the office so she could go home! Charlotte responded simply, “Thanks.” Her body language and tone conveyed the ‘what just happened’ idea to the eighteen-year-old girl suddenly thrust into adulthood. Isabella looked over Beth especially, “Oh, and we keep a stash of various-sized diapers in that restroom; why don’t you go change them before you go shopping? Unless you want them reminded of their needs. I understand if you do!” “Thanks, we’ll take you up on that,” Charlotte said. Charlotte carried us to the adjacent room with her mother. “Cut!” Sebastian said. We repeated that sequence two more times, once for a flubbed line on the repeat and the second for coverage. Finally, we were able to film the coming out; after a quick trip to the wardrobe, both of us were now in fresh diapers, thankfully! As they walked down the hallway, Ava began talking as Charlotte’s mom to Jackson, “Honey, can you go talk to the girl’s families? We’ll go shopping for what they need?” Charlotte hugged us reassuringly as she walked behind them, still clearly the child in the relationship despite her newfound motherhood. “Yes, that was what I planned on. I’ll try to be quick and start getting the main guest bedroom cleared out.” “Unless we want to make our daughter keep her babies in her room? I still need the story here? I mean, Charlotte, these are your friends?!?” “Please let them have a room, Mom. I’ll tell you on the way; sorry we didn’t have more time before...” “It better be a damn good story, I thought we raised you better than this!” Ava drove the angry mother with a quiet, pissed demeanor amazingly well. “You did... that’s why I had to...” Charlotte looked ready to cry as her ‘mom’ turned to look at her. She gave her and us a quick group hug before assertively leading the way out of the building. “Cut!” “I want to do that again,” Will said. By that point, I really just wanted to roll my eyes, but instead, we just rolled the filming again! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like Button and leave a comment! It's a bit mindblowing to me that it's been three years I've been posting this now! You all have racked up 546,700 views on this as of now, and over 2,800 replies! I appreciate you all sticking with me on this tale, and hope to bring this to a conclusion in the next year or so at this rate! Thanks for all of your supportive words, likes, and comments - it makes it more fun to write that way! 💜

Chapter 136: Shared Problems BETH LOOKED AT one of the clocks high on the wall in the soundstage and saw it was about two hours until the curfew for Carly and knew they had time to get a few more things shot at least. “We’re going to have to come back on Saturday, aren’t we?” Beth said to Carly while they waited for the scenery crew to finish resetting everything needed for the exterior of the house and the SUV they’d be traveling in. “Yeah, we didn’t have as much time at the end of class today, and then some of those really quick transition scenes took about ten times longer than I would have personally expected to film.” “Hopefully, that’ll be the last time I have put on this stupid outfit,” she groaned. “And others… don’t forget we have a whole weekend montage to film as a transition, too.” “Why aren’t we finishing that now?” Beth asked. “It’s here in the house?” “We were going to originally,” Charlotte answered. “Gary pointed out, though, that we might come up with some different ideas during the shopping scene.” “Not too many more…?” Beth found herself pleading. “Hopefully not!” Charlotte agreed. “Thanks for hanging in there. I remember having to film those stupid scenes on my Charlee show and being mortified. This is a thousand times worse…” Beth found herself being side-hugged by Charlotte. “Thanks,” she told her. Five minutes later, they were ready to film the scene. They filmed the four coming outside the house and moving to the vehicle for continuity. While they set up, she asked Carly, “Why would they already have car seats for them?” “In my mind, the girls have grown up together, and even as Emma stayed tiny, Evelyn only grew to the size of a second grader, and Harper grew to the giantess size, they still hung out with each other despite their size differences. Actually, Annalise is also in that mix too…” Carly had said, “If they hang out together, someone’s vehicle would have to have seats they could ride in?” Beth was picked up by Jackson and inserted into her seat, even as Charlotte put Carly into a rear-facing seat. Hers was at least just a booster seat, even if it was a high-back one. They used their old tricks of removing the car roof and walls throughout the filming to get the needed shots. It was again one of those transition scenes that took longer than she expected, and by the fifth time being buckled in she was getting a bit fidgety. It didn’t help that there was zero possibility with the five-point harness to hide the diaper she was wearing! “That’ll work,” Will said after the final time. “Let’s move on to the conversation as they drive.” Finally, the scenery changed around the car, and Charlotte began the lines, “As soon as we get done with this adoption, we’ll see about picking up clothes and things from your houses...” Jackson shook his head, having both his and Charlotte’s chairs turned to the back right then. Even though Carly was locked into a boring view of the seat, Beth could see them. “No, let’s wait on taking them to their homes...” He shrugged, “I think that’ll be harder for everyone to deal with. Remember that you’ll qualify for the adoption grants since you’re unemployed and a single mother. They’ll give you money for each girl today for their basic needs. Let’s plan on having your mother and you girls shop with those grant cards for supplies. I’ll go by their houses... and I’ll…” He gulped, “I’ll explain what happened to their parents...” he shook his head and grimaced. “Jim is going to rip my head off,” he added sadly. Beth told him, “Sorry, hopefully Dad understands it’s not your fault…” Jackson shook his head again, “I personally won’t blame him if he does think it’s our fault. Evelyn, you’re not a Little!” He hissed through his teeth, “You’re supposed to be safe from being easily adopted like this. Those new rules, though, make it easier to force this…” Charlotte put her hand on his arm, and they all looked at each other as if there was nothing else one could say right then. They held that for longer than Beth would have expected before “Cut!” was called. “Will?” Sebastian called out. “I think it was solid,” he replied. Charlotte added, “I like the adlib lines that Jackson added in.” “Me too,” Carly said beside her. “Honestly, I think it was moving, and we’re not going to do better. If Will thinks the coverage is good, let’s call it a day?” “I agree,” Sebastian said. “I think it’s time to call it a day so we can get Carly back to her nest?” Charlotte suggested. “Yeah, we might as well hold off on the final seven scenes we need to film until Saturday. Everyone is good with nine for the start time, right?” Sebastian asked. “Yeah, and can we please just stay until it’s done that night?” Will suggested. “We can work until Carly’s curfew, I don’t want to risk her getting in trouble,” Beth said. “Shouldn’t take that long,” Will said. “You may have just jinxed us,” Carly giggled. “Okay, if we’re done, can we go get changed? This diaper is enormous, and it doesn’t help I peed!” Charlotte laughed, and they helped Beth and Carly get out of their seats. Charlotte carried the Little to the dressing room while Beth followed right behind. Once they had all changed out of their costumes, Beth and Carly walked back together to the dorms with Nikki while the others stayed behind to do some cleanup jobs. “I hate watching that,” Nikki said as they walked. “Huh?” Beth said. “I hate watching the scenes of you being forced like that,” she sighed. “I’m glad it’s not real. I hate that if the circumstances were right, that could happen to both of you.” “There’s a reason you’re here,” Carly told her. “Yeah,” she agreed. After she hugged Carly goodnight and sent her inside Sanders with a pat to her diapered butt, they finished walking to Beth’s dorm. “I need to come in and talk to you for a few minutes,” she told Beth. “Okay…?” She said nervously. The ride up to her room on the elevator seemed to take ten times as long as normal as her brain went into overdrive, wondering why Nikki said that! Nikki pulled out a device inside her room, activated it, and said, “Okay, I want to start by telling you that you are safe.” “That doesn’t sound good…” Beth said. “Well, I needed to let you know that we had a call earlier that someone tried hacking your records again.” “What did they do this time?” “They put a picture from the film in your file and claimed you’d had several poopy accidents.” “What?!?” Beth hissed. “I was worried about this!” She clenched her teeth and tried not to break down in tears. “So were we, which is why it didn’t work, and you are safe! Amanda almost has it narrowed down to who is doing this. She thinks it’s a friend of Kelly’s that’s a computer science major.” “That would make sense,” Beth fumed. “As far as we can tell, Kelly is gone, and Nevaeh doesn’t seem like she’s going to make it through the semester.” “Huh?” Beth asked. “I’ve actually kind of felt sorry for her at this point,” she thought back to last week in the cafeteria when she had seen her. Nevaeh has been sitting in a special Big-Sized ‘high chair’ that had been brought in for her. It was low enough to the ground that the nest mother could reach her like a normal baby, even as it was just a scaled-up highchair like Carly used at her grandmother’s. The restrictive harness, white tray, and wheels it rolled on had to make the occupant feel completely babyish. “Open up for the choo choo!” her nest mother said as she brought a spoonful of mush to her face. Even from twenty feet away, Beth could hear her and see that she seemed to intentionally miss so that her face looked messier than a baby first learning to self-feed! “Three more big bites!” she told her. “No more, please, Mommy.” “Just two more!” she cooed at her after shoving one in there. “Plea…” “One!” “Na…” “Two!” She’d watched as she swallowed, “Oops, mommy miscounted, one more big bite for my big baby!” The poor girl looked like she was about to be sick from eating whatever it was. One of her friends later said she saw that label, and it was one of those pickled durian fruit torture foods you could only get in places like Selegnasol now. Beth had hoped the girl was done, but ‘mommy’ wiped her face and moved further in on the bench seat of the booth she was sitting on. “Let’s finish up your nummies with your milkies!” she said. Nevaeh had to have given up any amount of fight to be an adult at that point because she just cooperated, climbed on the bench, put the girl’s nipple in her mouth, and began nursing. “What a good baby girl! She loves her nummies from Mommy!” the girl cooed. Beth tried to focus on her food, even as the whole cafeteria heard the loudest and wettest fart of all time! No one moved until the nest mother shifted the girl up, sat her on her feet, pulled up the skirt, back the diaper, and cooed, “What a poopy whittle girl!!! Who can believe you ever thought you could be a Big mommy like me?” It was like a trainwreck, and everyone had watched. More than a few Bigs had cheered or offered to change her diapee after that, but the only mercy was that the ‘mommy’ had taken her back to the nest. “Yeah… last week was pretty bad,” Nikki said, clearly knowing where Beth’s mind had gone. “Unofficially, I heard she’s failing. She’s under the rules for Littles, so if she fails any of her midterm exams, she’ll be adopted out.” “Poor girl...” Despite knowing she had been part of a plot against her, she felt even more sympathetic after working on the film with Carly and the crew. “Anyway, we want you to make sure you’re not taking any risks. I may be bringing in another person to help keep an eye on you, too.” “Another guard?” Beth whined, “I hate this!” Beth pretty unconsciously grabbed Rings and cuddled her while she took a seat. “I just... I just understood why this is happening.” Nikki nodded, “Me too. My personal guess is it’s more stuff relating to Kelly and whatever went on there. We lost track of her in Selegnasol, no clue what she’s doing there since she grew up in a foster home.” “Any other news?” Beth asked nervously. “No, but again, you’re safe, and we stopped this before it could even happen,” Nikki told her. “Thanks,” Beth said nervously. “I appreciate you didn’t hide it from me.” “I’m going to start hanging out here a bit later than I have been. I don’t want to interrupt your sleeping, so I’ll be in the common room outside. I just want to be here in case someone does something stupid.” “You’re never going to get any rest?” Beth asked, concerned. “You go to class, you spend time at Amanda’s, and that’s also why I want to bring in another person. I’ll make sure you can trust them, too.” “Okay,” Beth told her. “Umm… thanks…” Beth hugged the taller woman, and then Nikki left the room. When the door closed, Beth sat down, gave in to the emotions from the day, and cried. I SAT DOWN in the beanbag chair that I’d begun to consider ‘mine’ after a particularly gross diaper change. Lilly had dressed me afterward in a new footed-onesie that she must have had customized. This one was just a light baby pink, very fluffy, and had my name embroidered under a sparkly embroidered unicorn. She’d appeared with them for all of the girls, and I hoped she hadn’t spent a lot of money on it herself - since they couldn’t have been cheap! I was just glad to have a clean diaper, though, because no matter how many times I pooped my diaper, I could never consider it ‘normal!’ I gathered my devices around me, my tablet, EdgeSphere glasses, and a safe bottle of water from my stash. ‘Not that it really matters much anymore,’ I thought morosely. Dr. Nickerson had given me the latest results from my last scan on Tuesday after my appointment with Dr. Sterling… It hadn’t been earth-shattering that there’d been no significant change with the nanites, and I seemed stable. She did note that the protein coating on my nervous system was thick enough that she didn’t believe it was repairable. She said that underneath the coating, they detected damage, and essentially, I had to accept I would probably be incontinent for the rest of my life. I had sat unsurprised, even as it hit me hard later that night. Unfortunately, sitting in the bean bag after a gross diaper change reminded me of all I’d lost there! “You okay, Carly?” Mia asked me. I looked up at my nestmate, the fellow exchange student I actually worried about the most myself, and shrugged, “Not sure? It’s like you have to take it day by day sometimes?” She nodded at that, “Scoot over,” she told me. I looked at her in surprise, “Come on, doofus, don’t tell me your sisters don’t cuddle on the sofa sometimes with you?” I laughed, “mostly so they can put their cold feet on me!” She laughed, “I do that to my dad all the time!” I moved over and shifted my stuff, “So what’s wrong?” She asked me. “You’re usually the hopeful one of our bunch?” I shrugged, “stress from projects? I also got some really bad news on some medical tests the other day?” “How so?” She asked. I cringed; this would probably apply to her, too. “One of the things I’ve been exposed to is a set of nanites that put this form of plaque on one of the parts of my nervous system.” “That sounds terrifying?” She said nervously. “It is actually… It’s why I’ve lost control of my bladder and bowels.” “Is that what happened to all of us?” She asked softly. I nodded, “Probably.” “How?” I looked around the room and knew they recorded things, so I had to be careful. “You’ve been around enough to see them breastfeed Littles?” I knew that was an obvious fact, so I kept going, “Well, the breastmilk does a few things naturally with Littles. One, it causes them to be pretty sleepy.” “Babies tend to sleep after nursing back home, too?” She said. I nodded, “Yes, but this is even more so? There’s also something in the milk that makes a Little crave it. It’s highly addictive,” I told her quietly. She looked scared, “So it’s good I’ve said no?” I nodded, “Don’t ever agree, and if you do, do your best to not repeat it…” “But it has something to do with this potty issue?” She asked. I nodded, “It also naturally puts that plaque in those centers of the nervous system. Generally, once a Little breastfeeds anywhere from five to twelve days, their continence will be gone. A month or two of that makes it pretty much permanent?” “That’s horrible,” she said. I nodded, “Yeah… anyway, I think they tested some new medicine that put that plaque in all of us back when we got here.” She sighed, “Guess I’m not surprised.” We sat there for a second before she said, “Well, I guess that would be the one positive if I got adopted?” “Huh?” “I’ve heard it does taste good?” “Please tell me you haven’t?” I asked her. “No, but a couple of my nestmates before the change did. And I’ve heard it from a couple Littles at the daycare.” “Has that been any better this week?” I asked her. “Yes, actually, it has. It’s funny... the girl I was having the most problem with suddenly has another time she’s coming in. Several of their staff just turned over, too?” “So safer?” “Maybe?” She said. “I figure I have about a ten percent chance at this point to go home.” “I hope you do,” I told her. “Me too, I really miss my baby brother and my parents!” We sat there for a few more minutes before she said, “Well, I better go finish getting ready for bed. I don’t know how you keep staying up later than us and getting up earlier. You never look tired?” I smiled, “My mom’s the same way; we just don’t need as much sleep.” “Useful!” she told me. I watched her move towards the bathroom to wash her face and donned my EdgeSphere glasses. I expected to see Beth, but she must have had something come up? I ended up hanging out with Shelby for twenty minutes before her mom sent her to bed. I was just about to log out when Grandma came in. “Good, you’re on here,” she told me. “Hi, Grandma, what’s up?” I asked her. “I wanted to make sure you knew that while Beth is safe for now, they tried something again with her records.” “What did they do…?” I asked. She told me about the attempt to get her back into diapers and a nest before saying, “Carly, I’m almost certain it has to be a student in the computer science department. There’s a good chance you share a class with them. Maybe your Intelligence class?” “You think so?” I asked. “Yes. Do you all ever see each other’s code?” She asked me. “Occasionally, Doctor Turing shows the best and worst examples?” “Take a look at this…” Grandma told me. Fifteen minutes later, I gave her two names that looked like it could be their code. “Now I’ll really hunt,” Grandma said with some venom. “Don’t get in trouble,” I told her. She laughed and patted my virtual head, “I promise, whichever of these kids did this – they’re the only ones that will be in trouble. Be careful when you’re out and about without Nikki. I won’t be surprised if something else comes up before the break.” “Ugh!” I groaned. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow after class. This weekend, we need to ensure we have everything you need for your spring break trip.” “We do have to film on Saturday,” I told her. “That shouldn’t be a problem,” she told me. “Okay, see you tomorrow. I love you, Grandma.” “Love you too,” she told me. With that, I looked at the time and decided that any other projects could wait until the weekend. As much as I could stay up later, I decided an early bedtime was a good idea. First, I messaged Beth, ‘Goodnight, I love you.’ Ten minutes later, I was asleep with a clean diaper and my arms firmly around Kylie. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment and press the Like button!!! I've had a crazy busy few weeks in the real world, and another one to come next week. Really hoping to maybe be able to write some this weekend. Your comments really do help fuel that return of the muse! 🙂

Chapter 125: One of the Babies BETH SENSED EYES staring at her and turned her head to see a swimsuit-clad Amanda watching them with her phone in hand. She was just finishing typing something, and Beth was certain a couple pairs of parents were being sent blackmail material! “What time is it?” She asked. “Time for the dolphin to go for a swim,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “And someone else might benefit from the hot tub?” Beth stretched and noted she was still sore, but much less so than before Carly worked her magical hands on her back. ‘I may have to see if I can get a better one later…?’ she thought. She squeezed the tiny girl she was cuddling a little tighter, “Carly, time to get up,” she said with a kiss on her forehead. Carly refused to open her eyes, just squirming deeper into the embrace. “Don’t make me break out the cold water squirt guns,” Amanda threatened them. Beth looked up and realized there must be a story there, and she was serious. With a groan, she rolled the smaller girl on top of her before sitting up in the short bed. “Why don’t you pass her to me? You can get changed, and then we’ll go down together?” Amanda suggested. She held her hands out for her granddaughter, and Beth passed her over after a brief hug and a kiss on the nose. “Kay,” was about the most coherent speech Beth managed then. Amanda carried the barely awake granddaughter from the room and closed the door. With a sigh, Beth stood and began stripping the pajamas from her body. She’d left some swimsuits at Amanda’s the previous week since she wasn’t likely to swim at school. ‘I need to find a couple of bikinis for our trip,’ Beth reminded herself. ‘Maybe one for Carly?’ she mused, thinking how cute the tiny girl would look in one. ‘Hard to hide a diaper in one,’ she noted. ‘That might be cuter,’ she giggled, thinking of the edges peeking out as she pulled on a two-piece tankini-style suit. When she had put her hair in a swim cap and tossed on a robe, she found Amanda carrying Carly out of her room, dressed in a swim diaper that peeked out of the swimsuit just as she pictured it a moment ago. The one-piece style was probably better for laps than her own suit, but she was just planning on soaking! Carly’s eyes were closed then, and it looked to Beth like she was back asleep. “She’s falling asleep again?” Beth shook her head. “I don’t think she really wakes up until you toss her in the water. Her mom was the same way!” “I am here, you know…” Beth heard Carly sleepily complain. They both laughed at her. Beth watched as Amanda tossed Carly into the water, and the girl suddenly became a fish. Watching the tiny girl glide through the water was almost unnerving, and the skill Carly demonstrated as she alternated stroke styles was impressive. Amanda hopped into the pool and did her own laps while Beth eyed the hot tub and noted a bottle of water and a towel were left beside the water. She walked to it and submerged herself, grateful she wasn’t a full-grown Amazon because the water rose higher on her torso as she sat on a built-in seat and barely kept her head above the water. As she entered, the tub began filling with bubbles, and the temperature was a fantastic level of warmth! Beth’s muscles had relaxed with Carly’s ministrations the night before. Still, the final tension and soreness seemed to leach out of her body as she sat there. Beth could hear the splashes of Amanda and Carly, with the smaller girls being a bit quieter but faster in pace. She had sat in the water for a few minutes before deciding to quench her thirst with the water bottle Amanda had thoughtfully left there. After a half-hour, Beth decided she’d probably been in the hot tub longer than she should, so she climbed out, wrapped herself in a towel, and walked to the pool’s edge. Amanda and Fred kept it heated, so while it wasn’t as warm as the hot tub when she hung her legs over into the water, it was still soothing and not too cold. She watched Amanda swim for just a little longer before climbing out. “Feel better having soaked?” She asked. Beth nodded, “Carly gave me a back massage last night, too. That helped a lot.” Amanda smiled, “Just be careful with each other,” she told her. Beth nodded. “You okay if we give the fish a little more time to swim?” Amanda asked her. She laughed, “She looks so cute in the water swimming like she does. It’s crazy how fast she moves!” “Her mom was the same way. I’m sure she will enjoy the vacation with your family.” “I hope so!” Beth said, “Probably the only safe place I could take her at this point. She’s such a magnet for trouble.” Amanda nodded. The two chatted for a while before Amanda leaned over in front of Carly’s turnaround spot and caught her attention, “Come on, someone probably doesn’t want to be waiting on you all day,” she smirked towards Beth. Carly nodded. An hour later, Beth found Carly dressed in a cute pink corduroy jumper, a yellow t-shirt underneath, with a ruffled collar and sleeves. It meant Carly looked every bit the toddler girl her nanite-adjusted face showed. Of course, she was a bit small for the two-year-old look she was pulling off, but it meant she was absolutely adorable. Amanda had clipped an enormous bow at the top of her head that looked like something Carly’s new nest mother would have picked. ‘Lilly does like making them all look as girly as possible,’ she noted. The hug she got when Carly saw her made her smile, and it seemed like both of them were ready to begin a less adventurous day! AFTER BREAKFAST, BETH and I cuddled up on the couch with my head leaning on her lap as I read some of my HoloField Theory textbook on my tablet. “That looks like gibberish,” Beth said as I read a chapter detailing the wavelengths and energy required for specific solid-state fields. I shrugged, “I guess in a way it is, but I see where they came up with it. It’s really cool actually to see the relationship between the energy and wavelengths to create the solid holograms,” I added. “Nerd,” She kidded and ran a hand idly through my hair. I could just feel the bow resting at the top of my head and had to resist playing with it. “And proud of it,” I told her, sticking my tongue out at her. We studied most of the morning until just before lunch when I heard the gate bell go off. Soon, Aunt Megan, Uncle Matt, Meggy, Leelah, and Sam came in, followed by Aunt Bella, Ryan, and Shelby. “Hey,” Leelah said, coming over to us. “Hi, Shelby,” I said. “What’s up?” She shrugged, “Aunt Mandy invited us all over for lunch?” “Wonder why she didn’t warn us?” I said, noting I might have dressed a bit more like a college student! “It was supposed to be a surprise,” Grandma said. “Now, why don’t you two put your school stuff upstairs and come down for lunch?” “Okay,” I said. “Beth, would you mind changing Carly while you’re up there too?” I blushed. “Grandma, you don’t have to embarrass her that way,” Shelby complained on my behalf. “She’s not adopted like Mom?” “Sorry,” Grandma said apologetically. “It’s okay,” I sighed as I packed my bag with my things and climbed up the stairs to avoid Beth having to carry me right then. With each step, I noticed my diaper was increasingly droopy. I was sure it was probably hanging below the skirt of my jumper. I just trudged upwards, pulling myself up the next stairs until we were both on the upstairs level and soon in my room. “Come on, let’s get you changed, I doubt that diaper can take another drop!” Beth told me as she closed the bedroom door behind us. I blushed but stood by the table, where she picked me up and placed me on it. Once the dress was pushed out of the way, I expected her to move straight to changing my diaper. Instead, I was shocked as she suddenly began blowing raspberries on my stomach and tickling me! “Staahp,” I giggled. “Sorry, wanted to make sure you were actually done for a while.” “You could have asked?” I huffed. “Could I?” She asked. I grimaced and shook my head, “I guess not…?” She kissed me gently on the lips and then pulled the diaper open. She didn’t waste any time wiping me gently and replacing the wet padding with a dry version. Contrary to her sore muscles, I was given a ride downstairs after we both washed hands and joined the large family dinner. I was a bit embarrassed, though, about the seating arrangement! Grandma and Grandpa had a long dining room table with an extra couple of leaves inserted into it. It seemed that it brought the capacity of the ‘big chair’ space up to about ten people. Since we were still a little short, Bella and I ended up on one end past the table with our trays attached to our high chairs. I was at least beside Beth, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt that even Meggy was getting to sit at the table with a portable highchair she had clipped onto the table! I chose not to make a fuss, but it emphasized that I was our family’s second-smallest ‘baby!’ Fortunately, our mealtime conversation meant I didn’t give it much more thought. Food being excellent that day also helped, as Grandma had made a gigantic Amazonian-sized prime rib, mashed potatoes, gigantic asparagus that reminded me of zucchini in diameter, and several other side dishes. I had no clue when she’d managed to make it all, but I realized Beth and I must have been engrossed in our homework a lot longer than I realized! Each piece of meat I cut with the me-sized steak knife was cooked to perfection! I enjoyed dipping it inside the au jus that was provided, even as I noticed that despite the high chairs, most of us were getting to cut up our own food. Aunt Bella and Meggy were both the exceptions, and I couldn’t help but grimace when I would watch Grandma or Aunt Megan seem to intentionally miss the women’s mouths. It appeared playful fun, so I tuned it out and tried to listen to the conversations around the table. I listened to Leelah and Shelby pepper Beth about some new fashion trends they heard coming from the college and coming into their schools. “Is it true?” Leelah asked. Though she was almost as tall as Beth, she was only thirteen, and you could tell Leelah wanted anything she could do to be ‘cool’ in her middle school. Beth laughed, “I think I’ve seen one girl do that? Maybe?” She shrugged, “If you like it though, do it?” “There’s a lot of girls in high school doing that,” Shelby said. “Mostly Tweeners and Bigs, though,” she added with a grimace. Leelah leaned over beside her and gave her a sideways hug. It was challenging with Leelah in a booster seat and Shelby in a high chair! “Sorry, Shelby,” she sighed, “I wish you weren’t a Little.” “Me too,” Shelby agreed. Meanwhile, further up the table, I could see fifteen-year-old Sam pretty much ignoring the shorter relatives and engaging only with Grandpa and his dad. I increasingly felt out of place as the meal went on, unable to contribute to the shorter conversation, even as Ryan was more engaged with Sam than he was with the end. Grandma was feeding Aunt Bella half the time, but she was also running around the table, making sure everyone had everything they needed. As the meal ended, I found myself let down by Megan, who then carried Meggy back to where she was sitting at the table and began openly nursing her. I decided to wander to the living room and sat on the couch. Shelby found me there, asking, “Carly, are you okay?” I nodded, “Yeah, why?” “You were awfully quiet at lunch?” I shrugged, “Kind of placed in an awkward spot?” She grimaced, “Sorry, I should have told Mom to switch chairs around some more…” “It’s okay,” I said. “Seriously though, are you okay?” She asked right as Beth and Leelah came in. “Yeah, it’s just a bit overwhelming with the number of people sometimes,” I told her honestly. “My moms were both only children back home, so we tend to only have our six family members at meals since our grandparents passed away.” “And you’re okay from yesterday?” Leelah asked. “Yesterday?” “The whole fighting and nearly ending up sent to an etiquette school thing?” Shelby answered. “I wasn’t that close…?” I replied. Beth grimaced and sat beside me before picking me up and moving me into her lap sideways. She was now against the arm of the couch, and my back rested against it. “You could have been,” Beth told me. “I guess I don’t worry as much when I know I have Grandma and everyone in my corner?” “You’ve got to be more careful,” Leelah said. I nodded, “I didn’t exactly ask to be cornered with Beth yesterday?” Beth gave me a reassuring squeeze. “We’ve already agreed—no more malls,” she told them. “No more malls?!?” Leelah asked in horror. “No more malls,” I agreed with Beth. “Damn,” Leelah said. We sat a bit longer there before Leelah’s parents came out of the dining room, her mom cradling a sleeping Meggy. “You ready to go, guys?” Her dad asked. She sighed, “Sure, Dad.” Their family said goodbye, apologizing to us that her mom had her hands full! As they left, Beth squeezed my diaper, “Why don’t we go get you in a dry diaper?” She suggested. I shrugged, “Okay.” She surprised me by picking me up, “Are you feeling better?” I asked her. “I’m definitely better than yesterday, but I’m still sore. A little soreness is worth not waiting forever for you to climb the stairs, though!” I stuck my tongue out at her then. She surprised me by kissing me and seemingly fast enough to swallow the tongue still out of my mouth. Beth tickled my side, “Careful, or a birdy might eat that!” I just leaned my head against her in response, “As long as it’s you, it’s okay.” “Aww…” she said, squeezing me tighter. At the top of the stairs, she made her way to my room and sat me down on the changing table. I was slightly surprised as she closed the door and returned to me. I looked at her curiously, but she said, “Let’s get this out of the way first! Arms up!” I raised my arms, and she pulled the corduroy jumper I wore over my head. A second later, she pulled my shirt off, too, leaving me with just my socks and wet diaper. “What are you doing?” I asked. “Something’s bothering you, so I thought we’d see if we can get you to loosen up enough to actually talk to me about it.” “But…” I started to argue, but my body was carried over to my bed, where she placed me face down. I didn’t understand for a moment before I heard her rub some lotion on her hands and realized she was repaying me the favor for the massage. I felt her hands begin to gently rub the lotion across my back, her palms gently rubbing my skin. A moment later, she started actually kneading my shoulders, and I found myself purring at the sensation! Her large hands and fingers seemed to find every sore spot in my back before making their way down to my legs. At my feet, she discovered I was every bit as ticklish as she was! Fortunately for me, she didn’t pursue that; she just gently managed to get past that ticklish point and knead my feet for a moment. “We need to paint these toes,” she told me as she moved back up my body, gently massaging my arms and scalp. My eyes were closed as I felt her turn me over to my front. I looked up, and she said, “Let’s make sure we get you all done,” she said with a smile. She had a tub of something from somewhere, and she began gently massaging my cheeks and face after saying, “Eyes closed.” After a few minutes, I recognized the sensation from when my sisters had roped me into doing facial masks with them and our moms. My face seemed to tingle, though, and this dimension used some tech inside their version. ‘Hopefully no nanites,’ I thought. She moved to my arms, chest, and the fronts of my legs before asking, “So what has you so upset?” I sighed, “I felt like I was one of ‘babies’ at lunch.” “Huh?” “I was sitting next to Bella in a highchair instead of being pulled up to the table.” I shrugged and noted how my shoulders felt a lot better. “I guess I was just feeling embarrassed.” He felt her lips touch the top of my head, “Sorry,” she told me. “I wondered if that was part of it.” I was about to open my eyes, and she guessed as much, “Eyes closed still! I will peel your mask off in a moment, but it’s not quite ready.” I nodded. I felt her hands again massage parts of my body before she lifted me up, “I’m going to change you, then I’ll pull the mask,” Beth said, “I think you’re about to leak otherwise.” I blushed but was grateful the mask was hiding most of my face! I felt my body placed down on the changing mat and the rip of the diaper tapes being pulled open. A moment later, I felt her hands grip my ankles in a hand, and she wiped me before placing a dry diaper under my bottom. Only then did I realize how soaked my other diaper had to have been! “Almost done,” she told me. I could almost hear the smile on her face. She gently rubbed some lotion onto my bottom, then I shuddered a bit as she quickly rubbed some into my groin as well. Her hand brushed just past my parts for a second before moving away and taping the new diaper shut. My eyes were still shut, and I could hear her wipe her hands with a wipe before moving to my face. “Stay still, and I’ll peel this off,” she told me. A moment later, she said, “Okay,” and I saw her holding a piece of mask that had come off intact. She then placed it in the trash. “Same outfit?” She asked me. I shrugged, “Might as well?” Ten minutes later, I was dressed again, and she’d even replaced the bow back in my hair where it had been before. We moved to her room and sat on her bed. “Feel better now?” I nodded, “Thanks,” I said, leaning up against her and hugging her. “Anytime, Carly, I love you.” “Love you too,” I told her. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading!!! Please press the Like Button and Leave a comment!!! So, as I mentioned before, this is my final chapter that’s ‘in the can’ to give to you. I’m not all that hopeful that I’ll have time to write more of this until January or so, so I will leave you with a season’s pause. I’ve been quite proud to have sustained my longest postings without stopping on this, at 71 weeks of a post a week! Sadly, real life killed my muse during the last parts I could write this year. Hopefully, she’ll behave, and maybe you’ll get a sporadic update or two down the road. Please do consider leaving that comment/like, as it helps motivate me to return! Also, while you wait, please consider purchasing/reading one of my other works on Amazon Kindle: http://amazon.com/author/babysofia They’re also all available here on DailyDiapers for free for those who might not have that option! Anyway, I’ll be around commenting, but please be patient with my return to chapters; if I had to guess, it’ll likely be late January/February! Love you all! Sofia 💜

Chapter 128: Nightmares I RETURNED TO my nest, and after a quick diaper change, I went to work on finishing up and submitting my script. The other girls had talked to me for a few minutes. Those from our dimension seemed extra stressed, with midterms coming up in only a couple more weeks! Just before most of the girls went to bed, I looked up at Mia. She was dressed in her pajamas and oddly holding onto something in her hand. Something about it looked off, so I stretched my arms and back before I walked over to her. “Hey Mia, what’s going on?” I asked her, even as she nearly jumped out of her skin and held whatever the mystery item was behind her to conceal it. “Umm... hi, Carly, I didn’t see you there?” “What’s in your hand?” I asked gently. She blushed but didn’t respond. “Mia, I’d love to help with whatever it is, but I can’t if you don’t tell me?” She sighed, then looked around to see if anyone else was around before quickly flashing me a pacifier she had in her hand and shoving it back behind her back. “Carly, I don’t know what’s wrong with me... I just want this so bad,” she whispered. I remembered a few things she’d said, “Is this a new urge?” I asked her gently. She nodded, “In class today... one of my classmates that was helping out jokingly pushed it into my mouth when I wasn’t paying attention?” “You kept it?” “Well, I pulled it out of my mouth... but I just couldn’t throw it back at them? Or even throw it away for signs of it being a tantrum?” She said. At my questioning look, she said, “Umm... another exchange student from another dimension did that a couple weeks ago, and they...” “Were demerited out?” I asked. She nodded. “So you kept it. That was probably smart. But...” I thought for a moment, “You’re still with the littlest babies, right?” She nodded. “Do they ever show cartoons?” I asked nervously. “Yes! Today, there was this really awesome one that I caught the last five minutes of! It reminded me of that old Doc McStuffins cartoon? Have you seen old episodes of that?” I felt my stomach drop. “Mia, give me a second... I want to check on something. Can you stay up a little longer?” She nodded, even as she yawned, “I usually don’t go to sleep for another fifteen minutes?” “Good, just give me less than that...” I hurried to my EdgeSphere set and put it on, quickly dialing Grandma. “Grandma?” I said as she answered. “What’s wrong, Carly?” “Nothing with me; it’s one of my nestmates from my dimension?” “Okay?” “Do you like... have a list of hypnotic cartoons anywhere?” “Not this stuff again!” She said with an exasperated tone. “Again?” I asked. “I got dragged into something with someone a couple weeks ago.” She made a face and asked, “Any idea what the cartoon is?” “She said it reminded her of a cartoon doctor character back home?” I watched her eyes almost flash with hatred for a moment. “Doc McSweetie?” She asked. “She didn’t remember the name?” “Where did she see it?” “Mia’s an education major; she spends time with the kids at the daycare as part of one of her classes.” “Damnit!!!” She swore, surprising me since she had always been pretty reserved in my experiences. “I’ll look into this, Carly. Whatever you do, don’t watch it, and tell her to avoid it or any other cartoons. That one especially is dangerously hypnotic! I’m going to take someone’s head off for this... Ryan promised me this was done!” She looked kind of scary right then, and I was glad I wasn’t the one she was angry at. “You better go talk to her, and I’ll make my own phone call here...” I pulled my headset off my face and walked over to Mia, still clutching the pacifier in her hand. “Did you find out something?” She asked me. “Was it called Doc McSweetie?” I asked her. “That’s the one!” she said with a smile. My face meanwhile scowled. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Can you come over here to the corner?” I suggested leading her over by the dollhouses to the area where a few beanbags were. I sat on the floor beside one and motioned for her to do the same. I quietly whispered to her, “Mia, you have to be careful here with cartoons; it’s part of how they turn Littles into compliant babies. You got a dose from a show my Grandma says is one of the worst...” She looked mortified, “You mean I’ll become that...” I shook my head, “Not as long as that’s the only exposure you ever have. You have to avoid any cartoons!” I paused, “I can’t say much more here, but my grandmother was not happy about hearing you saw that there. She’s probably on the rampage again.” She looked nervous, “And what do I do about this need to suck on a pacifier?” She squirmed, “I’m already wearing a diaper...?” I sighed, “Treat it like you’re a little kid whose parents are trying to wean you from it? Only suck on it when you’re sleeping?” She suddenly beamed at me and hugged me. “What?” I asked. “Thank you for not judging me or thinking I’m crazy!” I giggled, “Trust me, I’ve got no room to talk!” With that, I watched her stand up and climb into her pod, even as I moved back to grab my EdgeSphere glasses to find my virtual study room. The other girls were all heading to bed, and I just didn’t want to be the only one hunched over at my desk right then as the room lights were dimmed by Lilly as she began checking on each girl. I paused putting the glasses on my head as she looked in on Mia. She seemed surprised by something; I assumed the pacifier but said nothing as she checked on the others and came over to me. “Whatcha doing?” “Just getting ready to work on homework some more,” I told her quietly, “I don’t really like studying at the desk when everyone else has gone to bed?” “How come you don’t seem to need the sleep the others do?” She asked me. I shrugged, “genetics? I never sleep more than about four or five hours a night back home, so the eight or more I’m getting here is a lot.” “I see you’re already comfy there, but if you ever want to study in my apartment, I’m okay with that, too?” “Thanks,” I told her. “How’s your diaper holding out?” I blushed and felt it, “Okay, for now?” “Okay, either come get me before you go to bed, or if I go earlier, I’ll come pull you out of your virtual room there and change you when I go to bed.” “Thanks,” I told the tall, friendly nest mommy. With that, I pulled my EdgeSphere back over my head and waited for Beth to join me in a room I had come to realize was like a private apartment. Until now, it had been a simple room with a couch, but I discovered I could add other furniture, paint the walls, and more with some menus. I’d made it seem more like a lived-in space versus a virtual one when Beth appeared. She turned around in a circle, “Wow, I like what you’ve done with the place!” “Thanks,” I told her. “How about we cuddle on the couch?” She suggested. I smiled and followed her over to the couch. “It’s odd having you be the same size as me,” she said as we sat beside each other. “Does it bother you?” I asked her. She shook her head, “No, in some ways, it’s less awkward.” “Some ways?” I asked. She passionately kissed me in response. “Like that?” She smiled at me. “Umm... I have no idea what I look like in the real world when you do that, but I’m not in private?” She giggled, “From seeing my siblings, you probably did just make the most adorable smacking of your lips.” “I wonder what it’s like if someone has sex in here?” “Loud,” she said, laughing louder. “Personal experience?” I asked. She shrugged, “Not from me having the sex?” “One of your siblings?” She nodded, “Jason was an idiot when we got these, and didn’t go into his room to experiment. Let’s just say there are child protections available for the system, and our parents definitely put them on his.” “How much protection?” “Mom and Dad made us visit his new room,” she waved around the room. “Let’s just say that for the next month, your nest looked way more mature than his.” I laughed, “I take it he learned from his mistake?” “He definitely learned to never get caught again!” We laughed together and just talked about each other’s lives back home for another half hour before I saw her yawn. “Yeah, we probably should get some sleep...” I said. “First, what was that face you made about the project earlier?” she asked. I cringed. “Which project?” “The new script?” I sighed, “Well, it’s one I kind of hope we don’t pick?” “Huh?” “In our scriptwriting class for the others, everything was completely open-ended for topics. This time, we were given a theme, betrayal.” “That’s still pretty open-ended?” “Yeah, and that’s why I wrote three of them?” “What were they about?” “Well, one was essentially just an episode of the other script I wrote, but I wasn’t a fan of it? It felt too much like the same script.” “The next one?” “Involved betrayal of an intelligence agent?” I shrugged, “It felt trite to me and didn’t really play to the strengths of our group?” “And the last one?” I cringed, “Is probably the best-written one, but the worst, too. I couldn’t help but write it after talking to Shelby about something that happened to her best friend. There’s a trio of unlikely friends, a Big, a Tweener, and a Little.” “So, the three of us again?” She asked. I nodded. “Another Big friend of the Tweener betrays her and the Little with a couple cookies right before the end of school. As the three friends are walking home, the Tweener and Little have an accident, and she tries to go adopt them.” “But...?” “The other Big friend, the real one, rushes in and puts her hands on them and says ‘they’re mine.’” “Is that it?” “No, to make it realistic, she really does go adopt them. She lets them return to school the next day, dressed in diapers, and the Tweener wears the uniform the Littles have. At least they get to continue their lives, though?” “That’s a little less realistic, but I could see that being Charlotte’s response.” “I think she’s one of the few good ones like Grandma,” I told her. Beth nodded, “Yeah, I always wondered if her personality on TV and movies was anything close to real, but it seems to be. She’s nothing like I would have imagined she would be.” Beth yawned again then. “Anyway, why don’t we both get some sleep? Tomorrow’s a busy class day.” She laughed, “Yeah, probably smart.” She kissed me firmly again, “Maybe you should go to your pod when we meet up like this?” I groaned. Moments later, I was in the real world again and grateful to see no one seemed to be staring at me through their pod windows or in the room, in the case of Lilly! I sat my glasses back down in my backpack where I kept them and waddled to her apartment in a very soaked diaper! Her door was open a crack, and I pushed my way in, “Miss Lilly?” I asked as I entered. She was sitting on the couch in her room with a tablet and a notebook she was scribbling on. “Need that last diapee change?” She asked me with a smile. “Please?” I asked her. She carried me to the changing table in the main room and quickly changed the soaked diaper. After squeezing me in a hug, she whispered, “Ready to go to bed?” I nodded. With that, she squeezed me tighter for a second and carried me to the pod, gently pushing me into the open door with her hand on my diaper. “Need a drink or anything?” She asked me. I shook my head, “No thanks, good night.” “Night-night,” she said with a smile, leaving me to burrow my way into the sheets and blankets. I never made my bed, but whenever I crawled into the pod each night, it was clearly made by someone. ‘No laundry, no bedmaking, no cooking, no cleaning... I have no desire to spend my life adopted by some Big, but I can’t deny I do appreciate not doing chores!’ BETH SPENT TEN minutes after she finished talking with Carly, getting everything settled for the next day of classes, including more period supplies... She changed her tampon and pad in the restroom before settling down in her bed and pulling the covers over herself. Surprisingly, Rachel wasn’t there doing that right then. As if she sensed her question, she appeared, “All ready for bed?” She asked Beth. “Yes, Rachel.” “From your medical records, I see you’ve had some pain in the past with your periods. Do you need a heating pad?” Beth thought for a second, shaking her head, “No, I had a procedure over the Christmas Break, it seems to have helped a lot?” “Just let me know if you change your mind,” she told her, and the lights turned off. ‘I didn’t even think about turning the lights off before I got in bed,’ she thought. ‘Guess I’ve gotten spoiled with Rachel...’ Beth tossed and turned through the night. Beth found herself looking around a classroom and realized it was her math class from her senior year in high school. Her old friends, mostly Tweeners, were in the desks around her as their teacher started discussing equations that confused her. ‘I wonder if Carly can explain this gobbly gook?’ she thought, even as something seemed strange about thinking of Carly at her high school. Suddenly, the bell rang, and she followed her friends out, catching up on the latest gossip. She was walking home that day for some reason – something she never did, given her house was miles away! Even as she began walking down the countryside, somehow, she felt a gurgle in her stomach. She began frantically looking for a bathroom, but even as she somehow entered a busy mall, she couldn’t find one! Beth felt herself crouch down and saw her reflection in the glass of a store showing her pooping and peeing her pants just like a baby! When she was done, she froze, not knowing what to do! “Aww... look at the baby girl!” she heard a voice and realized it was one of her old tormentors! “She’ll feel so much better when we get her in her diapee!” She tried to run then!!! Suddenly, she was squirming in her blankets and waking safely in her college dorm room bed. She started bawling and grabbed Rings in a death grip as she realized it had only been a nightmare! After sitting up for a few moments of cuddling Rings and slowing her breathing, she climbed down from her bed. She could feel her flow must have been extra heavy, and she carried supplies to the restroom to change them out and use the bathroom. Another girl was taking a late-night shower, but otherwise, the dorm was silent. As she moved into the toilet, she found herself having to triple-check that the disgusting feeling in her panties was her flow and not an accident! Fortunately, she saw it was just that, and her tampon and pad had contained what mess there was. Cleaning herself up, she debated about a shower and getting up, but it was only three in the morning. Returning to her room, Rachel reappeared, “Is everything okay?” “Just a nightmare, Rachel,” she sighed. “Stress is getting to me, I guess?” As she climbed back into bed, Rachel did tuck her in this time. “Would you like me to play some soothing music?” Rachel asked her. Beth shook her head, “No, thank you, Rachel.” As she turned over and looked at the wall, squeezing Rings, she kind of regretted that decision. She must have stared at the wall for an hour, thinking about the nightmare, before finally falling back to a restless sleep. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading!!! Please press the Like Button, and leave a comment! Slow progress this week, but I still managed to get chapter 149 done tonight! Please continue leaving the comments, as it really does help motivate me! I have a good weekend ahead of me, so I'm hoping to keep moving more! I've passed the three-year mark of posting this tale and hope to finish writing it this year. I'm trying to set my first goal of having enough chapters to be set through to January. (19 more to go on that front!)

Chapter 127: Mixed BETH WOKE FROM her dreams to find Rachel shaking her shoulder, “Time to wake up, Sweetie, you’re sleeping through your alarm.” “Huh?” She found herself pushing a stray hair out of her mouth and looking at the clock. It was an hour before she usually woke up, and it took her a good ten seconds after sitting up to remember it was because she was supposed to see a therapist that morning. “I’m up,” she sleepily told the annoying but helpful projection. “Would you like me to get you breakfast before you go to your appointment?” She asked. Beth hissed at the annoyance of the HoloNanny essentially keeping track of her schedule that way but nodded, “Please, I’m going to go shower…” An hour later, she had consumed a bacon and egg sandwich and walked to the university hospital on the edge of campus with Nikki. “I don’t know why my parents are insisting on this,” she complained to Nikki. “Because you went through a couple really traumatic events, Beth,” Nikki told her calmly. “Between the attack from Kelly on you and Carly, and now this issue with that gang on Saturday…? Of course, you need to talk to someone.” She sighed, “I hate talking to people like this,” she told her. “You’ve done it before?” She asked. She looked at Nikki and now wondered, “Umm… how much do you know about me?” “You’re Addison Sylvester and Cameron Sylvester's daughter?” She shrugged, “If you’re asking about hidden secrets? Nothing?” She sighed, “Look, we should probably have a conversation back in private in my room tonight before you leave. I’ll tell you this much; I discovered something about my past when I was younger that pretty much broke me at first. Even though I worked out most of everything on my own, my parents insisted I have a counselor for a couple years. It was… hard to deal with.” Nikki gave her a side hug, “Sorry, Beth, no, I don’t know anything about that. You have to see it’s a good idea to then?” Beth found herself shrugging again and silent as they walked through the entrance of an in-patient area and were directed to the mental health services department. The hallway led to another wing of the hospital and a reception desk. Beth felt her back tense as she walked up to the desk. “Good morning,” the female hologram said warmly to her. “How can I help you?” “I have an appointment for Elizabeth Sylvester?” She said, feeling her voice shake a little. “I see you right here, Ms. Sylvester,” she pulled a tablet from a stack. “Would you please just complete the information here? Doctor Sterling will see you soon.” Beth just numbly nodded, walked to an open seat, and sat beside Nikki to complete the forms. It was the typical biographical details and insurance information to begin with. As she moved to the lower part of the forms, it asked why she was there. ‘Because my parents are making me?’ It seemed a bit too much like the angry answers she’d given as a teen. Instead, she just said, ‘Traumatic recent events that people think I should talk about.’ Still flippant… but better, she figured. There were far more questions of an intimate nature than she’d like, but she was soon done with them and reached an end page. Nikki gave her a warm, reassuring smile as she returned to the seat to wait. “Miss Sylvester?” She heard moments later. She stood and saw the tall Big, who was nearly her mother’s height. “That me,” she said quietly. “Come on back. Your mom can come too?” Beth shook her head, “She’s not my mom?” “Oh…?” She walked closer, “She’s my bodyguard? She probably would like to at least wait outside the room?” “Umm… fair enough,” she told her. “I’ll have someone bring you a chair,” she told Nikki before leading us down a similar hospital corridor area that branched off and led beside what looked like a mixture of opaque exam room doors, offices marked with names, and even what looked to be another waiting area. Eventually, they arrived at a door labeled Dr. Phoebe Sterling, MD, DABPN, FAACAP. I didn’t have a clue what the last abbreviations stood for. Still, as she opened her office door and revealed a wall of diplomas behind her desk, it was readily apparent that she was highly credentialed. “Here, you can take this seat into the hallway?” She told Nikki, handing her a rolling chair from a table. “Thanks,” Nikki told her. “Don’t hold back,” she told me before closing the door behind us. “Protective?” She asked while motioning to a sitting area with a loveseat, a couple of armchairs on either side, and another loveseat across. “Kind of her job,” Beth told her. “Oh, so she’s not just a friend?” “No, she’s literally my paid bodyguard,” Beth told her, taking a seat. Beth could see she was dying to ask ‘why,’ and just decided to fling open the proverbial door. “My dad is Supreme Court Justice Cameron Sylvester, and my mom was… well off… before they met. I’ve had some recent attacks, and they don’t trust me to be safe on my own now. Not that it helped fully when it mattered,” she added. “You’re Cameron’s daughter?” She said, momentarily surprised. “Okay, this is going to be an interesting appointment, I’m guessing,” Doctor Sterling said. “I guess let’s try and get things back to ‘normal’ for the start. I’m Doctor Sterling, Doctor Westerfield contacted me, and he asked me to take you on as a patient since our usual doctor is on maternity leave right now. I normally deal with children and Littles, but I take a handful of patients from Emerson, too. Please understand I will look at you as that, not one of the children, and I promise I will not treat you like a Little?” Beth felt a little bit of relief at that, even as she noticed that the date on the Emerson University undergraduate degree suddenly looked like when her parents were in school. “Umm… thank you, I was a little worried for a moment.” “Completely normal,” she told her. “I do want to make sure I do disclose that I went to school with your dad… well, probably your mom too, but I never had a class with her. Your dad had a few chemistry classes with me. I promise there will be no disclosure to your parents of anything we talk about per privacy laws.” “Thanks,” Beth replied. “So… We have an hour; why don’t you tell me a little about what you are studying here at Emerson, and then maybe you can tell me what’s brought you here?” With a sigh, Beth found herself telling her about going to school, recently meeting Connor, who was now Carly, and about the more recent events from the weekend and Kelly’s attacks… I FOUND MYSELF ready to bolt from screenwriting by the end of class as we analyzed several of the scripts already turned in for this project. However, Professor Gibney approached me before I could leave at the end. “Carly, are you having trouble with this assignment? I was surprised you haven’t turned yours in yet? You’ve been a week ahead of everyone else on the other assignments?” Looking up at the tall man, I sighed, “I’ve actually written three now… I’m going to proof the one I did last night and submit it by tomorrow.” “Three?” “I didn’t like the first two?” I shrugged, “The third one I’m not a huge fan of in some ways, too, but it was a story that compelled itself out of me. I think it would work well for my Narratives group, so I’ll submit it,” I told him. “Send me the other two too?” He suggested. “I’m…” “Not sure that they’re very good?” He smiled, “All that means is you didn’t feel confident in them. I’m actually curious to see why that is, and maybe I can help you grow more through feedback on those. By all means, get me the one you feel is ready for a grade, but let’s look at your whole work?” He shook his head, “Most of your class can’t even complete one, let alone do three…” I gave him a nervous smile, “Okay, I’ll send them then, too. Don’t judge me too harshly on them.” With that, I made my exit, noting that my diaper was definitely soaked by then. Before I could walk far from the door, I heard, “Carly?” I looked up and saw Grandma, “Hi, Grandma,” I told her. “Ready to go to your appointment?” I sighed, “No?” She picked me up, “Well, maybe after a clean diapee?” I blushed. A couple of classmates came into the bathroom as Grandma changed me, but fortunately, nothing was said except for a blush from me and a wave from them! It made my head hurt a bit as I thought about how many times our classmates had to see our diapers getting changed by friends, nest mothers, HoloCaretakers, etc.! Grandma finished changing my diaper and then sat me on the ground. I followed her to the sinks, washed my hands at a lower sink, and then let her pick me back up to place on her hip after placing my backpack back onto my back. “I should have brought a harness,” she told me, readjusting me on her hip halfway there. “I can walk, you know?” I told her. She laughed, “It would take five times as long!” I just shrugged and leaned against her, noting that despite the stares we drew occasionally, it was comfy to be in her arms. Before long, I found myself in a therapist’s office while Grandma waited in a nearby waiting room. When we were seated, she introduced herself, “I’m Doctor Sterling,” she said. “It’s nice to meet you,” I told her. “I met your mom once, just briefly in college.” “Oh?” “It was at a welcome luncheon; she was the only Little there… well, the only university student Little there. There were plenty of… adopted siblings there.” “Sounds awkward for her.” “Not with your grandmother there,” she shook her head. “Anyway, I know your grandfather made an appointment for you with me. I can’t discuss anything else, but I might know why you’re here, but could you tell me?” I looked at her for a moment, “You’re who Beth saw earlier?” “I can’t talk about other patients,” she said. “I’ll ask later, I think you already confirmed that, though,” I said wryly. “Well, everyone is worried about me?” “Why?” I laughed, “Listing just one reason might not be enough?” “Every journey starts with a single step?” she replied. “Touché,” I told her. “Well, I arrived here…” I spent twenty minutes just telling her about my time of arrival until my inadvertent permanent gender change. “You should have been seeing someone after that,” she gently admonished me. I shrugged, “It was a dream come true?” Forty minutes more passed in the blink of an eye before she announced we were out of time, “Carly, assuming you aren’t against it, I think you would be well served to come and see me once a week for a couple months here?” “I’m guessing my grandparents will be on board with that,” I sighed, “I’m only going to be here for a few more months, though?” She nodded, “I understand that; you may be best served to find someone back home, too. Carly, the experiences you’ve already had are enough that I think you need someone to talk to.” I nodded, “You’re not wrong. So next week at the same time?” “Talk to the receptionist on the way out; we usually can do that.” I found Grandma waiting outside for me, “How did it go?” She asked me. I shrugged, “Okay, I guess?” We stopped by the HoloReceptionist and I verified an appointment for the following week before Grandma picked me up and carried me down the labyrinth to another area of offices. I was unsure where we were going until I saw, ‘Dr. Holly Nickerson, Pediatrics Chair,’ on the office door. “Why are we here?” I asked Grandma. “Remember, she wanted to see you again. This shouldn’t take too long...” I sighed but just waved at Dr. Nickerson as she opened the door and motioned for Grandma to set me down on the floor. “How are you feeling today?” She asked me, even as she fiddled with a tablet for a moment. “Good, I guess... I just had my head shrunk?” “Got it,” she told me. “This won’t take long, Carly; I just want to rerun a quick scan and ensure you haven’t shrunk anymore. Have you found anything in the code?” she asked Grandma even as I watched a light emit from the device briefly as it ran over me. “No, I have sent a coded message back to her mother; maybe she’ll have some ideas.” I sighed, “The last time we tried shutting the nanites off, they just came right back. I don’t really want to tamper with them?” Dr. Nickerson gave me a nod, “I understand that completely,” she sighed, “but if you’re seriously injured again, you might shrink even more?” “I guess the goal is to not get hurt?” “That should always be your goal,” Grandma told me. “I’ll take a look at this scan some more. Let me know if you hear anything from Carly’s mom. For now, I’m guessing she’s got class?” “Soon,” I told her. “That was a waste of time?” I told Grandma as we walked away with me in her arms. “No, it wasn’t,” she told me. “I know that you didn’t change any. That’s not a waste!” “I guess,” I told her. She asked, “How about lunch before I take you to class?” I looked at the time, “I have enough time, I think?” “Here, let’s go hit the cafe in the Union.” I wondered if she would put me down, but apparently, I didn’t weigh much, even with my backpack on. “So, is it weird having a building named after yourself?” I asked as we entered. She blushed, “Yes, it definitely is!” She tickled my side, “Doesn’t your mom have some buildings named after her back home?” I nodded, “They’re after her though?” “How many?” I shrugged, “It’s like she took a page out of the Rockefeller and Carnegie playbooks from the early twentieth century. She’s donated buildings to thirty universities back home in the last ten years.” “I’m surprised she hasn’t paid for one here?” Grandma said. “She told me that she thought about it once but still felt a lot of anger at what happened to her friends.” “I can’t believe she let you come,” Grandma said with a sigh as we reached one of the fast food restaurants. “If it wasn’t for my family here and Beth, I would probably wish I hadn’t.” She squeezed me, and soon, we ordered some unhealthy fried chicken nugget meals with supposedly spicy sauce on the side. “You all are wimps,” I complained, eating what amounted to sweet and sour sauce back home to me! BETH WAS GLAD she had managed to find a quiet place to eat lunch that day with Nikki to decompress after the appointment in the morning and class. Seeing Carly already sitting in her chair in Narratives class helped break her melancholy. “Hey,” Carly said to her as she sat down. “Hey, kind of weird not walking around with you today?” She watched Carly sigh, “I’d rather have been with you... I’m guessing you feel the same way about your morning?” She nodded without saying anything more as she sat down and watched Charlotte approach them. “Ready to finish this project, once and for all?” she asked. “Definitely,” Carly said. “Same,” Beth replied, “Then hopefully, we only have to watch the stupid thing one last time at the festival, and we can forget it ever happened!” “Yeah,” Carly said quietly. “What’s going on?” Charlotte asked her. “Oh... just thinking of my project in Screenwriting,” she replied cryptically. Beth gave her a quizzical look, but the shake of Carly’s head told her she wanted to wait until later to discuss it. Even as the rest of their group arrived, Professor Wyler stepped to the front of their classroom. “Good afternoon!” he said, “Before we get going with class, I want to do a status check on projects. Let’s go in reverse order today, Studio Four; how are you doing?” “Well, we took your advice and stepped up our game; we’re almost in the can! Only two scenes left to film?” “Fantastic!” he said, “I would encourage you to finish those before Thursday and get a move on editing.” “Yes, sir,” their producer replied. “Studio Three?” Charlotte stood, “We just received our soundtrack back; we’re going to watch it after class to work on the final details. Hopefully, we’ll be ready to submit it by the end of the week?” “Excellent! That means you can probably finish your next project before Spring Break, which will let you relax a lot more. I’m looking forward to watching your film when you submit it.” “Thanks,” Charlotte said. “Studio Two?” I heard a sigh from their group and noted they had lost the witch who had attacked me. “We had an issue last week and scrapped most of what we had shot. We’re seven scenes in on the reshoot, with plans to work extended time today and tomorrow in the SoundStage. We’re going to finish filming by Sunday one way or another.” “Glad to see you’ve lit a fire under your rears; hopefully, losing your problems helps you.” Professor Wyler said, even as I noted several other groups seemed to be trying to decipher his meaning, “And finally, Studio One?” “We’ve got seven scenes left to film now, and they’re the easiest ones, so hopefully we’ll be in the can by Thursday,” their producer said. “Fantastic!” Professor Wyler said. “Well, as you all are moving well through your projects, I want to discuss some tips on editing styles today...” Beth watched Carly play with a pigtail tied in her hair as Professor Wyler discussed editing tips she was sure she’d watched Carly use throughout the project. For a person she was used to seeing jot down notes as if lightbulbs were going off everywhere, she noted Carly was strangely infrequent in taking notes. If anything, she seemed painfully bored of ‘basic’ information. ‘To be fair, it feels pretty basic to me after working with her!’ Beth thought. When Professor Wyler released everyone, she noticed Carly was seemingly happy to be done. “Straight to the viewing theater?” She asked Charlotte. “Yes, let’s get in there and see if there’s anything else we need to add.” With that, Carly walked over to Beth, holding her arms out, “Can you please change me?” She whispered. Only then did she realize the discomfort was probably more of a need for a diaper change! How she had missed the smell, she didn’t know, but now that Beth held her hand under Carly’s rear, she couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose! “I can use a room if you don’t want to,” she told her. “No, it’s fine,” she said, squeezing her in a hug. She felt better than she had all day as a rush of hormones flooded her brain. “Let’s go, and then we’ll catch up with everyone else.” Beth wrinkled her nose as she opened up the messy diaper a few minutes later. Still, with her practice, she had no issue cleaning up her pint-sized girlfriend and putting her into a new diaper. After washing her hands, they made their way to the theater just as Sebastian had loaded the latest file. The film lasted forty-seven minutes, from the opening studio logo through the credits, and they ran it without stopping. Occasionally, Carly, Charlotte, or Sebastian seemed to make notes, but she didn’t see anyone else do so. For her part, other than the horrific scenes of her pooping her pants, she didn’t see anything that seemed terrible at that point. The music varied from poppy to rockish, with subtle orchestra moments and appropriate daycare music. From what she could tell, the sound mix seemed good, and she felt like they could turn it in and get an A without a problem. “What do you think, Carly?” Sebastian asked as the last little logo on the projected screen cleared at the end of the credits. She watched her shrug, “Honestly, I noted a couple little flaws here and there, but I don’t think anyone outside of a couple of us would even notice them? It’s already a hundred times better than what the other groups will turn in?” Charlotte nodded, “I saw some little things, but letting perfect be the enemy of good here makes no sense.” Sebastian looked at the group, “Anyone object to turning it in now?” Beth shook her head and noted everyone else did, too. “Well, in that case, I’ll submit it for us,” Sebastian said. “Great,” Charlotte smiled. “We’ll have to plan a little pre-film festival party or something. I’ll let you know when I come up with something.” Everyone cheered at that, “Professor Wyler mentioned scripts are being added to the same module we used for this one to start reading for our next auction on Thursday.” “We should have our pick this time!” Gary said. “Thank God,” Amelia said. The group broke up then, and she once again carried Carly. “What happened to those legs?” Beth asked as a joke. “It’s been a long day,” Carly sighed. “Are you okay?” she asked her. “I think so; I just need you, I think,” she told her. “Aww... same here!” Beth told her. They had a quiet dinner in the corner of the cafeteria that night before dropping Carly off at her dorm. “I love you,” Beth told her as she hugged her goodbye. “Love you too,” she smiled. With that, Nikki followed her back to her room. She hesitated for a moment, then said, “Nikki, can you come in for a few minutes?” “Everything okay?” she asked her. “I just think you need the whole story,” she said after closing the door. After checking with Amanda’s toy to detect unwanted bugs, she started telling Nikki the real tale of her past... +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press that Like Button and leave a comment! I really appreciated all of the comments and tasty likes on the last chapter! It's good to be back with this! I'm currently writing Chapter 147, so I'm making some nice progress! If I can get to Chapter 180, I might start looking at some bonus chapters every now and then. Unfortunately, real life will start getting busier for a bit here! Anyway, thanks for reading, please keep leaving me comments - I love to see them! There are many twists and turns coming up here, as well as cuddly moments too! I'll continue posting on Fridays for the foreseeable future!

Chapter 3: MY FIRST REACTION to the room was how large the bed was along the side. There was a tall dressing table, a mirror in one corner, and a dresser. I saw a chair in front of the dressing table and suspected I would have the same issue with it that I did at lunch. Looking at the bed, I was unnerved by how high it was off the ground. “That seems tall,” I commented. “Sorry,” she said. “I’ll find a step stool for you later to help you get onto it?” “That would be really helpful,” I told her, eyeing it. There was a large closet, but I would again need help to reach the rod to hang up my clothes. I knew there was a chance of being small in this world, but I really hadn’t thought through how small I would feel! “Why don’t you take a bit to go through your clothes? See what fits?” I nodded, “Okay, that’s probably a good idea,” as I played with my purse. “This was just a small handbag before I left my dimension…” She laughed, “Hopefully, not everything had the same reaction.” “Hopefully,” I said. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. When you’re done, come downstairs, and we’ll discuss how we can make this work for you. We’ll eat something from the AmeniTea unit and figure out a plan. “Sounds good,” I said to her. I watched her turn to leave and decided to use the restroom before starting. The climbing up using the toddler stool and potty insert again mortified me. ‘Most mortifying is I feel like it’s almost too big even with that,’ I thought nervously. After washing my hands, I got to work on my bags. I emptied each out one at a time to discover that my computer and tablet felt larger, but I believed they had shrunk some during the trip. The spare pairs of panties and bras in my backpack fell off when I tried them on, and it looked like I was playing dress up in mommy’s clothes like Aria liked to do. I blushed deeply when I saw a reflection of that in the mirror and pulled them off. The pajama shirt I had brought in my backpack was now a nightshirt to me, but at least it was something I could still wear. By the time I made it through my luggage, I was at a couple of shirts that would work for sleeping but nothing that would be appropriate professionally. The smallest white lab coat I’d brought did work since they often were fitted loosely, but the others again made me look like I was playing dress-up. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do about clothes,” I told Erica after hopping back downstairs. She embarrassingly had to give me a lift onto the couch beside her. “Does anything fit?” “One of my white coats and a couple of my shirts can work for sleeping… But nothing else besides what I’m wearing.” “Not even underwear?” I blushed. “The underwear I’m wearing now are the only things that fit... Everything else just falls off!” “We’ll have to get you everything then...?” “I don’t know what they did with my funds? From what Matt said, I think there was supposed to be a packet left for me in my apartment?” “Oh…” She shrugged, “I can lend you some money for the moment. We’re just going to hit ValuMart, I think?” “Do they have clothes?” “Yes, it’s a store with a big selection of things from clothes, house stuff, makeup, jewelry, groceries, and more.” “Sounds like a Walmart back home.” “So we have a deal?” “I still feel bad?” “I’ll contact the university tomorrow. It’s clear there was a huge mess with them. You weren’t a tweener-sized person back home, so the odds of you becoming larger were quite small. They didn’t do their own job correctly. I’m sure they’ll help out.” I sighed, “Sounds like a plan.” We talked for a while before she brought a tablet I could use to order food from the AmeniTea. I picked a pasta dish that sounded good while not being too heavy. As the tablet was doing its magic, she led me over to the table, and I looked at the tall chairs that looked impossible to sit in at my size. Before I could ask for a couple of books or something, I watched her go to a little pantry and open a door before pulling something out. It took me a second to recognize the highchair that she had assembled! “I don’t need…” I started to say. “I’m sorry, Katie, I don’t have any booster seats here. The one I had went to my parent’s house for the holidays since we had some family from out of town. Don’t worry. I won’t judge you for needing a lift to get to the table. I won’t even strap you into the seat either?” I blushed heavily as the padded contraption was pushed up the table. “Fine,” I said. “It’s just really embarrassing.” “I’m sure it is, and I promise I won’t pick on you for that,” she said with a smile. “Now, I’m guessing you’ll need a lift-up?” She surprised me again before I could say something by picking me up and setting me in the infantile seat. She pushed the seat to the table, “I’ll be right back with your food.” I grimaced but was glad that the chair brought me to a level with the table so that I could reach something set in front of me. A moment later, Erica placed a steaming hot plate of rigatoni pesto pasta in front of me and asked, “What would you like to drink?” She paused, “I have iced tea, milk, lemonade, and a couple of types of sodas.” “Iced tea would be fine,” I told her. A moment later, she sat an enormous glass in front of me. It hadn’t occurred to me earlier, but they’d had smaller cups at the luncheon. This was like having a two-liter of Coke in front of me in a heavy glass. I moved to pick it up, and she seemed to have a similar concern. “I should have thought of that being too big…” I looked at her, “Do you have any smaller cups, maybe?” She stood up and looked around her cupboards. “Since it’s just me, I don’t have a lot of extra dishes… I don’t think you’ll like this, but I have my nephew’s sippy cup. They left it a few weeks ago.” I felt my stomach flip as I looked at the sippy cup in her hand. As a pediatrician, I wasn’t a fan of this style because it had a soft silicone spout that might as well have been a bottle nipple. The more I looked at the cup, the more I was sure it was one that probably could have been a baby bottle with a quick switch of the nipple. It was, however, half the size of the cup in front of me. “Not a word to anyone ever about this, please?” I said nervously. She laughed, “I promise, Katie. While we’re at ValuMart, I’ll see if we can find some plastic cups in your size, too.” With that awkward moment out of the way, I found myself alternating between eating a delicious pasta dish and blushing every time I worked to suck the tea out of the sippy cup. Fortunately for me, Erica was a great host to talk to. We had similar interests in being more generalist practitioners for pediatrics. She was a wealth of knowledge for my recent focus on nanite replication, too! She actually was a little lower on the totem pole at her hospital than I was back home. Still, it was clear she was a future superstar wherever she was. I had just finished the last bite I could stomach and took another sip from the cup when my stomach gurgled suddenly. I panicked, knowing that was how my body tended to show it was about to have a major gastro episode. “Erica, would you please help me down?” “Sure, something wrong?” “I…” Right then, I felt my face drain of all color as my bowels chose to drain into my panties! I sat still as my bowels emptied without any sort of push from me. “Oh my god!” I said. “Are you… o… done?” Erica asked. I looked up into her face and noticed her gaze was different than it had been a few moments ago talking about work. Right then, she looked genuinely worried for me. I grimaced, “I must have eaten something that didn’t agree with me. I’ve never had that little warning. It’s like the worst case of food poisoning ever,” I said. We sat there for a long moment as the smell of my poop made my eyes water. “So, Katie, let’s figure out the best way to get you cleaned up,” she said, looking around. I saw her look directly at something and sat still while she made some noise behind me in the kitchen sink. “Okay, I’m not going to lie, Katie. This may be really embarrassing for you, but remember, I’m a doctor, too, and we’ve seen it all?” I nodded grimly. She gently pulled the high chair to the counter, and I wanted to puke or cry as I realized her plan! “The sink?” I asked. “Easier to clean up than dripping through the house?” She said, “You can take a quick shower upstairs after we get this off you?” I grimaced, knowing I was about to be washed like my sister-in-law had washed her kids at my mom’s house a time or two in an emergency. The runny matter in my panties was burning more every second, and I felt the disgusting sludge sliding around as I shifted. “Let’s just get this over with,” I told her. Thankfully, I’d left my suitcoat upstairs. My blouse was a button-down, so it slipped off my shoulders to expose my bra. A geyser of brown went up the expensive blouse, seemingly all the way up my back! “Worst blowout ever,” Erica said under her breath. “Lean forward, let’s get your bra.” As she unhooked it, I felt my stomach drop; it seemed damp in the back. Sure enough, when she placed it on the counter, I could see the top part of the explosive diarrhea had made it up there! “How?” I asked, even as I crossed my arms in front of my breasts in embarrassment. “I think the highchair guided it up,” she told me, answering the question I couldn’t completely speak. She pulled my shoes off. Fortunately, they were unscathed. “Time to get the worst over,” she told me. “Lean forward,” she said and lifted me under the armpits like a child and sat me in the sink. She had a sprayer attachment that she used to spray me. “Brr!” I said. “Sorry, sweetie,” she said as she adjusted the temperature. “Is that better?” I nodded and sat still as she started with the parts she could get to me before she manipulated me onto my hands and knees. I was mortified as I realized just how small I was to them in this world then, that I could be in a sink like this! She continued to spray the feces off of my body, leaving the sink at first brown and then finally clear water going through. “You still need a shower,” she said to me as she turned off the water, “but at least you won’t drip poop all over the house.” “I’m sorry,” I told her. She gave me a pondering look while pity showed in her eyes. “It’s okay, Katie; I’m going to guess that you encountered something on the trip or something you ate that didn’t agree with you.” “It seems to work out like this pretty commonly when you come through the portal. Lots of Littles get a strike against them right away. Do you know about the demerit system?” I nodded, “I was there when Dean Northrup explained the rules to them?” “Well, if you were at dinner in the dining hall right now as a college student, you would have earned yourself twelve demerits?” I felt my face pale as I remembered they were only given sixteen. “Umm…” She smiled disarmingly, “You’re not a student, and you’re a guest of mine. I can clearly see this is caused by something out of your control, so I won’t hold this against you.” She dug around a drawer and came out with a clean dish towel. “Let’s wrap this around you, and then you can go up and take a shower.” “What about clothes?” I thought worriedly. She looked at the pile and said, “I don’t think any of this is salvageable, Sweetie… Maybe your bra since it’s just around the clasp… I’ll try and hand wash it here in a second.” I looked down at the pile of my clothes inside the highchair and felt sick. “Sorry about the chair?” She smiled, “It’s meant for accidents like that, I’ll take the cover, throw it in the wash, and it’ll be good as new. Let’s get you sorted out first. I’ll probably have to turn the showerhead on for you in that bathroom. I’ve never installed the voice controls there.” The dish towel was scarily big enough to cover me like a towel back home from just above my breasts to almost my knees. I expected her to set me on the floor out of the sink, but Erica carried me upstairs instead. It was a bit terrifying to be that high off the ground and not in control, so I found myself leaning into her for safety. A large hand patted my back. “Sorry. I figured you probably don’t want to try climbing these steps barefoot. Let’s find your shower stuff, and you can get cleaned up the rest of the way,” she told me. Since I planned to live in an apartment, I grabbed towels from my room and my bathroom caddy. I followed her to the bathroom, where she interacted with a digital screen higher on the wall and turned on the shower. I was glad it was a walk-in shower where I could get in alone! It was an awkward spray since I was so far from the shower head, but I could wash my body off and take the time to wash my hair to be safe, too. When I felt like myself and had just wrapped a towel around my body, Erica came in with a bundle and sat down on the tall countertop. “Better now?” She asked me. I nodded, “I still can’t that happened…” “Well… let’s just say it can happen to anyone.” “I really need to speak with Dean Northrup and get word back to my university,” I started to say. They need to warn students beforehand about this!” “I wouldn’t suggest that,” she told me tersely. “Why?” “What makes you think they don’t already know about it?” My mouth opened and closed momentarily, unable to respond to that! She quickly changed the subject before I could respond. “Look, I’m not specifically sure what made it into your system, but it’s not improbable that there is still more in it. I don’t have any panties your size anyway, so I’m afraid all I have are these,” she told me. It took me a moment to register what she said, even as she held up two objects. One was a clone of a Pamper from back home, and the other looked like a disposable pink pull-up! “But…” “It’s the only thing we have, and you must wear something,” she told me. I looked at both briefly and knew the choice was obvious, “Hand me the pull-up.” She leaned down and handed it to me. I stepped into the leg holes, pulled it up to my waist under the towel, and then groaned as I watched it fall back to my ankles. “I’m sorry about that, Katie, I thought it was worth a try, though.” “Is the diaper smaller?” “Yes, the Pull-Ups one is from my niece, who just finished training at two. The diaper’s from my nephew, who’s sixteen months old now?” I blushed, “I don’t have any reference… just how small am I?” She knelt beside me, “I had to go triple-check earlier while you were at the luncheon... You’re about the average size of our twenty-month-olds?” I lightly banged my head against the cabinet beside me. “Hand me the diaper,” I told her as I stepped back out of the Pull-Up. Instead, she pulled the Pull-Up from my feet and gently guided my body to the ground. “What are you…?” I started to say. “Katie, when is the last time you put a diaper on yourself…?” “Uh… never?” “I figured, just let me get you taken care of! Then we’ll get you dressed and then go to the store.” She moved the towel out of the way and quickly secured the diaper around my waist. “This is better in case anything is left in your system, too…” she said. I grimaced, “I hope there’s not.” She handed me a pair of pants that weren’t horrible. They were elasticized at the waist, but otherwise, they were okay jeans. The sweater she gave me was actually kind of cute. It was a bit long, but it was a cute look that wasn’t far off a typical winter look for me. I’d even had a similar sweater in my suitcase! “Sorry for being a pain; I know you had no plans to be stuck with a new roommate and a host of her problems today,” I told her as she walked slowly down the stairs beside me. “It’s no problem, Katie, helping people is what we both do!” As we traveled in the car to this ValuMart store, I couldn’t help but feel my stomach cramp some more, and I just hoped I’d not have a repeat of that explosive diarrhea while we were in the store! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading!!! Please press the like button and leave me a comment! I really appreciate those who have done so! I'll post the next chapter on Sunday!

Chapter 141: Special Requests I WOKE UP, a bit confused for a moment by the arms around me. I smiled as I realized it was Beth! It was still dark, and a small clock above my desk said it was two in the morning. ‘I fell asleep?’ I guessed. I was kind of surprised that I would have crashed like that, but between the filming, feeling horrible about inadvertently making Shelby sick… and, well, just everything! I guess my body said it was time. Unfortunately, I really only needed about five or six hours of sleep. I knew I wouldn’t get back to sleep easily. Beth was a pretty heavy sleeper, so I gently crawled out from her grasp and ensured she was covered with the light blanket we had been sharing. Looking at her… well, she was so beautiful! Beth… She was my whole world here, and I wanted desperately to be a part of ending whatever conspiracy was running amuck around her. I tiptoed quietly to my desk, grabbed my computer and phone, and went into the room I almost never went to – the bathroom. A clean rug in the corner by the tub looked comfy enough for my padded bottom, and I settled down and got to work. Mom had told stories and let stuff slip before I left, but it was only right before I left that she came clean on more details of her time here. She’d apparently figured out how to weaponize her nanites. She delivered them via a handgun she’d been given for the trip. “It would have only been like a bee sting to a Big if it had been a regular bullet,” she told me. “Really?” I asked. “Well, it might have penetrated in just the right place and bounced around to do damage, but Amazonian skin is a lot tougher than ours! Whereas if you were to bite another person here, you’d break the skin and leave a bite mark. You do that to some woman trying to breastfeed you? You’ll only make her mad, and your teeth won’t break through her skin.” “That’s crazy!” I told her. “It is, which is why I went ahead and printed what was basically a biological weapon instead. I ended up using it and shooting quite a few of them, turning them into Little girls who couldn’t control their potty needs. I only needed it once, but I think it ended up being a kinder fate than any of them deserved. The things they did to those women… to poor Bella…” She’d nearly teared up almost thirty years later! “Anyway, I later learned that was considered beyond criminal. It was actually a war crime to possess something like that… so if for some reason that happens – don’t get caught!” “You know me…” I’d laughed. I had no gun. Mom didn’t think it was a good idea if I was in the nest, but I did have nanites. Those little mechanical wonders were amazing, and I knew how to get to the bottom of our problem. All I needed to do was extract some, program them, and then plant them where I needed them to gain access to all the info we needed! I’d learned enough about the nanites before I left, plus the new ideas of intelligence in my class, that I was pretty sure what I wanted to do would work. I had time get entirely away from me. However, I still finished about thirty minutes before Grandma typically woke me up to go swimming. My diaper was trying to fall off as I crawled in next to Beth and managed to at least get another half-hour nap, knowing that I had a plan to protect her better! BETH WOKE UP, feeling the bed empty, and realized Carly must have gone swimming since her pajamas were folded on the changing table. She stretched and decided to walk downstairs to watch the girl swim. Sure enough, Fred sat in a chair sipping his coffee and watched her do lap after lap. She’d activated the video tracking board that morning. “She’s swam 8k meters?” Beth asked him. “Yep!” He said, “Morning Beth, still in your jammies?” She blushed, “I didn’t want to disturb Shelby if she’s still sleeping?” “Mandy just went to wake her up, so you can probably go up there in a few minutes to get anything you need. Carly’s bathroom is always available if you need it.” Beth nodded, “how long do you think she’ll go?” He shook his head, “Her mom and she are so alike with that - who knows?” He smiled, “This is the first time I’ve thought about starting the tracking board on one of her morning swims. I’m personally thinking she’ll hit ten k before she stops.” Beth nodded, hugging herself underneath her chest. “Is everything okay?” Fred asked her, motioning to the seat beside him. She shrugged, “I guess? I assume Amanda told you about everything?” He snorted, “Probably most of it – but everything?” He shook his head, “she likes to keep some things to herself.” “Carly’s like that too…” “It was part of why her mom was perfect as a daughter for us,” he agreed. “So what’s up?” She sighed, “I’m just worried. This whole dorm room hacking thing?” He nodded, “She did tell me about that. The good thing is that she prevented it?” Beth nodded, “Yeah… but I guess… I don’t even understand why someone would try to do this to me?!?” Fred reached over with his giant hand and rubbed her shoulder, “Sometimes bad people just do things. Coming up with a why doesn’t always work. For now, know that your parents, my wife, myself, and that fish out there all have your best interests at heart. Just like with Shelby, we’re not about to let anything happen to any of you.” They stayed by the pool and talked until Carly hit the 10k mark, and Fred decided that was enough. He stood by the pool’s edge, and she must have sensed his shadow, completing one last lap. “Come on, fishy, you need to get ready for the rest of the day!” Carly turned around and looked at the screen, “Whoa, I didn’t realize I’d swam that far!” “That’s why it’s time to get out! Can’t have you trying to cross the continent or something,” Fred said, picking her up and tickling her as he wrapped her in a towel. “Here, I caught a fish for you,” he said to Beth, handing her over. “Grandpa! Mom and I have told you a thousand times, we’re dolphins, not fish?!?” Carly kidded the big man. “Come on, Carly, before he decides you need to be grilled up or something.” The shorter girl wriggled in her grasp, even as her pajamas ended up a little wet from the girl contained within. “Let’s go get a bath together,” Beth told her. “No sex!” Amanda said as she passed by them. “Breakfast will be ready in twenty minutes!” “Yes, ma’am,” Beth said, blushing. “Nuts…” Carly said when they were safely out of hearing distance, making Beth laugh. Shelby took forever in her bathroom, so Beth grabbed her clothes and stuff to go to Carly’s bathroom. They shared a quick shower where Beth soaped Carly’s hair and scrubbed her with her body soap. She quickly did the same with herself, but they were too short of time to explore beyond that. ‘Next week, maybe?’ she thought. After getting Carly dressed in her diaper, a cute onesie, and matching pants, she dressed too, and they headed down with their hair still wrapped in towels before Amanda sent a search party for them! “THERE YOU TWO are,” Grandma said as we joined her in the kitchen. Aunt Bella was spoonfed what looked like a bowl of oatmeal by Grandpa in the high chair. Beth set me into my highchair, even as she sat beside Shelby. “Where’s Ryan?” I asked. “He’s still asleep over at our house, I’d guess,” Aunt Bella said, accepting a baby spoon of oatmeal from Grandma into her mouth. The rest of us were digging into thick waffles covered in syrup, whipped cream, and the biggest strawberries someone could imagine! It was a great breakfast, and I was soon full. Beth made a face at me and giggled. “What?” “You…” she shook her head, grabbed a napkin, and walked over to me. Her hand quickly wiped my nose, then my cheeks, “somehow had whipped cream everywhere!” “Going to have to get you a bib next time,” she kidded me. “What are you girls up to today?” Grandma asked. “Mainly studying,” I told her. “Yeah, I have four midterms this week,” Beth sighed. “Four?” I asked. In my head, I counted, “I guess I only have two, and then a project is due?” “How are you taking as many classes as I am but have fewer exams?” She complained. “Well, I have written a full-length pilot script for screenwriting, and this short we just finished?” I suggested, “Oh, and then the animated film… Oh!” I realized I’d been told about our film time but never looked at the schedule. “Oh?” She asked me. “I need to look at the festival schedule; my animated script should be on the schedule, too!” Beth rolled her eyes at me, “So that’s what - three of your scripts being shown?” “Three?” “Your original script, too?” “Oh, I have to imagine that ended up with an awful showing time, though.” “Probably,” she agreed. “So, how else are you only at two exams?” “Well, I have Holofield Theory and Math Analysis both on Wednesday – that will be a hard day. Then, on Friday, my Intelligence project is due. My Tuesday and Thursday classes are all covered with projects?” She shook her head, “For the crime of not having enough exams, you little Miss are sentenced to helping me study.” I laughed, “Of course, Your Honor.” “Maybe you both should get your hair dried and sorted out first?” Grandma suggested. “Yeah,” I agreed. “Wait! Hair!” Beth said. “Hair?” I asked. “Do you have a salon you’d trust to get Carly ready? Maybe that could help us both on Thursday?” “I do… what time?” Grandma asked her. “Early afternoon, I’m guessing? We need to look at the schedule?” “Go figure that out and let me know. If they can’t get you in, I know Tessa could probably take care of you both too.” “Salon would be so much better for her!” Beth said, smiling at me. “Okay, let’s go get our hair done, figure out this film fest schedule, and then get studying!” She turned to Shelby, “You’re welcome to join us.” “Okay, I’m going to run home first and get some things. Where are you going to study?” “Probably the living room?” I suggested. “Maybe start the fireplace up?” “I like that idea,” Beth said. “Cozy! I’ll be back,” Shelby said. “I’ll change your mom and send her over,” Grandma told her. “Okay,” Shelby said and bolted out of the room. As Beth helped me down from the seat, Grandma asked, “Do you want nummies this morning?” “Please, Mommy,” Aunt Bella told her. We made our own exit then, even as a part of me wondered how they could still both want to breastfeed after all these years! Upstairs, Beth pulled my hair from the turban and pulled out the jet engine of a blow dryer she found in her bathroom. I sat still as she dried, brushed, and styled my hair, leaving it hanging in two loose pigtails with cute butterfly clips holding them at my head. “Can I do yours?” I asked her. She laughed, “Let me dry it first? I don’t think you can hang onto this?” I blushed. Her hair ended up in two braided pigtails with bows tying off the ends. “You know, my hair has been in pigtails more since I’ve known you than in the last five years?” I laughed, “My sisters always wear them when they want to feel comfortable? I’ve always thought they were cute?” She suddenly started a tickle attack on me, “Cute, huh?” She kept going, “I’ll show you cute.” I giggled and smiled and then made a face. “We should probably change me…” “And that’s a ‘we’ thing?” She smiled. “Well, it started when you tickled me?” “Oh, I’m to blame…?” She kissed me, carried me back to my room to change me, and then we settled in downstairs with the fireplace started. Looking at the schedule, we definitely needed to get me a waiver to stay out for the film that would start playing at 26 o’clock. It was about the equivalent of 7:30pm back home, but it was also our dorm curfew! The last diaper check was usually about an hour after that. My film, which the other studio was doing, was going to be shown at noon, at 16 o’clock, in what I assumed was the worst space at the beginning! We were required to watch at least six films over the two days and could count our own. “So, how about we go get our hair done at three in the afternoon?” Beth suggested. “Is that enough time?” “Should be, and we can get our nails done too, get dressed. Maybe we can have a nice dinner and then show up for the ceremony thirty minutes before showtime?” “Tell you what, I’ll leave that planning in your hands? That will let us see four films before we leave, and then we can catch more on Wednesday after our math classes?” “What time is your animated film?” She asked me. “Looks like it’s at 22 O’clock on Wednesday,” I told her. “Perfect! We can watch that, get dinner, and head back to the dorm.” “I should be able to return to the dorm by what time do you think Thursday?” I asked. “I would suggest telling them 29 o’clock to be safe, but we’ll shoot for 28 o’clock?” “Okay, you figure out the salon, I’ll deal with Emerson…” She disappeared, and I composed a message to Professor Wyler, Miss Lilly, and our interim dorm mother. I copied it to Grandma as well. Good morning, I am requesting permission to attend our Cinematic Narratives project, ‘Diaper Diaries,’ showing at 26 O’clock on Thursday. This showing time is considered the ‘title’ spot for the evening, and our class grade is based on the film. It would be about 28 o’clock, given the hour-long film and time to get to the dorm after any pictures or the question and answer session I see on the schedule takes place. At worst, I will return to the dorm by 29 o’clock at the latest. Professor Wyler has mentioned that there have been exemptions made in the past. I would be happy to have Miss Lilly attend as my ‘plus one’ to ensure I behave appropriately for the university and do not take advantage of the extraordinary request I am making. Please let me know if you need any further information, Carly Slane Grandma came by right then, and I had her look the message over before pressing send. “Okay, I came to let you know they’ll get you both into the salon - no issues. We’ll get you dressed there, and then I’ve arranged for a table for dinner for your entire studio at Fiona’s before your red carpet moment.” “Grandma, you didn’t have to do all of that!” I told her. “Of course I did! I also need to make a little call to make sure your email gets the reception it deserves… get to studying,” she told me with a hug and then a kiss on my head. “Your grandmother and my mother have a lot in common,” Beth said with a smile. “Well, you kind of set that whole thing off there?” “Yeah,” she agreed. “It’ll be worth it, though! I haven’t had a good spa day in forever!!!” I blushed, knowing I would finally experience something I’d always been jealous of my sisters. I got to work on my Intelligence project that was due on Friday. Most of it was already planned, framed out, and nearly ready to go, but I hadn’t put it all together in one package yet. I had chosen a project that intrigued me, which was to: Create an AI model that enhances emotional responses in holographic AI assistants to improve human interaction and trust. There were so many little subsystems and variables to consider, so I’d isolated things to a specific case of reacting to a child’s facial expressions. If a child was crying, it would attempt to determine why. Steps like changing a dirty diaper, feeding a hungry baby, treating a wound, or just cuddling would be assessed. A frowning child might be given some distance, even as the AI would try different ways to cheer them up… Most of this work had been done thousands of times in the dimension. Still, this class wanted us to build the capability from the ground up. There were a few other options, but I felt this had practical implications for film and using them with HoloCharacters when acting. I was going above the basic requirements and building the best responding AI to an actor or actress I could! “Carly!” I was brought back to the living room, realizing I’d been ignoring my name. “Huh?” I said. “Are you okay?” Beth asked. “Oh, yeah, I just get caught up in my work sometimes?” “What are you working on anyway?” “My intelligence project, teaching an AI how to respond to facial expressions?” “That sounds complicated…” Shelby said from the other side of the room. “It’s not easy,” I agreed. “How would you solve this?” Beth asked me, showing me a calculus problem. “Hmm…” I said, looking at it for a couple minutes and solving it but not really solving it. “Whoever wrote this problem, I think, made an error, Beth. You can sort of solve it using some advanced equations I’ve learned. Still, even then, there are four possible answers depending on the variable here…” “Great, I have to tell my professor they’re an idiot…” Beth said. “No, they just didn’t math right! Most math professors will accept they made that kind of mistake?” I told her. “Not this one…” “Well, I’ll teach you how I would solve it if it was me?” I shrugged, “This is just practice, right, not homework?” She shook her head, “No, it’s just to work on.” “Hopefully, he proofreads tests better…” There was eventually a break for dinner, and then Shelby went home with a big hug from both of us, ‘good luck’ for the week. At bedtime, Grandma changed me and ran my bath, telling Beth we both needed to get sleep tonight…” “So we can only play on the weekends?” I asked her as she tucked me into bed. “No actual playing allowed,” she reminded me, “but yes, let’s have you both in your own beds the night before school. That way, hopefully, you’ll both get some rest!” I sighed, “Okay.” “I love you, Carly,” she told me. “Good night!” “Good night, Grandma; I love you too,” I told her as she turned off the light and closed the door. I had a hard time sleeping that night, even as I thought of the week ahead of two midterms, our theater projects, turning in my intelligence project, and finally taking care of starting to learn more about who was after Beth. ‘Hopefully, I can plant those tomorrow in class!’’ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press that like button on the post, and leave a comment! It's going to be a very busy week for our characters in the story! I'm looking forward to you all reading it! Thanks to all of you responding and commenting; it helps motivate me to keep writing!

Chapter 140: Test Stress WE WERE JUST finishing changing when I heard a ‘whoop’ from someone out in the main backstage room. “What’s going on?” I asked, coming out of the room. Sebastian was standing there with a big smile, while Gary looked to be the one who had cheered. “Well, looks like we will have to worry about getting an exemption from your curfew this week to be safe,” Sebastian said with a smile. “Why?” I asked. “Because we’re the main feature on Thursday night!!!” “What?!?” Beth asked beside me. “Seriously?” Charlotte emerged from changing right then, “Looks like everyone needs to find nice clothes for the show!” “Nice clothes?” I asked. She smiled and knelt down in front of me. “One of the fun traditions of this film festival is they have a ‘red carpet’ walk of whoever is the feature. They’ll take pictures and video for Emerson to use as advertising material, and the local news station usually covers it.” “And because Charlotte Perez is the star…” Gary said. “It’s going to be bigger, isn’t it?” Beth asked nervously. “Yep!” Sebastian said. “So, you need to find a nice set of dresses, girls. Do you need help with that?” Charlotte asked us. “I’m sure my aunt can help us out,” I told her. “Am I allowed to not be in the uniform?” I asked. Sebastian nodded, “They had a Little last year who was in the feature; she dressed up in a pretty dress for the festival. No issues with it. You can triple-check with the Dean if you want to, though?” “I will just to be safe,” I told him. With a sigh, I looked at Beth, “Ready to get out of here?” At Nikki’s nod, the two walked away with her to where she’d parked that morning. Placing us in our car seats and driving away, I realized it was still only mid-afternoon. “Hopefully, Bella can help us out?” Beth asked nervously, “I left most of my nice gowns back home?” “I’m sure she can?” I told her. “I’m just glad to be out of that damn diaper. Carly, I really don’t know how you deal with it!” “Not much choice?” I told her. She was able to reach my seat and took my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Both of us went quiet and must have fallen asleep! “HOW DID IT go?” Grandma asked us a while later when we’d made it home, and I’d changed to a more comfortable set of leggings and a onesie Beth had picked out for me. It was definitely not more mature, but the onesie felt supportive on the changed diaper, and the leggings were nice and soft and cozy on my legs. “We finished filming,” I told her. “So now it’s just down to editing… I doubt we can get done this week, but we’ll at least try to get some of it done Monday or Tuesday in some breaks.” “Can’t do anything the rest of the week, though,” Beth told me. “Yeah, the film festival will completely take up Wednesday and Thursday,” I agreed. “Umm... Grandma…?” “Yes, Carly?” She asked me with the tone of someone who knew a request was coming. “We found out we’re going to be the main feature on Thursday night. Do you think Aunt Bella could help us out with some gowns? Apparently, it’s tradition for the cast and crew of the winning film to dress up?” “Winning film?” She asked. “I thought you all were an intro class; I would have thought an older production from seniors or something might win?” “So would I,” I told her. “Gowns, huh?” Grandma said, “I do recall seeing stuff about that with the festival in the past. Why don’t you two head over to their house and see? I’m sure Shelby would love to hear about that, too?” She paused, “I’ll also talk with the faculty and make sure you can be out of your uniform for the event.” “Thanks,” I said. “Not too long,” Beth admonished, “We do need to study for midterms, Carly.” I sighed, “I know. Let’s go see if Aunt Bella can help us.” We walked back out the front door and across the yard to Aunt Bella’s house. It was the first time I’d ever gone over where we weren’t expected, so I wasn’t quite sure what the protocol was. I was about to ring the doorbell when Aunt Bella opened the door. “Hi, girls!” She smiled, “Mommy called and said you were on the way over? Something about special dresses?” Sometimes, the way she talked was still so weird! She was a mother herself, but she reverted back to such babyish behavior and terms, too. ‘This world has got to wreak havoc on one’s mental state,’ I noted. “Yeah, we have a big event at Emerson on Thursday we need to dress up for,” Beth said. “Do you think you could help us out?” “I do!” Aunt Bella smiled. “Let’s go downstairs, and we’ll figure out what you’ll be wearing!” We were almost to the hidden hallway behind the playroom when she asked, “So Beth, it’ll be easy for you; we’ll dress you up and make you look nice and grown up,” she smiled. “Carly, what are we doing with you?” “What do you mean?” I asked. “I think she means, are we going with a baby dress or pretending you’re a big girl?” Beth suggested. “Oh…” I said. I looked down at my body, “I don’t want to look like a baby?” “You’d rather look like you’re your age then?” Aunt Bella asked as we neared her workspace a moment later. “I think so?” I looked at Beth for help. “Probably not risque,” Beth said. “No high-cut slits or anything that could be considered ‘indecent’ on a Little?” “Completely understand! Let me show you some ideas!” Bella said. A moment later, we were launching our way through a massive catalog of dresses, all of which I realized she had designed over the years. Beth said, “That one!” I looked up at the dress and dreamed of her wearing it. It was a beautiful emerald green with a design that started with a one-shoulder set of wide straps at the top that reached the computer model’s top of her breasts with sheer fabric. Below there, it was a solid fabric over the breasts to keep it modest while opening up into a sheer fabric below the breasts down to where the waist of the skirt reached. The dress was belled out into a ball gown with a high slit up the left leg but also featured an organza overlay with iridescent three-dimensional flowers across the top and sheer areas down to the middle of the skirt. “You’ll look gorgeous in that!” Aunt Bella said with a smile as Shelby suddenly joined us. “What’s the occasion she asked?” “Our film is the film festival’s main feature on Thursday night, so we’ve been told we need to dress up.” “Ooh, that’s cool!” She said, “Too bad it’s such a horrible film for it…” I laughed, “True! I don’t think Beth would look like the potty-training dunce in that?” “No,” Beth agreed, “Which is most definitely the point! You don’t mind making this?” She asked Aunt Bella. She smiled, “Not at all! My favorite thing these days is to make special event dresses; not often do I get to do these in a smaller size! Now, we must figure out the real challenge, my niece!” I blanched, “Challenge?” “Well, you said you want to seem more grown up… Dressing you as a baby, like for Meggy’s birthday party, is easy!” I felt my stomach drop at the idea of that being my evening gown! “Dressing you your age at your size is a bit more of a challenge, especially since those nanites didn’t give you an adult’s body. You’re as shapeless as a little girl, so obviously, we can’t try and show your beautiful non-existent breasts.” ‘This is the woman who just not long ago said, ‘Mommy said,” I thought to myself! “Do you have some suggestions?” Beth asked. “Of course! It’s not the first time I’ve had to get a Little girl to look a little less Little. The idea of giving her breasts for the night is a bad idea at Emerson; she might get ‘knocked down’ a peg by a Big if we’re not careful. Going to be a balancing act…” She quickly swiped through some images, coming to a series of tops that she then did something with to match them with skirts, then did something with overlays. It was all at the speed and precision that only a lot of skill and practice could bring. I also realized that meant she was custom designing my dress – it would be a first of its kind from her. “How about this?” She asked, showing the result. It was a light blue; the description beside the model said ‘azure blue.’ There was a strap on each shoulder, wider than spaghetti straps but still leaving a lot of shoulders exposed, that led down to a bodice that fully covered my breast area. The skirt was fuller than Beth’s, and it reached the floor. Still, it had a transparent organza overlay fabric layered with different ribbon effects as it cascaded down above the main fabric. The front was covered in ornate crystal-studded flowers with butterflies attached occasionally. It was cut in an ‘A-Line’ shape, so right at my waist, it flared. “It’s beautiful, Mom!” Shelby said. “I would have loved that for prom if it was safe to go.” “Sorry, sweetheart,” she said to her daughter. “I wish Homecoming had been safer… we can’t risk that again.” I looked at Shelby, “Later,” she mouthed to me. “What do you think, Beth?” I asked her. “You’ll be beautiful in anything, but I think this will be amazing for you.” “That’s perfect then, Aunt Bella,” I told her, “Thank you!” She was one of the few people in my life shorter than me, so when I hugged her, her head barely reached my chest.” “Of course, Carly, your other clothes for the trip are ready. Mommy has them ready to get packed over at the house. I’ll get these two dresses put together on the printers tonight. You two can take them with you on Monday when you go back to school.” “Thank you, Bella,” Beth said. “Great! Now, I heard you two have midterms next week. This daughter of mine has a CARE exam this week that she needs to be studying for. You three go scoot and get to work, I’ll see you at dinner.” “Yes, Mother,” Shelby said. “Is your mom that bossy?” She asked us as we left the hidden entrance at the playroom. “Yes!” Beth and I answered simultaneously. We looked at each other and giggled. “You two are around each other too much! Can I come study with you?” “Sure!” Beth said. THE THREE GIRLS soon found themselves curled up on the huge couch in the main house’s living room. Beth was against one arm of the sofa, with Carly leaning against her, turning on her side, and looking at her tablet. Shelby had claimed the opposite side of the couch, occasionally looking up and commenting on things. She sighed after a while, “I hate this stupid exam!” She looked at Carly, “How did you pass it anyway?” Carly shrugged, “I didn’t take it? They had another exam they had us take?” “Did it have the same… rules?” she asked. “Wait, I thought things had gotten better here. Do you mean the rules are the same as when my mom came?” Carly asked. “What rules?” Beth found herself asking. “It’s a little different than back then, I think… You don’t automatically get adopted if you fail?” Shelby said. “But…?” Carly asked. “If you have a poopy accident, they’ll stop your exam and consider that score to be final? You can’t even retake it?” “Seriously?” Beth asked. “Yeah, it’s nuts,” she said, clearly a pile of nerves. “Grandpa solved that for my mom; just do what she did?” Carly said. “Besides, unlike me, you’re still potty trained?” She grimaced, “Mostly, at least. I had two wet Pull-Ups at school this week.” “I’m sorry,” Carly said. “You have one of Grandpa’s emergency bracelets, right?” “Yes…?” “So, have him… uh… help you out… the night before, then take that if you feel like the urge might come?” “What did your grandpa do?” Beth asked, feeling like she was missing something. Shelby’s eyes said she really didn’t want to think about it. However, sometimes Carly still had the emotional intelligence of the boy she’d grown up as. “He gave her a strong laxative and an enema to clear everything out?” At that, Beth watched Shelby rush from the room to the downstairs bathroom. Thinking quickly, she gently moved her girlfriend off her lap and followed her down the hall. Making it just in time to hold the poor girl’s hair as she threw up into the tall toilet! Having her own relationship throwing up into that toilet, she felt bad for the girl. She stayed with her, helping her clean up when she was done and embracing her in a strong sisterly hug. “It’ll be okay, Shelby,” she told her. “You’ve got this!” “Beth, you just… you don’t understand? I don’t want to fail? I just want to get somewhere safe!” “Shelby, your grandmother and grandfather got Carly’s mom through Emerson. They got your brother through high school, and he wasn’t adopted coming off the stage; you’ll be fine, I promise you!” Beth held her as she cried herself out, and she eventually noted that she’d fallen asleep in her arms. ‘Poor thing,’ Beth thought to herself. While she was over a foot taller than Carly, she was still light enough to carry her upstairs and put her down on the bed in her room. Beth closed the door gently and saw Amanda looking at her curiously. She whispered, “She’s really nervous about the CARE exam next week… she kind of lost it,” she told her. “After she cried herself to sleep, I decided she needed that.” Amanda nodded, “I’ve seen the toll on her; she’s definitely nervous. Thanks for reassuring her. We’ll make sure she gets through it all.” “Good,” Beth said. “Now I’m going to go give your other granddaughter a bit of a scolding for setting off her cousin!” “Carly? What did she do?” Amanda was suddenly shocked anything bad could have happened from the girl. “Nothing intentional, she’s just sometimes got a case of boy-brain and doesn’t read the room,” she said. “Oh, got it! Her mother would sometimes do things like that, too.” “I’ve got this,” Beth said. Downstairs, Carly nervously asked Beth, “Is she okay?” “Yes, bird brain, she is.” “What did I do…?” “Pushed a bit too far, sweetie. She didn’t really need to think about what would be required. After the accidents, talking about a laxative and an enema?!?” “Oh…” Carly said. “I didn’t think…” “Nope!” she sighed, “Come here!” Carly was a bit nervous but found herself in Beth’s lap. “Use that big old brain in that little head more?” “I’ll apologize when she comes back.” “She’s going to sleep it off for a bit,” Beth told her. “Honestly, it wasn’t just you - it was everything hitting the poor girl at once. She’s wound tighter than I think anyone knew.” “Anything I can do?” Carly asked nervously. “Say sorry later, hug her, and find a way to make it up to her.” They sat still for a long while before Beth said, “You know, I completely understand how she feels. Being in these two film projects has brought that kind of worry even more to my mind.” Carly looked up at her, “I’m sorry.” “It’s not your fault, Carly. I got used to a bit more of a bubble until this semester. I kept to myself and a couple friends. You kind of have dragged me out of my shell more. I don’t think I would have participated nearly as much in the film class as I have otherwise.” “It’s been fun having that class together,” I told her. “Well, the nice thing is the credit hours we’ll have earned with an ‘A,’ and then also get hopefully the last four weeks of class essentially off!” she paused, “And, no final!” “Project-based classes are definitely better,” Carly agreed. “Ugh, back to midterm studying. Do you know what this means?” Beth asked Carly, pointing to a concept in her Waves textbook that sounded like gibberish to her. “Yeah!” Carly said and proceeded to explain it as if it were something as simple as the sky being blue. She could be emotionally stupid sometimes, but her little genius had become invaluable in helping her study! Bella and Ryan came over for dinner that night, and Amanda returned from upstairs with a sleepy Shelby. Beth watched Carly practically rush over there to hug her, apologizing for setting her off. “It’s okay, Carly, that shouldn’t have gotten to me… I think I just needed to let it all out.” Shelby hugged Carly before coming over to Beth and giving her a bigger hug, “Thank you for being like the big sister I’ve always wanted instead of my stupid brother.” Beth laughed, “You’re welcome, Shelby. Call me anytime if you ever need anything. You’re family to me now, too.” Carly smiled, and the seven of them sat in their chairs, boosters, and highchairs to enjoy the tasty roast that Amanda had slow-cooked. They all ended up in the living room to watch a movie together that night after a change to pajamas and new diapers for Bella and Carly. Beth enjoyed having Carly curled up on her lap. She couldn’t help but smile as Shelby had similarly crawled into Fred’s lap, a place where she happily and comfortably still fit. A sideways glance let her watch as Bella contentedly nursed from Amanda, even as she faded to sleep. Beth looked back down at Carly and couldn’t help but wish she had that kind of closeness with her. Unlike her mother, though, she didn’t plan to nurse Carly like her mom fed her dad! Fortunately for both of them, her period had ended, and so had her overwhelming mothering needs. Carly was usually one of the latest staying-up members of the family. Still, that night in Beth’s lap, she fell asleep just like the other Littles in the room, except Ryan, who had already left to go back to their house to sleep. “Would you two be okay in Carly’s bed for the night?” Amanda whispered to Beth. She thought about it and nodded, “It’s tight, but yeah?” “Okay, why don’t you get her off to bed, and Fred and I’ll sort out these two girls.” “Kay,” Beth said. She’d originally planned more massage interactions that night, but something in the day must have worn out Carly more than she’d realized. Upstairs, she changed Carly’s diaper, then lay her in the bed before going to the bathroom and taking care of herself. She returned to find Carly had sprawled out over the bed and giggled at the sight. It took her a moment, but she maneuvered the smaller girl into position so she could cuddle her while easily stretching out on the mattress. She blanched a bit as she knew it was the same length as a crib mattress, and it was clear it wasn’t too short for her. Carly fidgeted then in her sleep, and Beth found herself lightly running her hand through her hair soothingly. Then, she watched her fall back into a soothing sleep. Beth watched her sleep for a long while before succumbing to the need as well. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like Button and leave a comment!!! The upcoming chapters were some that I had in mind when I first started this waaaaay too long ago, and was excited to actually make it to! I hope you'll enjoy them too. Please keep the comments and likes coming, I need some extra motivation to get back to this after a month's pause in writing here!

Chapter 134: An Awful Day in the Neighborhood I ENJOYED THE brief break for dinner before we got going again with filming. We moved on to three school day scenes from the film’s final part, where I was in one of the thick, sponsored-brand diapers. It was a good thing, as I believed the filled diaper was one of the worst I’d had! Charlotte had volunteered to change me, and I was pretty sure she regretted it! We’d finished filming the school scenes and still had a little under three hours until I was required to be in my dorm room. “We’re moving quick,” I told Charlotte as we all changed again in wardrobe. “It helps that we’ve worked together before. I always find the shooting in the first half of a movie takes twice as long as the last half in most of them!” “Most?” I asked, donning my fake Littles uniform again. “The ones that don’t are usually because the cast, crew, producer, director, or some combination of that have decided they hate each other more than normal.” “That doesn’t sound like fun,” Beth said. “Not really,” Charlotte agreed. “Ready to do this?” I asked Beth. “Not really, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to these PooPloders!” “It doesn’t help they’re bigger than the other ones?” I said. “Yeah, somehow I think Gary is going for a record effect here,” Charlotte said, clearly hiding a good-natured smirk. “We’ll try and get this in as few of takes as we can, and it’ll be the last thing we film today.” “Good, I’ll want a shower afterward!” Beth said. “Hopefully, I can get a bath…” I said. “A bath?” Charlotte asked curiously. “The girl’s nests don’t have showers, only bathtubs,” I sighed. “That’s weird,” she said. “You don’t know the half of it,” I told her as we walked out. “Half of the nest room for the girls is like a daycare, complete with a play kitchen, dollhouses, story time area, rocking horses, the works!” “I thought Ames was supposed to be more progressive than Selegnasol?” Charlotte suggested. “Me too,” Beth said. “I just hope Shelby can make it to graduation and get to New Haven and away from all of this,” I told them. “I liked her; she was sweet,” Charlotte said. “She was seriously star-struck,” Beth giggled. We exited the wardrobe room and arrived on the set of a massive street that I knew would travel like a car would as we walked, moving the scenery with us. “You all ready?” Sebastian asked. I firmed up my grip on my backpack straps, looked at Beth, and nodded, “Sure.” A few minutes were spent just recording us walking down the street for a montage. The roads and houses changed a bit before we reached ‘the block’ where it all happened. We stopped the take and, after a quick check that Will and Sebastian were happy, restarted with a close-up of both of us making faces as we walked. We both looked at each other, even as we grabbed our stomachs and stopped, nearly doubling over in pain! Right then, I acted as if I couldn’t control my body, moving to a crouch, even as I activated the PooPloder and felt running, sticky, brown goop run down out of the thin diaper, down my legs, and began dripping on the sidewalk. I looked helplessly at Evelyn in a panic, as I ‘realized’ she couldn’t help me because she was in the same boat! I turned and recognized Maddie walking down the street towards us. “Cut!” I heard. “We good with the reactions there?” Sebastian asked. “Great! Those two nailed it, and I think we got camera coverage with no issues. No reason to put them through that again,” Will told him. “Thank God,” Beth hissed. “This is disgusting!” I nodded, “This is worse than any accident I’ve had…” “You two good to continue?” Sebastian asked. “Let’s get this over with!” Beth told him. Moments later, we began again, with Maddie walking closer but still not quite to us. She said, “Well, well, well... Looks like we have a problem?” Beth cried out to her, “Annalise, you have to help us...” I knew Beth was freezing and reacting to the diaper bag on Maddie’s shoulder. Even from a distance, you couldn’t miss the girly pink and purple fabric. You could tell it already had something embroidered on the side that I suspected were our character names. ‘Nice touch!’ I looked at Maddie, still about ten feet from us. “Annalise, you did this to us?” “Uh-uh! Who do you think I am?” She said in a creepy voice. “You know, little baby girls who poop their panties shouldn’t make up stories like that. Their mommies might just have to give them a spanking and a mouthful of soap...” She was almost in arm’s reach, and Beth and I closed in closer to each other. Right when she was about to reach us, Charlotte suddenly ran between us, pushed her arms away, and grabbed hold of us tightly! “Their mommies?” Charlotte practically spat at her. “Seriously, Annalise, I thought you were our friend?” Maddie tried to come closer to them as she stood back up, “I’m your friend. I’ll still sort of be their friend, but I’m just going to be their mommy now, too.” “No, you’re not,” Charlotte said in the kind of voice my mother used when I was about to get the worst consequences of my life for something. Maddy again closed the distance and took a picture with her phone. “I see two little babies with poopy pants out here on the sidewalk. Both are eighteen, and both are about to be adopted - you can’t stop that! The law is on my side because they have clearly demonstrated their Maturosis!” “No, Anna, you’re not adopting them,” Charlotte said again, even more firm in her delivery. “And just how are you going to stop me?” Beth and I looked up at Charlotte, with our body language begging for her help. “Help us, please,” I whispered. Charlotte made eye contact with each of us, hugged us, and kissed our heads before turning back to Maddie, “No, you aren’t because I’m claiming them first.” “You can’t do that!!!! I saw them first!!!” Maddie bounced up and down in anger. Charlotte stood up, grabbing both girls and placing them on either side of her body, “Yes, but I’m the one who’s already holding them.” “I’ll call the police!” Right then, Sophia walked up; she was playing a random neighbor from the house we were standing in front of. Her hair and face had been made up to look closer to thirty years old. Maddie jumped a bit as Sophia began speaking, “And I’ll tell them the same thing, this girl got to them faster than you. Sorry, young lady, you’re going to have to learn to be faster to catch yourself a Little. Besides, I don’t think you’re rightly mature enough to handle one Little girl, let alone two little girls like that!” Maddie looked at the growing group of support, “Just wait, Harper, I’ll make you pay!” With that, she walked down the street and away from us. “Cut!!!” Sebastian called. “That’s a long dialogue sequence to do in one take!” Will said. “How was the coverage?” Charlotte asked. “I think it was good; if you all stay on those marks, I’ll go triple-check and see if we need to do it again?” “Do you think the acting was good enough?” Charlotte asked. “No,” I told them, “I think it could be better.” Sebastian shrugged, “I could see it being better with another take or two. Can you two girls deal with that gross mess for a bit longer?” “One more take,” Beth said. “I’m going to be showering for a week to get this feeling off!” “Got it!” Will said. It did get better on a second take, and I and the others felt it was as good as possible. We’d all returned to the same marks, so we could keep filming the rest of the scene from there. Sophia, playing the motherly neighborhood savior, continued for us, “That’s so wrong for that to happen to Evelyn; she’s a sweet girl. You better take care of her!” There was venom in her voice, and it was clear that the neighbor had watched the girl grow up. Charlotte nervously responded, “Yes, ma’am...” paused, and then said, “I guess I’d better get them a change of clothes and sort this out.” “I have some diapers inside for my daughters that will probably fit them both? The smallest will be a bit too big for the short one, and the larger size will be a bit of stretch for Evelyn, but it’s better than the gross clothes they have on now. I should at least have an outfit or two Evelyn can fit into. Her friend is tiny enough; I don’t really have much.” “Umm... thanks...” Charlotte said. “Least I can do for their favorite babysitter,” Sophia said sadly. “Luckily, the girls are at my mom’s right now; come on.” Charlotte grabbed my hand and did the same to Beth before leading us up the porch to the house. “Cut!” Sebastian said. “Nice improvising,” I told Sophia, “I liked the addition.” “You’re welcome, I felt like it should be more obvious that Evelyn is a loss…” I nodded at that as we waited for the verdict from the camera crew and Sebastian. “So?” I asked as he came up. “We’re golden!” “So we can get out of this mess?!?” Beth asked. “Yep, please get those stinkers cleaned up, Charlotte?” “Thank God!!!!” Beth said, and I practically had to run to catch up with her, even as the mess on my legs was no longer just the PooPloder. Urine was now escaping the ‘diaper’ too. ‘Damn,’ I griped to myself. BETH HAD HATED she needed help cleaning up her intimate areas! At the same time, she gladly accepted Charlotte’s assistance in wiping down every surface she could. Her actual butt and private areas were blocked from being covered in the PooPloder garbage by the protective panty. Still, every surface from the middle of her back and stomach to her ankles, where socks had been soaked, was covered in the liquidy goo! They’d cleaned up Carly as best they could, too, before Charlotte, Nikki, and Beth hurried up to get the Little back to her nest before curfew. Fortunately, there was still an hour before the curfew when they deposited her. Still, Beth didn’t ever want to play with Carly’s safety for the sake of a stupid film project! Back at her dorm, Nikki asked, “Are you okay?” Beth shook her head, “Not until I get a shower?” “I mean…” “I know what you mean, Nikki… my therapist put me through the wringer today, too. I’ll be glad when this film is done, the film festival is done… and well, I’ll just be glad when I can get rid of any reminders of what could possibly happen to me.” Nikki rubbed her shoulder, “You’re stronger than you think you are, Beth; never forget that. Let me know if you need anything, too! I don’t intend to ever let anyone do that to you, either! I’ll beat the crap out of them first.” She added the last part with a smile, though Beth knew she could. “Thanks, Nikki,” she said, “Now I’m going to go take the longest shower of my life!” Nikki laughed, “Sounds like a plan, I’ll see you tomorrow. Call me if you are going to leave the dorm!” “Yes, Ma’am,” she said politely. Beth wasted no time grabbing her shower gear, a clean pair of pajamas and underwear, and locked herself in the bathroom! She pulled her clothes off, setting them aside to be washed, before climbing under the showerhead. It was nothing normally compared to the showerheads at her house or Amanda’s, but that day, it was the best shower ever!!! She washed and conditioned her hair before using body wash on her whole body - three times! She scrubbed her legs to the point she was afraid they might turn red, but at least by the end, she felt clean. ‘I feel so bad for the characters,’ Beth thought. ‘Poor Shelby’s friend,’ she added in her thoughts. She dried her hair and got ready for bed before settling down to work on some studying for her Calculus and Fields classes. Midterms were coming up the next week, and thanks to Carly, she was pretty sure she would do okay. She didn’t want to chance it, though! Rings kept her company, with an occasional cuddle or a scritch behind the stuffed red panda’s ears, even as she admitted it was silly to think of her stuffed animal appreciating a pet. She’d always treated Rings like that, though she’d learned it from her dad, who would occasionally come cuddle with her when she was a little girl, and they would share the giant stuffy across their laps. Eventually, she looked at the time and knew she needed to call it a night. After a last bathroom visit, she allowed Rachel to tuck her in and turn out the lights. ‘She’s kind of growing on me,’ Beth had to admit. BACK AT THE dorm, I wasted no time going up to Lilly, “Miss Lilly?” “Yes, Carly?” “Could you help me with a bath?” “It’s a bit early for that? And don’t you normally take one in the morning?” She asked me. I groaned, “We just got done filming a scene with these stupid PooPloder things, and I feel like I’m a sticky mess.” “PooPloder?” Mia asked and giggled, sitting on the ground not far from me, already in her jammies, lying on her stomach. I looked nervously at her coloring in a coloring book right then. ‘Adults and teenagers do color,’ I reminded myself. The fact that it looked very juvenile made me cringe, though. “What is that?” Lilly asked me. “I think of them as squibs… they’re things designed for a special effect for making blood flow out of someone when they get shot? They don’t get used much in this dimension anymore because it’s easier to just generate them?” “So you got shot?” Mia asked with some moderate concern. “No… these are meant to make it look like the person has pooped themselves. Some of them make pee too. For this shot, it was the runniest and grossest one I’ve had to deal with, and I just want to scrub my body for the next year?” Lilly laughed at that, “I can see that. Tell you what, I’ll take care of you now, then I’ll do the rest of the nest in a bit.” “Thanks!” I told her, “I owe you!” “No, I heard you made the cake and distractions happen for my surprise party last week. I’ll still owe you even after this little thing, Carly!” She picked me up suddenly and sat me down on the changing table, stripping me down to my diaper. Her hand brushed my leg, and she made a face and said, “That’s sticky…” “Yes! It feels horrible,” I told her. “What does it look like when it’s on your legs?” She asked. “Like you’ve had the blowout of the century?” I told her. “My character wasn’t supposed to be wearing diapers yet, so there was no real containment of the mess.” “You filmed without a diaper?” she asked as she carried me naked into the bathroom. I was grateful she hugged me to her body, so at least I only had my naked back exposed to the room. “No, I had a diaper on; it was just so thin it might as well not have been there?” “More of these to come?” She asked. “Thankfully, no!” “That’s good,” she said and dropped me into a tub a moment later after ripping my diaper off. She’d filled the tub with bubbles, and suddenly, a rubber duck was tossed to bob next to me in the water. “Give me a second to put a smock on,” she told me. I’d had a private bath only one other time since the girls started swimming with us. It was only happening now twice a week, she’d said yesterday, on Tuesdays and Thursdays since it worked better for everyone’s class schedules. They were also getting Saturday and Sunday swimming chances, but I wasn’t there. Even when I’d had the private baths with Lilly, it was rare that she did the full bathing of me like a child bit that she did then. She soaped and washed my hair out before conditioning it and scrubbing my body. She went over the PooPloder mess areas several times. I finally felt clean as she wrapped me in a towel and carried me back to the changing table. “Thanks,” I told her as she taped up my diaper. “You’re welcome,” she told me with a smile. She then dressed me in one of the unicorn-footed pajamas and sat me on the ground. I hugged her around her knees, then went to look at the rest of the classwork I needed to work on! I crammed in some of the theoretical math reading for Math Analysis, a bit of work for Holo Theory, and then quickly proofed and sent in a project for Computational Intelligence that wasn’t due until Friday. She’d been pretty good about getting me feedback if something could improve and letting me revise it, so I wanted to be ahead there. With all of that done, I sent Beth a quick message and got one last diaper change from Lilly for the night. My head probably hadn’t even settled into the pillow when I was out like a light! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please smash that 'Like' button, and consider leaving a comment! At some point, I plan to share the whole script of Crumbled Friendship with you all, but for now, you'll get drips of it like this. Let me know what you think about that and anything else! Always appreciate your interactions! 🙂

Chapter 17: THE ADULT IN me wanted to coo at a baby wearing the dress held in front of me… Strangely, something inside of me wanted to wear it… Even as I knew, no self-respecting adult should be wearing it! It was made of two fabrics, with a traditional wide bell shape you saw in toddler and infant dresses. The central part of the bodice and skirt was a pink fabric with large multi-colored hearts splashed across it to make a great Valentine’s Day style. The sleeves, neck yoke, and bottom ruffle of the skirt were made of a pink and white tartan style, helping to make it look sickeningly cute. I didn’t even think to resist as she sat me up, pulled it down over my arms, and buttoned a few buttons in the back. As she carried me downstairs, she pulled the skirt down over my bottom more, but I knew that anyone who saw me would know there was a diaper underneath it. “Oh my gosh, Mom, that’s adorable!” Erica said, looking at me. “I thought of her when I saw it and couldn’t help but buy it!” I blushed as her mom placed me into the highchair and tightly secured me. As soon as she put the tray over the chair, she asked, “Where do you keep her bibs?” ’Her bibs?’ I thought. ‘I thought they were her nieces?’ “Over in that drawer,” she pointed. I couldn’t see much, but my dress was soon protected by a wide pink silicone bib with a pocket at the bottom to catch spills. “There you go!” She said, kissing the top of my head. “Mom…” Erica said. “Don’t ‘Mom’ me; you and I both know it’s inevitable at this point, Erica. She’s already the perfect princess there!” “Princess?” I asked. “My dad used to call me that.” “I bet he did!” She smiled. A moment later, a grilled cheese sandwich with a cut-off crust was placed before me. It wasn’t how I usually ate it; I cut them diagonally down the center. Instead, it was cut into about sixty-four bite-sized pieces. “Why did you waste so much time cutting it?” I asked Erica. “Oh, actually, AmeniTea can do that for me!” “Why?” She held up her half the way I typically ate it, and I guessed, “Too big?” “Yep! It would be waaaay too big for someone your size, so I had it help. This way, you can just pick up each bite one at a time!” She reached down and handed me one. I looked skeptically at it but brought it to my mouth. The taste exploded in my mouth, “Soo good!” I said. “I thought you’d like it,” she told me. “Here’s a cup for you,” she said, placing a baba of milk on the tray. “Milky!” I said with a smile. I reached for it, holding it with both hands, and got to work nursing from it. I ignored the sandwich, and she must have realized I would until I was done because she pulled it away. “Finish your sandwich. I’ll let you have a little at a time. Don’t want to fill your belly only with milk just yet!” I nodded, returning to the tasty sandwich pieces. “You don’t really have a choice, Erica,” her mom said. “She’s already there?” Erica sighed, “I need a job, Mom.” ‘Job?’ I thought nervously, ‘If she didn’t work at the hospital anymore, I wouldn’t be able to stay with her!’ I just about started to say something, but she took that moment to give me another suckle from the bottle. “I talked to your Aunt Haley earlier. She said her friend at Ridgeview General is now looking for a pediatrician to run their unit. She mentioned her interest in you when she told her about your background. Angie just moved out of Lenny and Angie’s place, so they were going to rent it out or sell it; she’d let you stay there until you could sell this place?” There was so much information coming that I barely tracked everything. “Hadn’t Lenny and Angie done a whole bunch of modifications for their sizes before Haley adopted them?” “Angie spent the past few years clearing those out. It’s a nice three-bedroom house for you two in the meantime? I’m sure she wouldn’t even charge you rent?” I was done with the sandwich then, and Erica noticed. “Try some of the soup?” she asked me. I looked up at her and realized she was holding a spoon out to me. As it came closer, I noted it was chicken and noodles… but the noodles were just little chopped-up pieces. It tasted good, though, and I ate from the bowl she placed on the tray and brought spoonfuls from it for a bit before feeling full. “I’m full!” I said. “I bet you are!” her mom said, “What a good eater you are!” I blushed at being spoken to like a toddler. After wiping my face and handing me the last quarter-filled bottle, Erica asked me, “Why don’t you finish your cup in the living room?” “Kay, it’s a baba, you know, though? Not a cup?” “Of course! Silly me!” She paused, “You like it though?” “Uh-huh, Doc says they’re the best!” I paused, “Well, almost the best.” Blushing as I thought about what was the best, even as I noted her large breasts were in front of me. ‘No way I can get the best. Erica is not my mommy.’ “She’s always right, isn’t she?” Erica asked me. I nodded. She gave me a pat on my butt, and I couldn’t help but note that my diaper was already a bit soggy! I waddled into the living room and discovered a new mini-recliner seat beside the couch that was just my size! It might have been a bit big, but the only person in the house who could sit on it was clearly me! I tested it out and then brought the baba to my mouth to finish. It wasn’t as good then since it was cooling, but it still tasted nummy! A moment later, I gave a bit of a burp when I was done and looked up at the Holo Screen remote hanging on the edge of a coffee table. I put my baba down in a convenient cupholder and rolled up to my feet before toddling to grab the controller. I pressed the button to activate the screen. “Show me shows!” I said. I was again given the option of only children’s shows, but no Naomi and Oliver were shown this time. I kept looking for Doc McSweetie since it was my favorite show now! No matter how many times I navigated the menu with my hands, I couldn’t find it! I heard footsteps and saw Erica and her mom standing there. “Oh, did you want to watch some shows?” Erica asked. “Where’s Doc?” I asked. “I can’t find her!” “Oh… I think they pulled her off the service…?” Something inside me snapped, “What?!?” Suddenly, I was in tears! “Wanna watch Doc!!! She’s the best!!!!!” It was like every bit of maturity since I was a toddler left my body then, and I found myself running to her with tears flowing down my face, “Make it play Doc!!!!” Moments later I was inexplicably lying on the floor and pounding on it for some reason. “That’s quite the adorable tantrum, Erica,” her mom told her. That caused me to cry even more. “Yeah… I don’t know that adorable is right. Maybe I should just give in…?” “What would it hurt at this point?” her mom asked. “She’s already there?” “I’ll lose my job?” “I just told you there’s another one for you? I’ll tell her to have her call you now?” I was tuned out from most of the conversation, just blubbering and crying, even as a pair of arms picked me up and cuddled me. “You really want to see Doc?” Erica asked me. I nodded up and down as I snorted some snot, “Uh-huh!” “It may change you more?” “My diapee already needs changed?” I said. Her mom laughed, “Yeah, but it’ll last a bit longer.” “Just one episode,” Erica told me. “You are clearly tired and need some sleep tonight.” I smiled as she carried me to my new chair, set me down, and activated a McSweetie episode as the two left me to watch. “You better be right, Mom,” Erica said. “I feel a bit guilty…” “She’s meant to be yours,” her mom said as their voices trailed off and the world of Doc sprang to life before me. I was immersed in her world instantly and was excited to see her new case! “Looks like Ezra is doing just fine! No need to see him again until his next appointment unless he gets sick!” “Thanks, Doc… “ The mommy looked nervous. “Look, can we talk about a milestone issue we’re having?” “What’s going on?” “Ezra keeps getting lost in the store! He just won’t stay beside me like my friend’s babies do? He was so scared last time; he was just crying and crying and crying when I found him and picked him up!” Doc laughed, “Oh, this is a simple one! Ezra?” The animated Little blushed as he looked at Doc, “Yes, Doc?” “The best solution for this is for you to always hang on to your mommy! You can hold her hand, pants, or even onto her skirt!” “Is that all?” his mommy asked. “Well, this backpack can help too!” Doc put a dolphin-shaped backpack around the boy’s shoulders, making him look super cool! “How does this hewp?” he asked. “Well, all your mommy needs to do is hang onto you with this!” she handed his mommy a… leash! I blushed as he said, “This is embarrassing.” “Well, the better way is to always hold onto your mommy and never leave her side! Mommy, a stroller, or a carrier could help, too. I know Ezra is a big boy, but you could still get him in a harness carrier quite easily!” “I’ll keep that in mind!” the mommy said. There was a brief scene change, and you saw Ezra sitting comfortably in an infant carrier facing out from his mommy as they found Doc walking outside the park. “Hi, Ezra!” she said sweetly. “Hi, Miss Mommy!” The mommy laughed, “Hi, Doc McSweetie!” “So I see you’re using a carrier?” “It’s super comfy!!!” Ezra said. “Much easier than trying to find my baby boy,” she said to Doc before making a face and pulling him out of the carrier to sniff. “Not that I would have trouble with this diapee! You stinky!” She cooed at Ezra. Everything was set for a change before it cut to showing him wearing only a shirt and clean diaper, sitting on his mommy’s lap. “Things are much better, Doc. Thanks for your help!” “You’re very welcome!” Doc said. “Looks like a hungry boy there!” We then saw a drooling Ezra, whom his mommy placed at her breast to nursie! “He always is! It’s a good thing Mommy always has the good stuff, huh?” she said, tussling her baby boy’s hair and patting his diaper lightly, even as we saw it change from white to brown. “Always glad to help!” Doc said. The screen turned off, and I saw Erica wearing a fuzzy fleece robe. “Just one episode,” she reminded me. I frowned but stood up and walked over to her, grabbing onto her pant leg like a good girl. ‘I don’t want one of those backpack things… even though the dolphin was cute!’ She smiled and leaned down to pick me up, “Come on, it’s bedtime for you. You’ll have a big day at the hospital again tomorrow!” “Big with you?” I asked as she mounted the stairs. She shook her head, “Nope, that’s going to be on hold for a little bit until Doc Nickerson calms down.” “She’s nice, though,” I told her, almost saying I talked to her more but stopping myself. “Yes, she is, isn’t she?” She said with a sigh. “Definitely forcing a decision here.” She carried me into the nursery and pushed my pacifier back into my mouth as she changed me from the dress and wet diaper. “This is an adorable dress for you,” she commented. I just smiled around the pacifier; I was happy she was smiling again! “My mom said you enjoyed a song while she changed you. Shall I try one of my own?” I was about to say that wasn’t necessary, but she started as soon as she pushed me onto my back but didn’t strap me down as she grabbed my legs. “Wiggle, waggle went the bear Catching bees in her underwear One bee out, one bee in One bee bit her on her big bearskin!” As she said wiggle and waggle, she moved my ankles back and forth in front of me, and I felt a buzz of my skin forming goosebumps. ‘I’m so lucky she hasn’t kicked me out! I like Erica,’ I thought as she lifted my butt up as she said ‘out,’ then set it down on ‘in’ before tickling me after the rhyme was done. I giggled, even as she did it again, and then kissed me on the forehead before working on the diaper. She soon had me dressed in shorts and a T-shirt that said, ‘I’m very cute!’ “Bear, just like the song!” I said to her. She laughed, “Yep! Just my cuddly little bear! Luckily, you don’t have any stinky bees in your underwear, though, huh?” “Nope, I wear diapees now!” I saw her twitch even as she hugged me and carried me to the rocking chair. I noted that the warmer had a baba. Then, as she sat me down, her robe rode up to expose her bare legs, which my legs made contact with. Her warm skin was comforting. I reached for the baba in her hand, but she said, “Just a second, princess, I’m really hot in this robe.” I nodded, “I used to have one like that; it was super warm!” She smiled, “Well, maybe I’ll see if I can get you one, but for now we’ll share?” “Huh?” As she shifted me in her arms to sit me in the crook like a baby being fed, I noted that she was braless, and her skin was now exposed beside me. My proximity to her bare breasts made me feel nervous and awkward, even as she lay me back to where my face was against the lower part of her right breast and the bottle nipple was pushed into my mouth. I instinctually began nursing at the bottle’s nipple and swallowing the delicious milk. ‘I wonder what it would taste like to drink milky from a mommy?’ I wondered as I nursed, knowing how Doc said it was better! Erica held the bottle, so I didn’t know where to put my hands. At first, I put them on her hands to help her, but at some point accidentally found myself grabbing a handful of her booby! I opened my eyes, scared of her reaction, but she smiled and started humming a lullaby. One hand settled back there, and the connection made me feel better. The warmth of Erica, the gentle rocking, and the milk put me to sleep that night. I was completely comfy and at ease in her arms! ‘Erica will make a good mommy for someone,’ I thought as I closed my eyes for the final time. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press the Like Button and leave a comment! I'll post the next chapter on Friday; there will only be two chapters this week. I finally feel like I might be up to writing, but a new book came out today that I will have to binge-read on a day off of the world shutting down where I live from the weather. (Not complaining!!!) Hopefully, by the time this work is fully posted, we'll start the new chapters of LCW. Lots of comments and likes help with prodding the authoress! 😈 I love seeing what some of you are thinking. There have been some really insightful posts here that I can't respond to without spoilers. I will say this was supposed to be a seven-chapter short, so you can see the story definitely didn't just go where I thought it would! Doctor Benson's journey went to some unexpected places for me while still staying in canon for her last appearance in LCW. I'll say more when I post some later chapters. Thanks again for reading! 💜

Had to redo this one a few times. I hope it's an enjoyable read, even if the situation is a bit implausible. --- The nature-colored foyer in the preschool were adorned with low wooden benches and plants—both real and decorative. It was bustling with kids of different ages and their parents getting them ready for another school day. Alicia spotted a middle-aged woman in a white, knit blouse with a nametag that said ‘Ella’ on her shirt, a keycard hanged from her neck. Alicia took a seat by herself at one of the low benches, putting her backpack aside, waiting for Luke and Isabella. She felt her heart flutter nervously due to her surroundings. If she had been told a few weeks ago that she’d be back at preschool, Alicia would have laughed. Now, it was a very real situation, and Alicia had to breath slowly to steady herself. As the crowd started to thin, Ella approached Alicia. “Hi there, I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. First day?” “Um, hello,” Alicia said as politely as she could manage. “I’m just waiting for a friend and his daughter, please don’t mind me. The woman peered down at her with a mustered smile on her face. “Hmm, well my name is Ella. I work at the desk over there,” she pointed over to the receptionist counter. “What’s your name, sweetie?” Her tone revealing that she thought Alicia was a child. She took out a pen and small writing block from a pocket and flipped it through. And there it is…Alicia thought as she resisted the urge to make a snarky reply. She’d normally just stay clear of people like Ella, but for now she’d have little choice but to interact with her. “It’s Alicia,” she said, trying to maintain a polite tone. “Okay, Alicia. Did you come here alone?” “Yes, but I—” “I see,” the woman clicked her tongue and wrote something down, but quickly looked up and smiled again, “do you want to come in meanwhile? The benches can be really uncomfortable. We got softer chairs inside the classroom.” Alicia sighed. Causing a scene here would be a bad first impression, and she preferred to be on good terms with her—potentially—future work colleague. Luke will be along shorty and explain the situation, might as well get comfortable. “Sure, Ella, but please,” Alicia pleaded, looking her in the eyes, “lay off the kiddie talk.” Ella chuckled. “Of course, Alicia, this way,” she motioned. Alicia followed Ella with some trepidation, her backpack slung on her right shoulder, passing several artworks of trees, flowers and houses. They reached a room with coathangers and shoe racks, all labeled after kids with their respective backpacks and bags. Alicia spotted Isabella’s name amongst them. “Go ahead, Alicia, choose an empty spot,” Ella said. “I’m good,” Alicia deadpanned and sat in an armchair, putting her backpack down beside her. Ella shrugged, as a tall, blonde woman in her mid twenties, wearing a sky blue casual blouse and grey chinos, approached the pair. “Hi, who do we have here?” Alicia thought she looked vaguely familiar, but before she could get a word in, Ella spoke up. “Hi Mabel. This is Alicia,” she leaned in to whisper, “she showed up alone.” “Oh,” Mabel said, sounding concerned. “Well, that’s alright, she can stay with us until we figure things out.” Her tone sounded like she forced herself to be cheerful for Alicia’s sake. “Um,” Alicia tried to say, feeling the situation spiraling out of control. “By the way, Alicia. You wouldn’t happen to know your mommy or daddy’s phone number?” Ella asked. “Erm, it’s alright. I’m just waiting for Luke and Isabella,” she said. “Isabella?” Mabel said. “Is she your friend?” “Well, yes, but—” Alicia tried. “I thought Isabella was sick today?” Mabel looked to Ella. “Yes, I got off on the phone with her father just a while ago. It’s too bad our attendance system is on the fritz, otherwise I could just look up Alicia’s info,” Ella said. Alicia felt her anxiousness spike up, that deep dark pit forming in her stomach once again. She fumbled for her phone, trembling as she saw the missed notification. ‘Hey Alicia! So sorry! Isabella’s not feeling well today. We’ll have to postpone, again so sorry for the inconvenience’ - Luke She heard a click as the door locked behind them. Her shoulders and neck tensed up by a creeping sensation of fear. “U-um, if they’re not coming, I should really head home.” “Oh sorry, sweetie,” Mabel said. “We can’t let children leave on their own without a guardian. The doors are locked now and you can’t get out without a card.” “B-but I’m not—” Alicia said, but stopped talking as her phone were snatched from her hands. “Also,” said Mabel, “we don’t allow cells in the classroom.” She shook her head, as if in disbelief, and put it away on a shelf beyond Alicia’s reach. Alicia started to tremble, her fists tightening, adrenalin coursing through her veins. She wanted nothing more than to stomp her feet and shout at these morons running this preschool that she was an adult with rights. She noticed some of the kids inside the classroom who had turned to look at her. Alicia locked eyes with a few. I can’t…she thought to herself and tried to take a deep breath to calm herself down. She couldn’t throw a fit here, it’d upset the children. She felt her blood pumping wildly as she forced herself to be still. “Please don’t keep me here. I’m not a kid, please return my phone,” she said, trying her best to sound firm while not shouting. Ella and Mabel looked at eachother and sighed. “Sorry, sweetie. It’s just the rules,” Ella said apologetically, giving no indication that she either heard or believed Alicia. Alicia frowned and started feeling for her ID-card. If my words won’t convince them… She searched her pants and found nothing, eyes widening, she covertly tried to rummage in her backpack, nothing. …It’s in my purse! Alicia thought as she felt the walls closing in on her. Without her ID-card, she had no other way to prove her identity. The dark pit expanded, migrated, and a tiny splash of pee made its way into her pull-up, unbeknownst to the little girl. “Oh sweetie, it’s okay” Mabel said and smiled towards Alicia, mistaking her fear for first day jitters. “We have tons of fun here, and you'll make lots of new friends!” Alicia stared blankly, it seemed no matter what she said, she couldn’t get through to these ladies. If she started escalating, she wasn’t sure she could keep her emotions intact, and she didn’t want to let Jenny, Luke and Isabella down. She felt something shattering inside of her as another piece of her independence crumbled. What’s the point? she thought as she slumped her shoulders. She had entered the lion’s den unprepared, and the lionesses looked ready to pounce. Alicia looked down at her feet and nodded, feeling strength leave her body. Her determination had faltered and rather than to put up a fight, she went along with the insanity of the situation. It was just easier that way. “Great, you can put your backpack next to Melody’s. It’s unoccupied,” Mabel said. Oh, lucky me…she thought and hanged it on the empty spot, putting her shoes in the rack. “Did you know your mommy or daddy’s number, Alicia?” Ella asked again. Of course, mom! Alicia snapped back with renewed vigor. Alicia nodded and told Ella her mother’s cell number. She could endure preschool in the meanwhile, surely it wouldn’t take more than thirty minutes for things to get straightened out? “Okay, I will try to reach Alicia’s mother,” Ella said, buzzing herself out of the room with her card. “And I will introduce you to the other children, Alicia,” Mabel said and grabbed her hand gently. Alicia was led into a nature-colored room filled with little tables and chairs. Inside plastic containers nestled into wooden drawers laid several toys. On top of the drawers there were buckets of crayons and blank paper. There were wooden dividers in the form of trees separating parts of the classroom, and a open doorway with the picture of a potty next to it. On a big, blue carpet about a dozen kids had gathered around in a circle where the other teacher led the group in song, and a whiteboard with a hand drawn introduction to numbers on the wall behind them. The walls themselves were decorated with the alphabet, accompanied with animals for each letter. In the windows were several well-tended potted plants. “Okay, sprouts,” the teacher said cheerfully, “we got a new seed for our Garden!” She was dressed in a flowery tunic top and black dressy leggins. “This is Alicia, everyone. Let’s give her a big cheer so that she feels extra welcome!” Mabel said. “Hi Alicia!” they all said in unison. Alicia felt like she had seen some of their faces before, she just couldn’t place them. “Yeah, hi,” Alicia sat down next to two other girls, one with a brown afro and the other with sleek, black hair flowing down her shoulders. They looked to be around three years old. “I’m Ms. Ivy, and you’ve already met Ms. Mabel. Class let’s all introduce ourselves to our new friend and tell Alicia a little about ourselves.” She started with the boy sitting close to her and soon every kid had told their name, age and something they liked or disliked. It seemed to be a mix of ages in this classroom, with most students being around two to five years old. The two girl next to her, introduced themselves as Melody, the one with the afro, and Ji-a. Several of the kids looked like they were still in diapers or pull-ups. “Your turn, Alicia,” Ivy said. Alicia felt like sinking into the floor. What would she say? Should she be honest? Was there any point to it? Alicia closed her eyes and sighed. She decided she’d try one more time to come through to the teachers. “I’m Alicia. I’m nineteen years old…I like cats and books.” Perhaps not her best attempt. She turned to the two teachers as the circle went deathly quiet. The reaction that followed could probably have been predicted as the children all broke out in giggles. One of the kids, a five year old boy named Preston, laughed especially hard. “Haha, she’s not nineteen, she’s tiny. My sister is fifteen and she’s way bigger.” “Now, now everyone. Settle down,” Ivy said. “It’s not nice to make fun of someone because of their height, Preston,” Mabel chided. The boy looked sheepishly at Alicia. “Sorry…” “You like books, Alicia?” Ivy said as the circle quieted down again. “Y-yeah, what of it?” she said, still blushing from everyone’s reaction. “Hmm, well, I seem to remember a certain little princess reading for us in the library a while back,” she mused. Oh god! Alicia thought, looking down at the floor. It made much more sense now that they thought she wasn’t serious. They were the group that listened in after the photo shoot! “Oh right,” Mabel slapped her forehead. “That’s why I thought you looked familiar. Well, we’re happy to welcome such a bright girl in our midst! You’re certainly creative, Alicia.” Mabel beamed at her, but wagged her finger as she continued talking. “But no fibbing, alright? Please tell everyone how old you are.” “...I’m five…,” Alicia said quietly, her stomach lurching because of the lie. It seemed to have had the desired effect however, as the two women nodded and smiled back at her. Please come get me soon, mom, Alicia thought, as she failed to stop herself from turning even more crimson. Her anxiety spiked up, making her unknowingly dribble some more pee into her pull-up. “Well now that we are all introduced. I think it’s time we sing our welcome song! Everyone together now!” Ivy cheered. “The more we get together, together, together! The more we get together, the happier we’ll be!” they all sang in unison. Alicia closed her eyes again trying to shut out the absurd situation. She could only hope her mother would set things straight as soon as possible. The song ended and they all clapped and cheered. “Good job everyone. Now, let’s go over today’s schedule.” Ivy went up and started arranging pictures on the whiteboard. Alicia just tuned it all out, no interest in hearing about today’s activities. “Okay, sprouts,” Mabel said and stood up. “Let’s get some pep in our steps!” The kids stood and they all sang ‘Head, shoulders, knees and toes’ while increasing their pace with each phrase. Alicia kept sitting with closed eyes, wishing she were somewhere else. “Come on, Alicia!” Mabel cheered, “Get that body moving!” Alicia sighed as she weighed her options. Was it more immature to go along with the activity rather than staying passive? Eventually, she stood up and went through the motions just to placate the teachers. Afterwards, they stretched, which Alicia didn’t mind, but as she touched her toes, she felt her pull-up poke out of her pants, and she quickly corrected her shirt. Next up was arts and craft, and the children went over to sit at the crescent tables. With Ivy and Mabel’s help, they cut out various shapes and glued them to papers with their respective names written underneath, coloring them however they wanted. Alicia looked down at her paper, she was seated next to a four year old African-American kid with curly hair named Isaac that seemed to have trouble grasping his scissors. “Like this,” Alicia demonstrated. She helped Issac adjust his grip and hold his paper. Soon the little tyke had done an adequate job cutting a circle, as well as you can with blunt scissors. “Thanks,” Issac said, applying glue to his circle and sticking it onto his paper. “You’re welcome,” Alicia said, tending to her own handiwork. She didn’t mind arts and crafts, she only wished it wasn’t so basic. She doodled on the shapes and gave them googly eyes and mustaches much to the delight of the surrounding children. “Oh, a little artist are we?” Ivy smiled at Alicia, leaning down. “What a good girl, helping your friend,” she praised. Alicia groaned. I wonder if Jenny would mind if I murdered her husband? She thought, spinning a crayon along her fingers. She shook her head. No, it’s not completely his fault. I should have made sure I had my ID-card with me. Alicia, in true self fashion, had not thought this through, and she was paying the humiliating price. Still, it felt pretty good to help and entertain the children. They certainly seemed to appreciate all her silly drawings anyway. Time passed, and Alicia got strangely into the activity, soon forgetting about hearing from her mom. After arts and crafts it was snack time and Alicia felt a little peckish. Of course her mother had packed her a nutritional drink, and she sipped it slowly as the other children snacked on fruit and some drank from sippy cups. Issac dug into his snack box and handed Alicia half a grape. “Um, thanks,” Alicia said and pretended to eat the grape, taking care not to hurt his feelings. She thought it was better to avoid as many germs as possible, so she stowed the grape in her pocket for the time being. When snack time was over, all the kids washed their hands, and Alicia stealthily slipped the grape into a trash can. Then it was time for recess and they all went along the hall, until they came to a door leading to an outside area. Alicia thought for a brief moment about slipping away, but her hopes were dashed as a high fence encircled the playground. I would have to leave my phone behind either way, she sighed and sauntered slowly while the other children ran over to play on the swings, the slide or dig in the sandpit. Alicia took a seat at a bench and decided to bask in the sun, waiting to hear back from her mother. It was rather nice to just sit back and relax as some gentle winds swept across her face. “Not joining the others?” Alicia looked up to see Mabel hanging over here. “I don’t feel like it,” Alicia said. “Something bothering you, Alicia?” Mabel said. “You could say that, but I don’t think you’d believe me,” she said and closed her eyes. “I could try?” Mabel said. Alicia sighed. What was taking her mother so long? This charade was so tiring and she started having second thoughts about this job. “No, it’s fine. I’m not sure we’ll see each other after today.” “You don’t like it here?” “It’s…nice, but it’s not for me, really,” Alicia said, not feeling like explaining herself further. “Hmm, well if you’re not going to hang around after today, why not just have fun while you’re here?” Mabel said. There it was again. Just have ‘fun’. Alicia thought about the phrase. Was she really allowed to just have fun? She had learned to accept her work for what it was—well mostly—and being little at times with her mother. It was a source of comfort, allowing her to relax and forget about adult responsibilities, but to indulge herself like this? “Alicia!” Issac called to her, “Come play with us!” She saw the boy and the girls Melody and Ji-a busying themselves building roads and playing with toy cars. They looked expectantly at her, waving her over. “Alicia, whatever your troubles are, can’t they wait until later?” Mabel smiled gently at her. “...Okay,” Alicia said. “Just for today.” What was a few more moments of preschool. She could endure it a while longer. “That’s a good girl, have fun, sweetie,” Mabel cheered. Alicia headed over and helped the kids with their project. Soon she was emerged in roleplaying as they played citybuilders. As the game went on, Alicia’s pull-up became a little heavier, but she was too invested to pay attention to it. Just before eleven am, the teachers called on the kids to clean up and to start heading inside. Alicia dusted herself off and looked down her legs, noticing the telling bulge. “Oh, S…sugar honey iced tea,” she mumbled to herself. Maybe I can slip by the toilet and change it. Mabel went up to Alicia and gently grabbed her hand. “Come on, Alicia, let’s get you changed with the others.” “I-I can do it myself, I have spares in my backpack,” she squeaked as she was led inside, letting out a bit more information than intended. “Oh? Such a big girl,” she cooed. “Alright, Alicia,” She let go of Alicia’s hand, and the girl went to her backpack to retrieve it. Alicia scurried inside the changing room. There was one low toilet, similar to the one in the agency, several potties in blue and pink standing near the sink and a changing table filled with various diaper supplies underneath. Mortifyingly for Alicia, the changing room was essentially open towards the classroom, most likely so that the teachers could keep and eye on the kids if needed. She hid behind the wall as best as she could and quickly undressed, ripped her used pull-up and started taking out a new one. She got interrupted as Mabel cleared her throat. “Sweetie, you need to wipe.” Alicia blushed at the sight of the overseer. “Don’t look!” “As long as you remember to clean yourself, Alicia,” Mabel reprimanded. “I got it!” Alicia frowned. Was a little privacy so much to ask for? She reached for some toilet paper and wiped herself. “Put it in the trash can, Alicia,” Mabel said. Alicia looked back, confused, but did as she was told. “Okay..,” she said, peeved that Mabel was still watching her. She put on a new pull-up and quickly dressed herself. “Wash your hands,” Mabel reminded. Alicia felt her fist ball up a little, but relented and went over to the sink and washed them up with soap. “There, happy?” Mabel paid no attention to her tone, all too busy assisting the next child. “Alright Issac, your turn,” she said, pulling out a plastic potty, before cooing at Ji-a, laying her on the changing table, beginning to change her diaper. “And you of course, silly girl.” Alicia looked outside as a veritable small line had been created, several children needing either to use the potty or have their diaper changed. She put her bag back in the empty spot. Ivy had gathered the kids around the sofa for story time, when she saw Alicia taking up a spot further behind. “Alicia? I was wondering if you wanted to read for everyone again?” She thought about it for a second. Maybe this could prove to them that I’m a big girl…err adult? “Sure, Ivy,” Alicia said. “Ms. Ivy,” the teacher tutted. “Yes, Ms. Ivy, I’d be happy to read a book for everyone,” Alicia mustered a smile, and went over to grab the book Ms. Ivy was holding. She took a seat as they waited for everyone to finish up their toilet business, then she started reading. “Once there was a tree, and she loved a little boy…” Alicia began. --- “...Come boy, sit down and rest. And the boy did. And the tree was happy,” she finished and closed the book. “Thank you very much, Alicia, good job,” Ivy smiled at her, and turned to the class. “So what did you all think the book was about? Hands up, please.” Several hands went up in the air. “Being friends!” one of the kids said. “The tree was his mommy,” a younger kid said out loud. Lastly, Ivy turned to Alicia. “What do you think the book was about, Alicia?” “...A lesson in environmental ethics?” she said. “Oh, um, maybe?” Ivy said, not expecting such an answer, but recovered quickly. “Well, I think that’s enough story time for now. Let’s have lunch, everyone.” So much for that idea, Alicia sighed and hopped off the couch. What did she expect? They already knew she could read and probably just thought she was precocious. Ivy and Mabel started helping the kids with their meals. Alicia went up, got her lunchbox, grabbed a chair and began eating the sandwich her mother had packed. “Alicia,” Melody said next to her. “Why you read so good?” “Lots of practice,” she said munching on her cheese sandwich impatiently. What is taking mom so long? Surely they must’ve reached her by now? Next up was naptime for the littles ones and rest for the bigger kids. Alicia groaned as she saw Mabel pull up a mat for her as Ivy dimmed the lights, and put on some relaxing nature track. “You don’t have to nap if you don’t want to, Alicia, but maybe just lay down for a while?” Mabel said gently. Alicia was feeling a little tired, being on edge earlier and playing outside had taken its toll. “Fine, but just for a little bit.” She laid down and closed her eyes, and it didn’t take long as she background noise lulled her into a peaceful relaxation. --- Emily returned to her cubicle from one of the breakrooms in the clinic, her MomCozy’s stowed away, magazine in hand. She had told a white lie and managed to convince her supervisor she needed the space since she was helping out a family member. In addition, she had self-prescribed some stronger hormone supplements to ‘speed’ things along, so to speak. The earlier meeting had taken a lot out of her, and she sat down in her chair, checking her phone and turning off silence mode. Emily frowned as she saw several missed calls from an unknown number in the span of a few hours. Might be important then, she thought and called the number. “Tiny Sprouts Academy, Ella speaking,” the voice said. “Yes, hello, this is Emily Eriksson, you’ve tried to reach me?” Emily asked. “...Are you Alicia’s mother?” Emily raised her eyebrows, fearing bad news. “That’s correct, has anything happened to my girl?” “Well, we were a little confused when she showed up alone at our school. It’s procedure for parents to accompany their children on their first day.” “I see…,” Emily said, and pinched her nose bridge. Alicia, what did you do this time? “Yes, and we haven’t been able to confirm her enrollment due a fritz in the system. When did you first contact the school?” Ella asked. “Erm,” Emily said, a little confused. “There may be a slight misunderstanding here. My daughter was supposed to accompany Luke and Isabella today.” “She did say something about that, but that is not how we do things here, Mrs. Eriksson. It’s important we get to know Alicia, so that we may better cater to her needs.” “Understandable, but while my daughter has certain ‘needs’ she isn’t a child.” “I beg your pardon?” Ella said. “Alicia is nineteen years old. Luke asked her to come to the preschool as Isabella’s aide.” “...If this is a joke, I assure you I don’t find it amusing. I think it’s better if you came down here and tended to your daughter,” Ella replied. Emily felt a bit annoyed at her tone, but thought it better not to raise a fuss, since she encouraged her daughter to take the job and didn’t want to mess it up for her. Oh she’d definitely make sure her little girl wouldn’t forget this favor thought. Alicia had gotten herself in a predicament and needed mommy to bail her out. “Alright, I’m unable to leave work at the moment. Please give me two hours, and I’ll come down and explain things in person.” “I think that would be for the best. See you then, Mrs. Eriksson,” Ella said. “See you soon,” Emily sighed and hung up. Oh baby girl, what am I to do with you? Hope you’re having fun at least. Hmm, I might have to take a picture or two while I’m there, she mused.