LilGirlLya

"OK Ellie," Jess ran her hand under the tap one last time to check the temperature, "bath time." Ellie raised her sore arms so Jess could pull the dress over her head, leaving her standing there in only her diaper which hung between her legs with a pronounced sag. Ellie wondered how many times she must have went that she didn't realize? Or if she was just going a lot more than she thought when she did. One tape and then the other and Jess remove the sodden thing from between Ellie's thighs, balling it up and tossing it into the empty bathroom trash can. 'Shoot, a diaper pail would have been a good idea too!' Jess thought before internally shrugging. They were probably going shopping tomorrow, they could just get one then. No big deal. Jess felt the tension in her shoulders lessen. It was funny, even the kids problems seemed more manageable with them at this size. "Alright, here we go, up and down," Jess picked up Ellie from under her arm pits and sat her in the tub. "OK kiddo, I know you're still a big girl in your head but you're tired and with your new body, it's probably best if Mommy handles this." "OK," Ellie couldn't help but agree. The space after her sentence seemed to demand to be filled and so Ellie finished, "OK, Mommy." "Good girl." Jess beamed at her child and then got to work. For Ellie, the biggest disappointment of the whole thing was what was still between her legs. She frowned, she'd let herself hope that with such a significant change that maybe..."Sorry honey, we did ask but that's not something that can do until you're 18. It's only a few more years though and there's lots of girls here just like you." "Really?" "Sure, it's actually one of the things they ask about in the screenings. Happy families, happy employees. So that's lots of girls like you here and lots of boys like Avery and I bit they're all very happy." Jess tried to reassure her daughter. Once the bath was done, Jess lifted Ellie out and toweled her down. She was so precious and small in the grown up sized towel! Once she was dry, Jess laid another towel on the bathroom floor, "OK kiddo, let's see if Mommy still remembers how to do this." Ellie laid back and took a deep breath, soon she felt her lower back life off the towel and was once again looking up at her feet. Ellie felt herself laid back down and onto a soft, fluffy cushion that then found itself pulled up between her legs and taped on. She looked down to see some juvenile, abstract designs and a bright yellow number 5. "Still got it." Jess smirked, "Come on, lets go get your brother."

"Oh hey, um...yeah, sure I can help out with that." Claire felt uncomfrotable following Ravio into the men's room. Still, she reasoned it would probably be less upsetting for her to go into the mens room than for him to go into the ladies with her. Thankfully, the coast was clear. She got Ravio up under the arm pits again and gave her friend a boost to the sink, letting him finish up washing his hands. "Do they usually have a stool or something?" Claire looked around, for the bathroom of a 'little friendly' place the only toilets were Amazon and tweener sized. Guess in this city all it took to pass yourself off as 'friendly' was to just not be outwardly hostile to littles. Once they were done, Claire and Ravio pushed the cart outside before transferring most of the bags into Claire's hands. The walk home was fairly quiet, it had been an eventful trip and after the embarrassing incident in the bathroom, Claire figured Ravio wasn't in an exceptionally conversational mood. As the neared his apartment, Claire turned her head down to the little, "can you get all these inside or do I need to carry some in?"

"Oh yeah, absolutely. Let me just..." Claire trailed off, coming around to the front of the cart and lifting Ravio out. "There you go." Claire watched Ravio dash off to the bathroom. She wasn't really sure what to make of what she'd just seen. Ravio was being really weird about going to the bathroom and he claimed he wasn't having his period. Was he sick? Clarie frowned, if he was sick she certainly felt for him but she couldn't have him making food. He seemed fine though. Just weirder about going to the bathroom over the best few days. Claire couldn't really put her finger on it. Still, after the scare with the other Amazon, Claire had moved from ally to defender mode. She waited by the men's room door until Ravio finished. Men would be less likely to grab him but that possibility wasn't zero and any risk of that was enough right now to make Claire concerned.

"It's fine, I can go first," Ellie shrugged. It really didn't matter which of them got cleaned up first, and truthfully she would be glad to just not feel as gross as she did. Soon the car began to slow and Ellie heard the turn signal click on before the car came to a stop in a drive way. This was is it. Ellie couldn't help but be a bit excited, the worst of the move was behind her. Might as well see the upside of it. Ivy came around and opened the door for her, Mom, and Avery and Ellie found herself hoisted onto a hip once again. The movement causing her to feel the front of her diaper gradually warm up again. It was going to be a long 12 hours. "Ice cream?" Ellie asked, it got a bit of a chuckle from her parents but it seemed like a just reward after a long, emotionally tough day. Besides, being this size again she remembered having gotten to eat as much ice cream as she wanted when her tonsils came out and this procedure should at least get her that. "Seconded," Jess agreed, giving Ellie a little bounce. "Oh, do you think you can get them some children's soap and shampoo if you're going to the pharmacy? We can use their old stuff for tonight but it could be a bit rough for their hair and skin long term. Oh, and bring their boxes in, please hon." This house itself made up for it, a cute brick cottage that looked enormous from Ellie's reduced vantage point. Through the seafoam door the house opened up into a combined living room and kitchen space with a little dining room table in the kitchen as well. The flat screen was already mounted on the wall and the couch positioned across from it but aside from the furniture, everything was still all boxed up "Welcome home kids," Jess squeezed Avery's hand and walked him upstairs to one of two rooms across landing from each other. Another door was on the otherside of the landing area, "That's my office, for days I get to work from home, and these are your rooms." She opened the door to Avery's first and all of his stuff was inside, all packed up in boxes. "Avery, do you think you can start your unpacking while Ellie takes a bath?" Jess asked, "Oh, and don't go downstairs without help. Not until you're a little less wobbly on those legs Mister." Jess left Avery to his devices and carried Ellie into the upstairs bathroom and began drawing her a bath.

"That's fine buddy," Jess cooed to Avery, "the doctor said the first few hours you wont have any control. Neither of you have anything to be ashamed of or worried about. We'll get you both in the tub when we get home." It was only after she said it that Jess reflected on how the meaning of what she just said was different than it may have been before. While she only meant that both kids would be getting a bath, the slip did remind her of when the kids were young enough to bathe together at the same time. 'That might be a bit far for today', Jess thought. "Avery, Ellie got her shower first, you want the first bath?" As positive of a face as Avery tried to put on for moms, Ellie was the one looking him in the face rather than down at the top of his head and she could see his frown. Both kids were necessarily sitting pretty close together already since they were sharing Jess' lap but Ellie scooted a bit and leaned into Avery, taking his tiny hand in hers and giving it a squeeze. "Yes Momma," Ellie droned dutifully.

After a busy day at work, Claire preferred not to deal with the pleasantries and small talk of the cashiers and made for the self checkout. It was faster for her anyway. Doubly so with Ravio. "OK Ravio, do you think you can hand the stuff up to me and I'll ring it up?" The two made it through the line in no time, she did notice some unease from Ravio when the second bag of little sized period products were handed up to her, "Hey, they were buy one get one and I got the last in my size." Claire quickly told her practiced lie. Once everything was scanned and bagged, Claire began pushed the cart toward the doors.

"Alright pal, on three then?" Claire gave a countdown before hoisting Ravio up from under his arm pits and putting him in the basket of the cart. She didn't laugh even though it did look ridiculous to have an adult just sitting there in the cart. She did suppress a fleeting thought that he did look cute like that though. Ravio was a free little and the situation was probably embarrassing enough for him as it was. "Sorry, I know this probably sucks. I just...the way she was looking at you made me nervous. I thought she was going to grab you. Anytime you want out just give the word." Claire felt guilty as Ravio tried to put on a brave face, they both knew this was humiliating but Claire couldn't help being nervous about the other Amazon and didn't want to let on how bad she felt for doing this. Ravio was a sensitive, thoughtful guy. If she showed how uncomfortable this all made her the first thing he'd probably try to do is comfort her and she wasn't the one who could have gotten abducted and had their life stolen.

"Thanks Avery," Ellie replied to her brother, unable to contain another smile at the compliment. If anyone understood the weird, conflicting emotions she was having right now, it was him. "You look nice too." She knew he was probably at least as happy to not have anything between his chest and his shirt as she was in her dress. Her mental image of Avery would probably be that teen boy he'd been up until an hour ago for a very long time, but she couldn't deny that he looked like any other little boy right now and if that was true for him, it probably also was true she looked like an average little girl too. Ellie's strange gender euphoria for the dress bloomed further. She wasn't the tallest, she didn't have the smallest boobs or the deepest voice anymore. She looked just like any other girl in her situation. The only feature that could remain a tell of her birth sex now hidden behind fluff and plastic. Her thoughts wandered to her diaper at just the moment she felt a tiny bit of warmth lazily trickle into it. Her hands and eyes instinctively flew to her crotch and yet there was no external sign of what she'd just done. Ellie frowned but tears stayed away for now. After all, the doctor had said her and Avery would only deal with this for a few hours and then they'd get their training back. Only after that would Ellie start to worry about accidents. Jess knew right away from Ellie's movement and the little gasp as to what happened. "We'll get you changed when we get home and get you in the tub." She kissed her daughter on the head, "Not much further. What about you kiddo," Jess turned her focus to her son, "do I have two kids with squishy pants?" "Just a purple one is OK I guess," Ellie replied to Momma," I just want it to be comfy. I'm probably going to use it for a while."

"Either is OK. Both would be cute," Ellie mumbled in agreement. She hadn't been growing her hair out for very long but with her reduced size, her hair was now plenty long enough and down past her shoulders. She had been waiting to ask for it to get longer to have a chance to as her parents to braid it. Now was as good of a time as any. Ellie gave a small smile for the first time since she woke up. Jess may have been excited about the dress because of ease of putting it on Ellie but Ellie was excited for another reason. She'd only been out a few months and really hadn't had time to replace her wardrobe yet. She'd finished middle school still boymoding. She added one or two skirts as part of her new wardrobe but she'd yet to actually wear a dress that wasn't stolen out of Mom or Momma's closet. This one was hers though. Her first dress. Ellie started tearing up. 'My first dress." Ellie thought again. This time they were happy tears. Jess came around in front of her daughter, wondering if forcing Avery to stand to be changed had hurt her girl. She was surprised when Ellie wrapped her little arms around her. "I love you Mommy." Ellie said softly. 'Mommy', Jess thought, 'I could get used to Mommy again.' Jess followed her wife to the car, one kid holding her hand to cross the street, the other nestled in the crook of her arms and squeezing her tight. "She's right kids, and it's going to be even better when you get to do your rooms the way you like them. Now, Momma and I both forgot to get carseats at the store so we're going to do something not very safe for one time only, OK? Come on you two, you have the best seat in the house," Jess said as she helped Avery up into her lap.

"Yeah. He's my friend. He's with me." Claire coolly replied. "You ready to go home now, Rav'?" Claire asked, by this point her body was entirely between Ravio and the other Amazon. He wasn't getting grabbed. Claire grabbed Ravio by the hand and started walking calmly and confidently away from the Amazon and toward the check out. As soon as they were out of the aisle, Claire let go of Ravio's hand and knelt down to look him in the eyes. "Are you alright? Did she touch you are more than lifting you up? Did she show you anything or make you listen to anything?" Claire asked, she needed to make sure the woman hadn't done anything to her friend. Claire gave him a quick hug after getting her answers. "Good. I'm glad to hear you're OK. I didn't want to lose my friend." Claire stood back up and went back to pushing the cart when an idea came to her, "Hey Rav, you can say no to this if you want but would you want to ride in here? Just in case she's in the snatching mood?"

"That's fine, I can handle these two once we get them home. I don't think they're getting up to much of anything tonight." Jess rubbed Ellie's back before passing her over to Ivy, "here, if you can take them both for a minute, I'll run out to the car and get their new clothes." Transferring Ellie over, Jess noticed Ellie's diaper seemed a bit squishier than before. Poor thing, she didn't even seem to notice. Jess decided they'd get her home and bathed before changing her. They'd just gotten her calm again, the last thing she wanted to spark a fit by letting Ellie know she'd had an accident. "It's pink," Ellie meekly said, pointing at her own bandaid as she switched her grip over from Mom to Momma. Jess left the room, letting the receptionist know they were almost done and she just had to pop out for a change of clothes for the kids. She brought both outfits on the way back, the least she could do after today is let the kids choose their new outfit. Jess couldn't deny how her heart swelled coming back into the room seeing her wife with their two, now toddler, children on her lap doing her best to comfort them after a rough experience. "Hey you two, lets get you out of those paper gowns, huh? Ellie honey, you have to talk to me, dress or shorts? Avery, dinosaurs or dalmatian?" "Dress please." Ellie asked, still cuddled up to her Momma. Jess hated to separate the two but Ellie showed no reluctance to going back to her birth parent. Jess was quietly grateful Ellie had chosen the dress, it be easier to get an achy, uncooperative toddler into a dress than a shirt and shorts. Once both kiddos were dressed, Jess looked to her wife, "trade ya'" she said passing her keys to Ivy. "Hey Avery, Ellie seems like she's wanting to be carried, do you want a ride or are good to walk to the car?"

With Ravio gone, Claire paused and turned her head back down the aisle. She debated if what she was about to do was a good idea before ultimately starting back toward where she had previously been. Claire ducked down and grabbed a pack of little sized pads and tossed them into the cart. She'd lie and tell Ravio they were on sale. Claire hated what she was doing, it violated her own beliefs about little autonomy and she was worried her friend would see it as a breach of trust. Still, with as weird as Ravio was being about this and the bathroom, Claire was more worried about an Amazon seeing a spot and determining that her friend couldn't take care of himself anymore. Better to give the momentary embarrassment of throwing some pads in the cart than he have to endure a much more embarrassing life in diapers and more than likely forced to detransition. Once those were secure, Claire made her way over to the spice rack just in time to see Ravio trapped between the spice counter and an Amazon. "Hey Ravio, everything OK here?" Claire asked, she didn't look at Ravio, her and the other Amazon both had eyes locked on each other.

"Water is fine but pedialyte is certainly better. They're not likely to get severely dehydrated now that the process is done but obviously any dehydration is going to hinder them getting back to full strength." Doctor Lee replied. "I do not use all the hot water" Ellie pouted , eliciting a laugh from Dr. Lee before he turned his attention to Avery. "One of the goals of this procedure is to help your brain better acquire knowledge and skills by making it a bit more like a toddler brain. One of the effects of that is sometimes emotions might be a little bit too big for you sometimes. Obviously there's some pluses and minuses here. Things that didn't used to scare you may now seem scary or sometimes you may get so frustrated at something you'll just feel like screaming. However, like I said, there are pluses too. There aren't many depressed or anxious toddlers after all, when you're happy, you'll be very happy. Jokes will be funnier, recreation will be more fun, your dreams will be more vivid." The doctor returned his focus to Jess and Ivy as Chloe stepped back into the room. "Now, both kids are probably going to be needier. At first that's going to come largely from legitimate need. They won't be able to do a lot of the daily tasks they used to because of physical limitations. Overtime, that will probably take on an emotional component as well. They'll need hugs and kind words more often than a normal teenager would." Ellie reacted with a grimace as Chloe removed her IV and replaced it with a little bandaid. "Doctor Lee, I also made sure to bag up their clothes. Moms, if you want to keep you can come back for them in a few days. We need to make sure there are no stray nanites in the material and then clean it to remove any biowaste. We can dispose of them if you'd prefer but some families like keeping a keepsake." "I read over the material pretty thoroughly, I know the facts of what to expect, now we just have to do it," Jess said. "Are we clear to take them home now? Do you think we could change them out of the gowns first? Either in here or in the bathroom?" "Be my guest, the office is closed now but you're free to use this room to get them dressed and spend some time prior to taking them home. Just let the receptionist know when you leave so she can tell us." Dr. Lee shook hands with both of the moms before he and Chloe left the new family alone.

"Quiet, I would have settled for boring being around me but hey, I'm glad peaceful works for you" Claire said as tossed a package of overnight, heavy flow, Amazon sized pads into the cart. "I just need a few spices, things like that. I'm running low on turmeric and paprika, ooh, and powdered ginger. If you want you can run and grab those for me?" Claire asked, she didn't know how tall the spice section here went, as the place as little friendly most of the shelves were lower than she was used to. She did worry a bit though, little friendly or not Ravio being in here with a shopping cart or basket signaled and independent little who could take care of himself, Ravio running a few aisles over without either of those? Well, that could be a lost or unsupervised little. A knot formed in her stomach at what she may have just asked Ravio to do. "If you want to that is, I don't have any problem coming with."

"Oh, actually we can probably get those out as soon as Chloe gets back with some bandaids. Probably should have taken care of this before I brought you out, huh?" Dr. Lee took a seat in one of the leather chairs. "How you feeling kiddo?" Jess whispered to Ellie, giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead. Seeing her daughter so small and needy kindled a protective feeling Jess hadn't felt as strongly or acutely since the night Ellie became Ellie. "I'm hurting..." Ellie whined. Her whole body ached and her head hurt even with more fluids in her. Add in how yucky she felt from being sweat soaked and Ellie just wanted to be comforted. It was over at least and now that she was back with her family, she felt a bit more secure than she did alone in the doctors office. "Oh...poor baby" Jess murmured, kissing Ellie's head again while gently rubbing her back through the paper gown. Jess didn't need to see the diaper to know Ellie was already padded. "The process is a lot to go through. Each child loses several biohazard bags worth of body mass but rest assured the first 12-24 hours are the worst. I'd recommend treating with children's painkillers and fluids. They can eat so long as it's relatively light to prevent vomiting. Both kids are also going to be incontinent for this period. The pattern we usually see is about 12-24 hours of diaper dependency, then a return to an ability to control their bladder and bowels as the last of the excess body mass transits the body. This tends to diminish as the body adjusts and stabilize at around a week to two weeks. After that point you should have an idea if each is going to retain their potty training long term. Over the same period the cognitive effects will appear as well. You'll see grater creativity and complex thought and increased knowledge retention but you'll also see a return to some more juvenile behaviors. The important thing to note is they'll still have the same personalities, likes, and interests. Does anyone have any questions?"

"...OK." Claire shrugged. Maybe Ravio wasn't on his period, maybe he was and just didn't want to talk about it with a coworker. It didn't matter. If he didn't need protection he didn't need protection. Ravio was outgoing and talkative so Claire though maybe he'd be open about a biological function that definitely separated him the babies Amazons saw littles as. But he was also extremely private, bordering on shy. She could understand how bringing that up might cause some embarrassment that would only be exacerbated by her particular feminine hygiene stuff being directly across the aisle from little sized crawlers diapers. "Well, I just need a few more things. We won't be too much longer. Then I can help you carry all of this home. You know, it was good getting a chance to spend some time outside work with you. No Laura to have to talk around and all."

"The process isn't an easy one but they both made it through just fine. Let me just let the doctor know you're here and we can get you all reunited." the receptionist told the two moms. # # # # # Jess and Ivy were lead back through the corridors and into a smaller room. It wasn't an exam room, more like a scaled down version of the waiting room, with a few chairs inside, most adult sized but some more appropriate for little children. Soft, calming music played over the speakers as they both found a seat, with the promise that the kids would be brought in shortly. # # # # # Doctor Lee took Avery's wheelchair and Chloe pushed Ellie's out of the procedure rooms and down the halls. Being with Avery had helped Ellie calm down a bit. Now that she had her brother, she just wanted to reunite with her parents and get as far away from here as possible. Doctor Lee opened the door and wheeled Avery in first, Chloe followed with Ellie. "Moms!" Ellie called out. Jess was astounded by what she saw. Aside from the longer hair, Ellie looked just like she would have looked as a four year old. Jess was across the room in an instant and scooped up both her kids i her arms. Her babies, babies again. Both were a bit big to hip carry them at the same time so after a kiss on the head she passed Avery over to Ivy. Ellie's little legs reflexively wrapped tight to Jess' hips. "Doctor, before we begin the consult I need to...attend to something." Chloe said with a small blush. "Go ahead, we'll get started and you can join us in a bit." Chloe nodded and quickly left the room, gently crinkling the whole way. "Well family, everything was a success. Lets just make sure we all have a good idea of how the next few days are going to go. Any questions before we start?

"Woah, easy there. She's awake. There's no reason we can't take you to her if that's what you want but you'll need to relax and let me help you." Dr. Lee told Avery. He helped Avery get dressed in a basic, paper gown and scooped up the little boy, sitting him down into a tiny wheelchair. "Alright big guy, let's go see your sister, I'm going to need you to hold onto that IV stand though. Don't want that coming out until you're nice and rehydrated." Ellie was sobbing, she hurt all over, she was tired, she felt gross, and with the transformation it all just emotionally came to a head. She hated how much like an actual toddler she sounded like. She was frighteningly aware of how helpless and alone she was right now and just wanted her moms or her-" "Knock, knock," Dr. Lee opened the door and then wheeled in Avery. He was so small! Still, beneath the baby fat and the toddler cheeks and the shock of messy, matted hair there was her brother. "AVERY!" Ellie called out, reaching for him, it was only Chloe's quick action that prevented Ellie from tumbling down off the table. "Easy princess," Chloe tried to calm Ellie, "He's not going anywhere but you can't get up either. We'll get you transitioned into a wheelchair too. Your mommies will probably be here any minute and we can bring them back so they can take you both home. You both have had a long day." she cooed. # # # # # As soon as Jess and Ivy entered the lobby the receptionist called out for them. "Palmer-Kelly family? Both your kids have finished. The doctor and his assistant are just getting everything ready for you to come back and see them.

"I know the feeling," Claire acknowledged, "I've thought about roommates before but every time I've had them, it's ended up in disaster. Not many people are considerate enough the let me go to sleep when I need to with any consistency. I stay further our but the MTA is getting a little bit of a cut every single day for it." "OK, so the basics. No big deal. I've just got to get a few things for tonight. Maybe something for next week too." Claire ducked discussing cycles while walking in public with Ravio. Claire got a cart and headed in, "if you want, you can just throw your stuff in here rather than getting a basket. It's no big deal, we'll separate it all out at the register. Claire let Ravio pick out his odds and ends but couldn't help but feel a little disappointed he was just getting the essentials. She couldn't explain why, still it was nice to spend time with her friend even if she did wish he got a little bit more healthy food. Maybe it was the chef in her? Once all of the non fridge or freezer stuff had been added to the cart, Claire looked down at Ravio? "Mind if we make a detour real quick?" she said gesturing to the aisle that contained feminine care stuff. She saw Ravio's reaction and immediately thought, 'aw shit', it was the diaper aisle too. Of course it was. "I don't have babyfever you goof," she joked, hoping she sounded reassuring, "I need pads. Do you want to stay here or come with me?" Claire got her brand and looked over at Ravio, "Do you need some too? I noticed you were going to the bathroom a bit more today. It's no big deal, I'll grab you some if you do. If it weren't for the height I'd offer to share the emergency one in my purse."

Ellie found herself groggily coming to a second time, this time rather than seeing just the articulated lamp and mobile above her, she saw two tiny feet eclipsing the light. "Wah?" she sleepy slurred out. Ellie reflexively whined and tried to pull away when she felt a cold, damp touch between her legs. That's when she realized those were her feet she was looking up at. Ellie felt awful, her body ached and her mouth was dry. She had a headache and she could feel and smell dried sweat on her body. It felt like how she imagined not showering for days would feel. Just sticky and gross. Ellie felt her legs get lowered and in her exhaustion she closed her eyes again, trying to drift back to sleep. Then something was pulled towards her tummy and around the sides of her hips. It felt like she was wearing a pillow. Ellie hazily giggled at the thought of that. "Rise and shine, Ellie" a woman cooed to her. Ellie opened her eyes to see Chloe, the Doctor's aide. "You did great princess. We're almost all done. Lets get you set up so we can get a gown on you. Ellie looked down and was astounded, she had to still be asleep. Gone was her skinny, teenage body and in it's place was a chubby little toddler's tummy. Her eyes went wide to see the diaper already wrapped around her. Weak and sore, Ellie got only start to softly cry. It was over. "Hey, hey, hey, no more tears sweetie. Shoosh..." Chloe brushed her hair with a free hand while awkwardly getting her into a paper gown. "Your mommies are going to be ready for you soon, your big brother is waking up too. You'll all be back together and headed home." Ellie continued to whimper out little tears, getting her a caring smile from Chloe. "It's OK little one, it's OK. Your mommies are doing this because they love you very much. They just want what's best for you. Everyone here in town does. I'm only a little bit older than you and I'm about to finish my PhD. Just imagine what you can do. You've got a brand new life ahead of you." # # # # # "Hey there Sport," Dr. Lee spoke as Avery came too. "Take it easy, don't strain yourself. You may want to stay laying down for a bit. You lost a lot of body mass." The doctor put a stethoscope onto Avery's chest and started taking post rejuvenation vitals. "Everything looks good. Got your measurements as 113 centimeters and about 42 pounds. We'll keep that IV line for now to let you get your fluids back. Now, I'm going to do something that you probably aren't thrilled about but I think you're going to find isn't a big deal at all." Dr. Lee spread out a plain, white diaper onto the table and with practiced movement hoisted Avery's feet and slid it under his bottom, wiping him clean and then bringing it up and taping it snugly around Avery's hips. "There we go, now the next 12-24 hours may be dodgy, but then you'll see continence return. As old as you are you might retain it but I would guess within the next few days that's going to diminish. After about a week you should have a good idea what your potty training situation will be. I wouldn't worry too much about it though, most of the kids here are in some form of protection."

"That must be convenient, having something so accessible so close by." Claire agreed with her friend. For a just a moment she worried what might happen to Ravio if the shop was busier or less little friendly and instantly felt herself become defensive at the possibility someone might grab him. The rest of the shift finished pretty uneventfully and finally it was time for the two of them to clock out. Jess made sure everyone knew she and Ravio were heading out before clocking them both out. "So, lead the way." Claire said. She and Ravio chatted on the way, it was nice to not be worrying about Laura or being on the clock. She did make a note to make sure she wasn't too far from Ravio. She wanted to make sure everyone knew he wasn't theirs to grab. "I didn't know you lived so close," Claire commented, "well, I mean I knew you were close since you walk but you've got everything in walking distance. Do you have a shopping list? We getting just the basics or are young going to make your poor Amazon friend carry a pantry home?"

"Yeah, good idea. Maybe some ginger ale, graham crackers that sort of thing?" As they got back on the road something occured to Jess, "Oh, hell. Hey babe? Guess what we both forgot?" Jess gestured to the back seat, "car seats." Jess just signed and shook her head, "I knew we'd forget something. Maybe we can just take the bus into town tomorrow with them, or one of us can go out later once we've got them in bed? One of us will just have to let them lap sit in the back. You've had them all day, I can take over if you want to drive home?" Jess and Ivy found a small corner gas station and pulled in. Jess stretched when she got out, 'oof, I'm getting old. Too much car time today." Jess started to fill up the car while Ivy started on the snack run.

"No problem. I'll take care of it and then we can go wash our hands and get back to it, OK? Oh, by the way, you can stick close to me today if you want. Laura seems like shes in a mood today." Claire kept her eyes looked on Laura every time the other Amazon picked up any wet ingredients, watching for any 'slips' that might lead to her dropping any on Ravio and insisting he change into some new clothes. It wasn't just Laura as a person Claire disliked, it was every time she was in Claire had to keep her focus split between doing her job and making sure Laura didn't try anything funny. If Ravio had been a tweener she probably could have brought it up as harassment if she could just get Ravio to go say something with her. The few times she broached it though, the topic got shut down. She was lucky she was a better baker than Laura even with half her attention on the job. Lunch rush passed in a flurry of activity and once they were on the other side, Claire and Ravio turned toward prepping the baguettes. Opening meant Laura would have to stay for close so that meant they'd get to leave soon and leave her far behind. "Not much longer now. You got a place you'd prefer? I don't know where you like to do your shopping?"

"I hope you make some friends too, hon. Wouldn't want you changing every rugrat the kiddos bring home all by yourself." Jess teased. "Must be," Jess mused at Ivy's comment on the cartoon. It was weird, the proportions of the characters seemed off, but maybe that was just the art style? "We're near the border, Canadian maybe? Could be a Naomi and Olivier? Well, we may find out later." "You know, I think we're probably good. It's probably close to time to get on back anyway. We've got the basics, anything else we can pick up when we take them out tomorrow. Oh! Tomorrow, they have jammies but not any clothes. Hey hon, I'll go through the line and pay for all of this if you can just run and maybe find them something to wear tomorrow when we take them out for actual shopping?" Jess made her way through the checkout and the cashier rang her and a returning Ivy up one after the other. It was then a quick haul of their stuff into the car. "Anything else you might want to look for or scope out before we head back?" * * * * * Ellie could hear voices but everything was surreal and dreamlike, she opened her eyes just a little to find herself looking up at a bright light with a little mobile delicately spinning from it. She could hear a gentle twinkling before closing her eyes again. "Oh, she's waking up." Ellie heard a voice but it she couldn't remember who it was. "The reversal agent is working. Get her height and weight please?" "Sure Dr.", another voice, "41 inches, 36 pounds. Another success." "Fantastic, I'm going to go check on her brother. If you could start getting her ready for discharge."

"Hey Laura," Claire interjected, "do you think you could get going prepping the baguettes? We're sitting around because we've been here since five." Claire gave Laura a look and got one in return. Still, Claire knew it was technically insubordination to ask someone to do their job. "Sorry about that Ravio, do you need a minute? Laura can be..." Claire trailed off, glancing over her shoulder to ensure her coworker was actually working and not evesdropping in, "a real piece of shit. I'm pretty much done with mine but I can stick around for a few more minutes until you're done so she doesn't come back over to bug you. Want me to get started foiling the leftovers up for you?"