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Billy and the Swapped Baggage – Short Story. “This is going to be my worst holiday ever!” Billy thought Billy followed his mother angrily. He tilted his head down and let his medium-length hair hang in front of his eyes. He wanted his hair to be longer, but his mother wouldn’t let him. Boys’ hair isn’t that long, she used to say before they went to the hairdresser. Billy dragged his luggage through the departure hall of the airport. Going on a trip was nice, but the way it had to happen was not. Billy knew he had a nocturnal problem and there was nothing he could do about it, and that the pee would come at night in his sleep when it came. But now it was before dinner! Why did he have to wear all that stupid Drynite already from home when it was nowhere near bedtime? His mother had argued that once they arrived at the airport, they would have to go through check-in, then security, then wait at the gate to get to the plane, and there was little chance of changing underwear. But still? Having to walk into that stupid Drynite. That alone made it his worst holiday so far. At home, Billy had spent a long time looking at himself in the mirror. First he had quickly put on the Drynite - he didn’t like to see himself naked - and then he had looked at himself with all his clothes on. Not quite the clothes he’d like to wear, not quite the style he’d like to wear, but at least they covered the Drynite well. His sister Mila, twelve years old and three years older than him, walked along in a happy mood. She was especially excited: it was the first time the family was travelling by plane, and she was amazed. She didn’t care about the little thundercloud that came along at the back of the queue. Billy’s mum tried to cheer him up. “You were so good in the school play at the end of the year, playing the title role. It looked really brilliant. And that was when it was the first time that you had ever acted in a play.” Billy was silent; it didn’t help. He’d been acting all his life, so he’d had plenty of practice, but she wouldn’t understand. Dad was checking the tickets and nervously scanning the area for the right desk. “David!” he suddenly heard someone shout and everyone looked around for the source of the sound. “Hey, hello Dirk, I didn’t know you were going on holiday too?” David and Dirk, two of each other’s colleagues, introduced their families. The family stood together in a small group and Billy faced a girl of about the same age who smiled kindly at him. “Hello,” she said shyly to Billy. Billy still felt furious inside, but of course it had nothing to do with the girl. He did his best to return the smile and quietly said “hello” in return. “Look, we have the same suitcase,” the girl said, pointing to her own luggage. Billy took a good look. He put his suitcase next to it for easy comparison. It did look exactly the same, he couldn’t detect any difference between them. Suddenly there was a horn and a car with a bunch of trolleys in the back drove towards them. Everyone quickly gathered their luggage and took a few steps to the side. The two fathers said goodbye and agreed to have dinner together after they had passed through check-in and security. With a sigh, Billy placed his tray on their table in the restaurant and sat down in his chair. He immediately felt the bulge under his bottom from the Drynite, and if he had a real cloud over his head, there would have been thunder and lightning all over it now. Billy had already noticed several toilets here and it seemed there would have been more than enough time to change. “Sorry, Billy,” said Els, his mother. It’s my first time on a plane too. “I didn’t know there would be so much time here.” In silence, Billy started to finish his plate. His mum had better understand that he was in a bad mood. Billy knew that there were underpants in his rucksack. His mum was terrified of luggage getting lost and everyone, including herself, had to carry clean underpants, a toothbrush and toothpaste in their hand luggage. He was eager to go to the toilet and switch his underwear until they had to board the plane. But he didn’t want to argue with his mum, so he put the idea out of his mind. “Here we are!” David waved to Dirk, who also came up. The girl came and sat down next to Billy with her food and they soon got to talking. They had some interests in common, such as theatre, drawing, crafts and reading. As Billy’s stomach filled and he chatted, his mood lifted a little. The other family left. Their flight had left fifteen minutes earlier. They were going to Turkey, while Billy was going to Portugal with his parents. The flight itself was disappointing for Billy. The take-off was exciting, but the time afterwards was like being on a big bus. It was dark and cloudy and there was not much to see out of the window. Billy kept himself entertained with a book for the first half hour of the flight, but then his mum made him put it aside to go to sleep. Billy didn’t feel tired and there was a lot of light and noise, making it difficult to sleep. With the monotonous hum of the engines and the lights turning off, Billy finally managed to fall asleep. Still half asleep, Billy missed much of the landing, check-out and taxi ride to the hotel. In the hotel room, his parents didn’t bother to change his clothes, they just took off his shoes, jumper, stockings and trousers. They saw that his Drynite was still dry, so it didn’t need to be changed. The luggage was put aside in a corner and soon the hotel room was quiet and dark as everyone went to sleep. The next morning, Billy woke up to his father muttering on the phone. While he was on the phone, he walked around and fiddled with Billy’s luggage. Els and Mila were also woken by the noise. David came back to Els and they whispered for a while. “Billy’s suitcase has been swapped with my colleague’s daughter.” Els sighed at the news. “They must have switched it by mistake before checking in. Dirk has already made enquiries at the hotel, and the cost of sending the luggage back is not for the company: after all, they have not made any mistake. And then there is the fact that it can easily take six days for everything to arrive”. “It’s almost not worth it.” Els thought. “That’s why he suggests that we just take the luggage home ourselves and exchange it later. Then nothing can happen to it.” “Tell him that’s fine. We’ll go shopping for Billy here.” David called back to Dirk to make further arrangements. Billy suddenly felt icy cold. There was a pack of Drynites in his suitcase! The other girl would find out he was wearing them! What would she think of him! Billy was now even more certain that this was going to be his worst holiday ever. “My Drynites,” he whispered to himself. Mila heard what was going on and knew what Billy was thinking. “Don’t worry about it. You will probably never see her again and who knows, maybe she has the same problem as you? Then she certainly won’t say anything about it!” “No, that is not possible. I’m the only one!” shot Billy. “No, you’re not the only one. I also met two boys, only a year younger than you, who also wear nappies to sleep. It was at Heleen’s birthday party. I saw the nappies over there in the bathroom. I think those boys were called Dries and Jasper.” Billy had a look of disbelief on his face. “That can’t be,” he said. “Anyway,” she said. “They used the same excuse like yourself. That they were for a little nephew who comes to visit once in a while,” she said with a smile. “Well, we can take whatever we want out of the suitcase and use it for Billy.” David said, ending the call with Dirk. “That’s nice, then we can get Billy into a pair of fresh clothes.” Els picked up the suitcase, put it on a table and opened it. “Let’s see what we can find.” Els looked around and found a pair of red shorts and a yellow t-shirt. The T-shirt showed that it was actually a girl’s model, but that was not very noticeable. She fished his underpants out of Billy’s carry-on and sent Billy to the bathroom to wash up. After David, Els and Mila had also freshened up, the family set off together to find the hotel restaurant for breakfast. After breakfast, David, Els and Mila wanted to explore the hotel and the surrounding area. Billy preferred to play on his games console in his room. David saw that his son needed some peace of mind and allowed it. They agreed that Billy would stay in the room until they came to fetch him for lunch, or to call on his mobile phone if he wanted to arrange something else. Billy settled down on the terrace of the hotel room and enjoyed a few games on his game console. But after an hour, the batteries were dead. Billy put his console aside to recharge and looked around to see what else he could do. He was drawn to the suitcase that was still open. He walked over and spread the clothes out on the bed one by one so he could have a good look. He was taken aback when he lifted a nightgown out of the case. There was a pack of Drynites too! Not the one he had; there was a girl on the wrapper instead of a boy, but otherwise it was the same. He wondered if his sister was telepathic. She correctly predicted that the girl had the same problem as he did. Billy was relieved to have an ally, someone he knew he could trust not to tell his secret. He took a Drynite out of the box and put it underneath his pillow ready for the coming night. This one had a different design than he was used to, but he didn’t mind. This one looked pretty nice to him. Under the pack of Drynites was another pink onesie with Disney princesses on it, which Billy also prepared for the next night. Happy now, he went through the rest of the clothes. He liked to lay everything out, make combinations and try to imagine how it would look on him. When he saw a particularly beautiful dress with glitter, he couldn’t hold back any longer. He took off his clothes, put on the dress and stood in front of the mirror to look at himself. Billy looked at himself and felt himself getting all warm. This looked like it should. With tears of happiness, he turned in a circle in front of the mirror and lifted up the bottom of the dress. After a moment of admiration, Billy looked back into the suitcase and saw something else he wanted to try on. He took a nice skirt and top and went back to the mirror. He admired himself one last time and then took the dress off. The underpants with the bulge in the front sticking out under the dress made him shudder. He quickly turned away from the mirror to avoid seeing that image again. He looked through the clothes in the suitcase and saw a pack of knickers. He took off his own boy’s underpants and put on the girl’s. Standing in front of the mirror again, he felt a little better. He quickly tucked his boy parts back between his legs, squeezed his legs together and stood up nicely. Now there was no sign of any bulge near his crotch. This was the way it was supposed to be. He was so jealous of all the girls who were born the way he was meant to be. Billy put on the top and skirt and rummaged through the luggage. After all, he had heard that he could use anything he wanted? He saw some hairpins in the toilet bag. He sat down on a chair in front of the mirror and fiddled with the pins in his hair. It wasn’t easy! Billy only paid attention to the suitcase and the mirror. He shut everything else out of his world for the moment. While he was busy with the pins, he suddenly heard the lock click and the door open. David, Els and Mila stood there looking at him in bewilderment. “Billy, what are you wearing now?” exclaimed Els. “Take that off, it’s not for you!” Billy’s eyes filled with tears. He had felt so happy for the last hour, and the disgust he now felt for his mother was emotionally damaging and heartbreaking. “But Mum!” cried Billy. “Why do you always make me pretend to be somebody I’m not? Why did you make me a boy, why don’t you love me?” Els had expected a lot, but certainly not that answer. David pushed everyone into the room and closed the door behind him. Els sat down and took Billy on her lap to comfort her. “I love you,” she sobbed back. As tears streamed down Billy’s cheeks, David and Els remained silent for a moment. With Billy’s last statement, some pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. The reason why he had always looked so depressed. Mila’s Barbies that had disappeared and been found in Billy’s room, the glittering shoes that Billy always looked at in the shoe shop before going to the boys’ section. His aversion to football and rough play. That Billy usually came home with girlfriends and rarely with boyfriends. That he wanted a doll for his birthday… The longer they sat, the more things came up. “Billy,” David asked. “Do you really want to be like a girl?” “No, Daddy, I don’t want to be like a girl. I am a girl already. I just don’t have the right kind of body.” Els made a quick switch in the back of her mind. “Billy, no problem. Keep the skirt and top on. Come and eat with us later that way. And if you want to try the other dresses, skirts, jumpsuits and everything else for the rest of the week, go ahead. We think it would be good.” Billy looked up at his mum. “So you do love me…” he said with a big smile. Mila, meanwhile, had rummaged through her own luggage and came in carrying a small make-up kit. “Come on, my little sister. We need to do something about your eyes.” Mila took her time with the eye shadow and then continued with the nail polish, lipstick and make-up. With a smile that David, Els and Mila had never seen before, Billy looked at himself in the mirror. “This is going to be my best holiday ever!” Billy said

Child’s Play A Story of Yayoi Yamamoto, Operative of SLA Industries by InkuHime (aka Incognito Himitsu) This is one of my favourite stories. I've done some rewriting on it since I first posted it years ago. This is an action adventure dark (grim dark?) science fiction story based on the TTRPG SLA Industries. There is a strong, central plot line that involves diapers, but it is not a conventional ABDL diaper story. Chapter 1 Here Comes the Rain Again A long, narrow truck pulled to a stop on the Lower Downtown raised walkway. The vehicle shifted back and forth as three men climbed out of the cab. Two were rather large, one husky, the other fat. The third was a thin man, covered from head to foot in leather. The one in leather was a Prop, a mercenary and killer for hire. He was known on the streets as ‘Bent for Leather’. They had stopped for the girl sitting on the edge of the walkway. Small, thin, covered by a dirty, plastic poncho against the ever-falling rain of Mort. It was hard to tell much about her, hunched over with her head resting on her chest as she was. Still, she looked young; the Skin Trade's biggest seller was youth. And if it turned out she was not young, well, pretty, still sold. And if not pretty… that was one of the things the Prop took care of. The fat man approached her first; he held a hypo-gun loaded with Bio-block in his chubby hand. It was a bold move, but it was dark, and the high, wet walkway was deserted. The girl did not even look up as he approached. She might have been already drugged out of her mind. So much the easier for them if that was the case. He was beginning to reach forward when the girl did something totally unexpected. She kicked back and rolled backwards off the walkway's side, dropping out of sight. The three men looked at each other, surprised, though it was difficult to tell with the Prop as his face was masked by leather strips. "Must've known what we was planning," the husky man said. "Chose death over getting caught." "Stupid little bitch," the fat man said. "Now we got to find another one to meet quota." He moved to the walkway's edge, looking down, expecting to see the girl's broken body forty meters below. A hand grabbed him around his ankle. A quick pull and he was falling, screaming all those forty meters to the ground. The other two had not seen what had happened; to them, it looked like the fat man had jumped. They stood there, trying to figure out why two people had just decided to throw themselves from the walkway. The muted rumble of a pair of fusion turbines made both men look upwards. Above them was a figure in a suit of Silverback armour. As the armoured angel tossed away a plastic poncho, the Prop understood. The girl had not jumped from the walkway, and it was very likely his fat companion had been pulled. That realization had him going for the pistols at his side. Before he could reach them, a knife—hurled with exo-armour-assisted strength—punched through his throat. Even as the Prop’s corpse hit the ground, the armoured figure alighted on the walkway and grabbed the husky man around the wrist. She hyperextended his elbow, twisted his wrist, and forced him onto his toes. He screamed in pain and then screamed louder as she jerked him around, flinging him over the side of the walkway and then holding him from a fall by his injured arm. There was something of a cat tormenting a small rodent in the actions. "Shut up," she snapped, giving him a shake. Her words and the agony cleared his head for a moment. Adrenaline flooded his body, chasing away the pain and giving him clarity. He knew he was in great danger and that his only chance of living rested in the hands of the small, armoured girl holding him. "That's good," she said as he stopped screaming. "Tell me, who you’re with?" "Slap and Tickle," he said, breathing hard, trying not to start screaming again. "And where are you operating?" "I can't tell you?" She let go of him, allowing him to fall for a moment before leaning forward and snatching him again by the wrist, bringing him to a painful stop. "You can." Tears were streaming down his cheeks, and he had lost bladder control. He was close to passing out from the pain. "They'll kill me," he sobbed. "What makes you think that I won't?" "Down at the old Handara warehouse, Level Three. That's where we were supposed to bring this load. I swear that's all I know." "Thank you," she said and then released his hand. He screamed until he stopped. She did not even watch. "This is Operative Yamamoto; I need a Shiver team at Walkway One Fifty-Six, Sector 7B, Lower Downtown, immediately," she said into her helmet's microphone. As she spoke, she stepped over the dead Prop and walked to the truck. "Roger that Operative Yamamoto," the voice on the other end replied. "Expect a team to arrive in five minutes." "That's too long.” She pulled open the rear doors of the truck. "I need them here now." "I'm sorry, Operative Yamamoto," the operator on the other end said calmly and politely. "There are no teams closer to your location." Yayoi keyed her microphone off and made a rude noise before turning it back on and saying, "Understood." Her tone was despondent; she could not help it, not when looking into the truck. A metal bar ran the length of the roof. Plastic ties around their wrists and over that bar, twelve people, very young men and women, girls and boys, were hung like meat. Few were tall enough that their feet reached the rusty metal grate beneath them. All so sedated that they might as well be dead. The desire to move caused her heart to race. Always before, when she learned of some processing centre, she would arrive too late. The big players who knew the names and had the client lists would be gone. There was a mole somewhere, leaking information to the Skin Trade. There had to be. Someone was getting in the way of the investigation, maybe even slowing the response time. Five minutes felt too long. She wanted to go but would not leave the victims there, where anyone, or anything, could get at them. So she waited until the Shiver unit showed up, rolling onto the walkway in one of their APCs. She gave them a quick briefing on what had happened. Made sure they knew what to do. Satisfied that the victims were in good hands, Yayoi leapt from the walkway, slowing her fall with her armour’s turbines. She landed gently on the rain-soaked road below, not far from the two dead men. Nearby, hidden under a pile of garbage, was her SCAF bike. The armoured security plates slid back at her command, the engine roaring to life. She straddled the vehicle, gave it power, and roared out of the alleyway and onto the street. Once she got some speed, Yayoi activated the main turbine, lifting the bike into the air. The hydraulic system pulled the wheels into the main body, changing the motorcycle into a one-man helicopter. Speed was of the essence now. Any chance of getting her hands on someone important depended on how soon she could get there. If they knew she was coming--and had to know she was coming--they would be clearing out. Seconds. She believed that it always came down to seconds. She would arrive to hear the echoing of a door slamming somewhere, the smell of cigarette smoke still in the air. Those who might know something already clear. The opportunity to score a telling blow to the Skin Trade was always out of reach. Maybe it was already too late, but she had to try. Go Fast. Go Faster. This time, it might be different. If only she could go faster. Soon, she was dropping below the raised streets, speeding among the web of walkways and roads, nearly scraping the buildings as she went. Three levels under the so-called surface of Mort was not too deep. Not when it was possible—if suicidal—to travel down 285 levels. Still, it was deep enough for her. She hated Lower Downtown for so many reasons, only partly because that was where her prey lived and thrived. Ahead of her was the warehouse, an old, supposedly deserted building. It looked abandoned, but the Skin Trade did not survive by making their presence visible. The SCAF landed on the roof of the building, the turbines throwing up a cloud of grit and dirt. She jumped off the bike, moving quickly, just in case anyone started shooting at her, making her way to a doorway on the roof. As it was, there was no threat there. There was not much of a threat anywhere in the building. As before, Yayoi had arrived too late, perhaps by less than a minute. That was all it would take for the people in charge to scatter and hide, going deeper into the shadows. There were always a few people who would remain behind. The stupid or the desperate, trying to salvage something of value. A kick of her exo-armour tore the door from its hinges. Yayoi followed, diving over the walkway and dropping to the warehouse floor, her automatic pistols ready. She ordered all there to put their hands on their heads and not move. Those too foolish to listen, she shot. It was a waste of bullets, but dealt with the problem quickly. Those that remained did as she ordered and, therefore, were just maybe smart enough to be worth questioning. There were also about sixty victims there, nearly half of them already dead. The Skin Trade was like any other business. They got rid of inventory that did not sell. She had to keep her temper as she questioned those she had left alive. They knew little, could tell her even less and were not nearly as bright as she had hoped. Hangers-on, temp work, just people looking to make a little extra money and not interested in asking too many questions. Mort was full of people like that. When the Shivers arrived, she turned the scene over to them and trudged her way back up to the roof. Looking around, making sure she was alone, Yayoi took off her helmet and screamed as loud as she could, as long as she could, until her throat began to hurt. She coughed for several seconds and then wiped some tears from her eyes. After taking a deep breath of the bad air, she put her helmet back on and got onto her SCAF. Time to go home.

Hermit Crab’s Dilemma by Inku Hime This story is only Tangentially adjacent to 'Chasing Emily' Ponderously, the colossal arm swung through air above their heads, the manipulator on the end turning through a set of programmed sequences. Then, just short of the cargo containers that were the target entire assembly shuddered with a sound of metal grinding on metal. There was a ringing sound as something snapped and the arm came to a halt. Something sparked and something smoked and the arm fell. It was pulled to a stop, just above the heads of the technicians, by the safety cables. There was gasps of shock and horror was one of the cables snapped and whipped down, just missing a woman who stood on the floor, looking up at the mechanical arm. She did not start, did not even so much as twitch. After a few seconds she turned away from the assembly and looked at a particular pair of technicians. Two men who stood near the computers that controlled the arm. “Miss Carroll…” one of them said nervously. The woman held up her hand. The man closed this mouth. Everyone in the room was starting at the woman now, except for a handful of techs who were putting out the fires. The giant arm no longer seemed like the most dangerous thing in the room. Miss Carroll was the tallest person in the room, even among the giant Amazons she was large. It was not just her height, she was also, well, no one would call her fat. The proverbial steel hand in a velvet glove, where the steel was muscle and the velvet the layer of flab that rounded her limbs and gave one a false impression of softness. That impression never lasted contact with the woman. She walked towards the men, sway of round hips and bottom, her breasts barely constrained by her clothing. Miss Carroll came to stop by the men. She looked down at them. Both men were giants, each over eight feet tall, but Miss Carrol had them beat. “Move gentlemen,” she said, her voice deep and rumbly, an alto that almost dropped into a tenor. The two men moved. She leaned over the computers. The men and woman watching imagined they could hear her bra straps creak. Precise in her typing, she did not fat finger the commands and a moment later information was flashing across multiple screens. “This is interesting,” she said, taking hold of the mouse and selecting chunks of the data. “Because it looks like someone did not follow my notes but tried something else. Reduced insulation, low tensile strength materials and there are two levels of surge protection missing. The last of the fires had been put out, the hum of the generators shut down. The lab was silent but for her voice. Everyone was looking at her. Miss Carroll looked up from the controls, straightened and turned her head to look at the men. Everyone there had the sense she was an adult looking down at a pair of naughty children. The two men looked at each other, then the taller of the two shifted half a step forward. “We thought that we cold realize significant savings,” he said, the tiniest quaver in his voice. “I see,” she said. Two simple words, voice not raised, flat in fact, lacking in any emotion. The man ducked his head as if she were yelling. When he did not say anything she asked, “And how did your cost saving plan go?” As the arm hung above them, the smell of smoke and ozone still in the room, the question was obviously rhetorical. “Please keep in mind that it is my money, and if I chose to waste it on silly things like effective design and safety that is my choice, is it not?” Her voice was still flat, which made the sarcasm all that more biting. This time it was obvious she expected an answer and both men chimed, again, like naughty children, “Yes Miss Carroll.” Miss Carroll looked away from the men, towards the other techs. “Mrs Roberts, Mr Grand, congratulations, you are now in charge of this project.” The two men looked, for the tiniest fraction of a second, that they wanted to object. They did not. “How long will it take you to undue these cost cutting designs and put everything to my specs?” Mrs Roberts and Mr Grand had a quick discussion, Mr Grand holding his smart phone as they looked over the data there. In less than a minute Mrs Roberts said, “Three days Miss Carroll.” “Counting today?” Mrs Roberts looked at Mr Grand. He nodded. “Yes.” “Very well, we will try this once again four days from now.” With that said she walked towards the room’s exit, her low heeled ankle boots thumping against the floor. When she had left everyone in the room visibly relaxed. Mr Grand walked over to the two men who had up until a few minutes ago been in charge. “Sorry about this,” he said. “But she didn’t fire you.” The taller of the two, the one had had put himself forward, shook his head. “She never fucking blinks when she looks at you, have you noticed that? I never know what she is thinking.” Mrs Roberts came over, looked up at the arm and then to the men. “She’s on the spectrum, probably part of why she has her focus. She’s a genius, if she does not want to blink, that’s her business, isn’t it?” The hood of the car was open. A clicking sound came from within, not the rumble the high-school students around it expected. “It’s not going to turn over,” the young man, a sixteen year old, nearly nine feet tall, said from the driver’s seat. “It’s the alternator,” another giant said. “We pulled the alternator and rebuilt it. It works fine,” an inbetweener girl with short hair said. “Maybe we broke it when we put it back in.” “I bet it the fuel line.” “We’re not getting spark, does not matter if there is fuel or not.” They argued. “…alternator….” “…battery…” “…fuel…” “…cracked…” Their teacher, an inbetweener, leaned against his desk, watching as his auto shop students tried to get the engine working. The single little in the room had been standing on one of the work tables, using the extra height to do her best to look into the engine. She jumped down from the table and went to the tool cabinet, looking through it until she found what she was looking for. None of her fellow students were watching her, but the teacher was. She walked to the car, moving among the legs of the taller students. None of them noticed her until she climbed up on the bumper and leaned into the engine. “Are you still here diaper duty?” one of the giants asked. “Shut it Ryan,” the teacher called out. “Sir, it’s not like she can figure it out,” Ryan said. “I said shut it.” The teacher was not as tall as many of his students, but like many inbetweeners who worked among the giants he had cultivated and attitude that often meant more than height. The little used a wrench to remove the battery cables from the poles. Then, with a rasp, she cleaned out the inside the clamps before putting them back. She gave the bolts a twist, the tools almost too big for her. After tugging each cable to make sure they were tight, she called out, “Try it now.” Behind the wheel the giant rolled his eyes and turned the key. The engine turned over and rumbled to life. “Good job Alice,” the teacher said as he pushed away from his desk and walked towards the car. “Shut it down.” A turn of the key silenced the engine. “That’s if for today,” the teacher said, “get out of here, don’t be late for your next class.” “Amazed that you know something about cars other than how to sit in a car seat,” a tall inbetweener named John said to Alice. There were a few laughs. Alice said nothing, just went and grabbed her school bag. “Hold up Alice,” the teacher called. Alice paused. When all the other students were gone he said, “Good work there, you pay attention.” “Thanks,” Alice said, shifting her weight from foot to foot. “Just wondering, you aren’t thinking of going into this line of business, are you?” “Car repair?” “Yeah.” “No, I want to go into engineering.” “Good, that’s good. I mean, not that you wouldn’t be a great mechanic, it’s just that, well…” “My size would make it hard,” she said for him. She almost managed not to sound bitter. “Yeah, well yeah.” He nodded. “You better get going. You don’t want to be late for your next class.” Not when for a little being late resulted in immature punishments for ‘lack of maturity’. Alice left. Louise Carroll was the founder, chief researcher and CEO of Wonderland Solutions. The names were not coincidence. She clomped loudly through the hallways of the building she owned, towering over everyone. Her laser like focus made people get out of her way, as if they were not quite certain she would stop. When the boss could crush you both figuratively and literally people tended to act on the side of caution. She stopped at the elevator and pressed the call button. A short time later the doors opened. The people within looked at her and then got out. She stepped in once they had vacated it. It did not pay to be in the elevator with Miss Carroll if the overload buzzer sounded. The door closed and the elevator rose, from the basement testing labs up to the twenty-third floor. Along the way the doors opened a few times on other floors. The people waiting the elevator took one look in and did not enter. The twenty-third floor was given over the conference rooms and meeting rooms of all sizes. “Good afternoon Miss Carroll.” “Can I make a meeting to talk with you about project 2C?” “You are looking well Miss Carroll.” “How did the demonstration go?” Carroll looked at the man, who was almost as tall as her. “Disappointing,” she said, answering him where she had more or less ignored the others. “How disappointing?” “Let’s just say Frenz and Smith are lucky I only took the project away from them.” “That disappointing? Too bad.” “It should be back on track by the end of the week,” she told him. “My two o'clock here?” “Saw a bunch of uniforms with fruit salad on their shoulders go into conference room F. Benny was with them.” “That would be them. God, I hate dealing with the military.” “Do you trust anyone else to deal with them?” He winked at her. “Not in the slightest.” Something that was almost a smile appeared on her face. “Can I meet with you tomorrow? I’ll have the numbers on the Henderson job.” “Check with my secretary.” “Will do boss, talk to you later.” Louise watched as her CFO walked off. She then stomped her way to Conference room F and pushed the doors opened. Too hard as it turned out for they bounced off the stops with a soft ‘bang’ and everyone in the room looked at her. Two bird colonels, a major, and a pair of young lieutenants who looked like they did not want to be in the room. Benny was seated between the two colonels, showing them something on his tablet. He jumped up when she came in, looked around guiltily. Everyone seemed uncertain as Louise walked to the head of the table and then took a seat. The chair creaked under her weight. “I’m busy,” she said, tone flat, face expressionless. Benny sat. “Right Louise, right.” Benny was a giant, on the small side, but definitely a giant. Shortest person in the room, except for maybe one of the lieutenants. She looked at the people in the room, gaze settling on one of the Colonels. Marine, almost as tall as her, almost as broad, but he was all muscle. “Well Colonel Iro, you’ve once more come to try my patience. Let’s get it over with.” Colonel Iro smiled in a good natured fashion. “Louise, you know that one day we are going to come to an agreement.” “Doubtful,” she said in her expressionless way. “We want you to consult, not build anything, not design anything. We’ll pay you two million to put you on retainer for our project.” “This how you getting your foot in the door?” He shrugged his shoulders and smiled. “What is it?” “Details are confidential, until you sign an NDA,” the Major said. Louise turned her attention to him. She held his gaze until he looked away. “Sorry,” he muttered. “It is a pacification system,” Colonel Iro said. “Non lethal weapons systems, capture and not kill, for troublesome populations.” “Who do you have building it?” “Can’t go into details, until we get the NDA,” Colonel Iro told her, “but I can say we got some big tech players working on this. You’ll be in select company.” She looked around the room, at all the people, her hard stare seemed to be judging them, and finding them all wanting. Louise stood. The springs in the chair relaxed with an audible creak. “Benny.” “Yes Miss Carroll?” he asked, jumping to his feet. “Look over the NDA and then send it down to legal. If I sign we’ll talk again,” she told everyone in the room, and then stomped her way out. She paused in the door, looked back at the people. She might have smiled, or it could have been a sneer. Then she left, closing the doors behind her. Benny sat down. “Well, that went better than I expected.” “I thought for a moment she was going to come across the table at me,” the Major said. “I had drill sergeants back in basic who seemed warmer than that woman,” Colonel Iro said. “Still, I felt it went well. What do you think Benny?” “As long as you don’t have anything stupid in your NDA she will probably sign it. That she’s giving you the opportunity to make your case is promising.” Colonel Iro nodded. “Like the woman said, we get our foot in the door, maybe we convince her to work with us, and you Benny, get to start bidding on military contracts.” “I do like money,” Benny said with a smile. The dorm nanny did not let Alice undress herself. She was not allowed the dubious dignity of that. The nanny took off Alice’s blazer and then skirt of the university little uniform. She then pulled Alice up across her knees. She placed her broad hand across Alice’s bottom, patting the seat of the pullup. “You know why you are being punished,” the Nanny said. “Yes ma’am,” Alice said, lying across the amazon’s knees, bottom up. On her first day at University she and the other littles matriculating had all signed a contract of academic behaviour. It covered how they would be treated, and how they might be punished. It had been degrading, but if a little wanted a higher education they often had to agree to such things. The nanny started to list off all the rules that Alice had broken. Not keeping her dorm room clean, tardy for classes, not eating all her vegetables at the cafeteria. It was that standard bullshit list of rules often tossed at littles when someone decided that it was time to punish them. Not that Alice argued. That would make things worse. She heard some laughter. The nanny had decided to mete out her punishment in the dorm’s common room. So there was an audience. Specifically a few first year engineering students who were of the opinion that Alice Rydel grades were too high. Specifically she was getting higher marks than all of them. The dorm nanny owed her employment to Alice and the other littles who were attending the University. She was not properly thankful to the littles who lived there. Grasping the waistband of Alice’s pullup, the nanny pulled the disposable from Alice’s bottom. Officially the nanny was not to give any little a bare bottom spanking. Alice could complain, but nothing would come of it. More laughter from the audience as her small bottom came on display. “Remember, this is for your own good,” the nanny said, and then brought her open hand down hard on Alice’s bum. A ‘crack’ off flesh on flesh, stinging pain as that big hand encompassed her whole bottom, Alice gasped, tears prickled her eyes. Ever since she had turned thirteen, any time she had been spanked, she had always told herself she would not cry. Every time she was proven wrong. It was not just the stinging, burning pain as her tush was spanked to a bright red. That was mostly it, of course. But it was also the feeling of helpless humiliation. Even before it really started to hurt Alice was sniffing with tears in her eyes. It was so unfair. She was not a baby. She was a big girl, no, an adult. No one else got spanked. She had not even done anything wrong. She had done things right. She had studied and learned and done well on tests. It was not fair. It was not fair. It was not fair. The laughter stung as well. She was sobbing and begging nanny to stop, saying she would be a good girl. Sobbing and tears gave her voice a particularly infantile tone and lisp. It was a feedback loop of humiliation. Nanny did not stop, just told her it was for her own good. The spanking took forever, a constant barrage of unending smacks to her ass. It probably was just two minutes, evenly spaced slaps. Nanny’s hand would also hurt a little, she was not allowed to use a paddle or other implement, thankfully. Alice would think about that later, when the sting had faded, but in the moment, it was just the never ending punishment. Finally it ended, and Nanny rubbed her hand across Alice’s bright red bottom. “Now, are you going to be a good little girl?” “Yes, yes,” Alice sobbed. “Well, let’s hope so little miss, or we’ll be back here for another bottom warming.” Nanny stood, picking up Alice as she did so, holding Alice in her arms, craddling the little against her large bosom. “Now, seeing as you have no more classes today I think a thick nighttime diaper and a nap are in order.” Alice did not want either, but she said nothing. The last thing she wanted at that moment was to make Nanny decide some more spanks were required. Behind her she heard Thomas Fairre say, “I would give that spanking an A+.” Laughter greeted his statement. Alice hated him, hated them all. Promised herself she would get back at them. Was not sure how, but she would. Maybe? Louise Carrol was a presence in Wonderland Solutions. She walked every space on every floor at least once a week. From the physical plant deep within the bowels of the thirty story structure to the roof top. Any employee, from the mailroom sorter to the CFO might find her suddenly in their workspace, watching them. The big woman could move quietly when she chose. However there was one place in the building that she did not often go. The employee daycare centre, where small children and adopted littles were cared for while there parents worked. But that she did not often go there was not the same as not at all. Some people thought it was to make her visits even more of a surprise, to keep the child care and early educator staff on their toes. And others thought she was an emotionless, cold woman who just did not like children. If you asked the children they would tell you it was the later. Perhaps lack of vocabulary might mean they would say, ‘Big, fat, scary woman’. Louise came into the brightly lit daycare, stopping in the foyer beyond the entrance doors and looked around. There were windows that looked into the various rooms in which the children (and littles) slept, played, ate and were otherwise cared for. She watched for a few minutes, somehow managing to go unnoticed. In one room a group of three and four year olds, and some littles, were taught their ABCs and numbers. In another room one and two year olds, and some littles, were playing a game that seemed to involve plushies and brightly coloured cubes. And then the children not yet a year old and some littles, were in their cribs for a naps. Things seemed to be going well enough. “Miss Carroll, what a pleasant surprise.” Louise turned. A woman had come in through the doors, pushing a baby carriage. “Kaitlyn,” Louise said levelly in way of greeting. Her deadpan expression did not reveal if she thought it was a surprise, pleasant or otherwise. “I was hoping we could meet, I would like to discuss the reconstruction project in old town.” Louise did not answer immediately. “You know my feelings on that project,” she finally said. Kaitlyn made what amounted to a throw away gesture. “I know, the bad PR angle, but I’ve been talking with Izzy up in Communications and he thinks we can spin it positively. It is mostly inbetweeners and littles living there now. It could be argued that we are doing them a favour. I was down there just a few days ago and saw how the littles especially need a guiding hand.” The baby carriage rocked slightly as its occupant moved around. Kaitlyn smiled. “Case in point. My sweet Prissy thought she was an adult who could run a bicycle repair shop. It did not take me long to show her the error of her ways.” The little in the carriage was tightly swaddled and a pacifier was held in her mouth by a strap. Her head had been shaved, only a single tuft of red hair left on her the crown of her head. It made her look very much like a newborn. “Prissy is joining all the other tiny ones today. I think she is going to be very happy there, for a very long time.” She smiled down at the once woman in the carriage. Her smile was mixed with maternal warmth, captor cruelty and hit of contempt. Tears ran from Prissy’s eyes. Louise looked on with her usual cold expressions. “Would you like to hold her?” Kaitlyn asked. “No.” “I’m surprised you don’t like children. You have such a maternal figure.” She was calling her boss fat. However Louise expression suggested she either did not understand the insult or did not care. “I like them fine, I just don’t have time.” “Well, maybe one day you will, or you will find just the right little who will melt you heart, like little Prissy did for me.” She used the handle to rock the carriage back and forth on its springs, softly bouncing he little within. The look on the little’s face and the sounds she managed to make behind her pacifier gag suggested her heart had not been melted. “Perhaps,” Louise said, diplomatically. “Talk to my secretary to arrange the meeting. We’ll talk.” With that Louise turned and walked from the daycare. Kaitlyn pushed the carriage through the foyer into the reception area. A woman came out of the nursery. “What that Miss Carroll?” she asked. “Just coming by to scare all the children with her icebox exterior,” Kaitlyn said. “Oh, Mrs Dynes, you can’t talk about her like that.” “To be honest I think I could insult her right to her face and she would not realize what happened. But I am not here to talk about our boss. I want to enrol little Prissy here into the nursery section.” The daycare worker leaned over the carriage and looked at the girl within. “Adorable. She’s to be kept with the precrawlers?” “Yes, the little dear may eventually earn a first birthday, but I do find the newborns to be charming.” “Of course,” the worker said. In the carriage the girl sobbed. “Holy shit!” Thomas Fairre said as he jumped back from the swinging manipulator arm. “Be careful please,” Alice said from where she sat at a lab bench, “still working out some of the fine control.” Alice had an armature around her right arm and hand. Movements she made with that arm the larger manipulator arm matched. “You stupid little, you could have killed me.” Alice said something softly under her breath, but then in a louder voice, “That is why I locked the lab door and put up the danger sign.” “I need the lab,” he said. “I’ve got it booked for the next six hours,” Alice told him. Thomas stared at her, eyes wide. “Well I need it.” Whining in the larger members of the population was not a favourable image on them. “Then you should have booked it.” He took a few steps towards her, “Listen you little, I won’t be…” What he would not be was not made clear for her suddenly jumped back again as the arm apparently went wildly flailing. “What the hell?” “Danger sign, the floors marked with hazard tape,” Alice said as with her left hand she typed some commands into her laptop. He looked down and took one more step back, beyond the black and yellow line of tape. “Shut this down and get out. I need to work on my senior project.” “So do I,” Alice told him, not looking away from her laptop. Thomas looked as if he was about to take a step forward, but the arm swung by and made him rethink his plan. “Get out!” he yelled. “What is all this noise?” Both Alice and Thomas looked towards the sound. One of the lab doors was opened and a giant was looking in. “Professor Jameson,” Thomas said, “I’m sorry, but this little refuses to leave the lab.” He looked between them, then asked, “Do you have the lab booked?” Thomas’ eyes narrowed, his mouth open for a moment. He said, “Well, no, but she’s a little.” Professor Jameson shifted his attention to Alice. “Did you book the lab?” “Three weeks ago.” “Well then, she has use of the lab Tom. You should have booked it.” “But she’s a little!” “Yes, I am aware. But the money she uses to pay her tuition is just as big as your money.” Thomas stared at the professor in open mouthed shock. Then with a curse he turned and left. “You should have bolted the doors from the inside,” Professor Jameson told Alice once Thomas had stormed out. “I assumed the danger sign and the locked door would have been enough.” “I’ll lock it for you.” “No, I got it,” Alice said as she entered a few more commands on the laptop. She then turned and reached out. The manipulator arm stretched out, longer than before, reaching for the door. The eight fingered hand turned the deadbolt and then set the manual bolts. “Remarkable,” the professor said as he watched the arm retract back to its earlier length. “How did you manage to make the hydraulics so small?” “I don’t use them. I use ferromagnetic semisolids.” Professor Jameson stated at her open mouthed. “Surely you’re joking.” Alice shook her head. “It’s something I’ve been working on since my first year. I’ve almost got all the kinks worked out.” “It’s unfortunate.” “Pardon?” Alice asked, frowning. “You won’t be able to go on to further your education, and really, it is not as if you’ll find work as an engineer in any sort of reputable firm.” Alice said nothing, just stared, wide eyed. “Surely you must already know this. It is not as if littles are taken seriously.” “I’ll manage, I’m sure,” Alice told him. He shook his head. “And you’ve made something of an enemy of Thomas.” “I’ll deal with him,” Alice muttered. “I’ve been dealing with him since my first year.” “You should come and live with me,” Professor Jameson said. “What?” “My wife would be delighted to have you.” “I am sure she would,” Alice said cooly. He did not seem to recognize the tone, or dismissed it. “And you would be protected from any of Thomas’ retribution.” “I’ll be fine. But thank you for your concern.” He shook his head. “You littles, you never really understand, but I won’t force you, not while you are a student.” He smiled. Alice felt a little sick to her stomach. “I look forward to seeing your senior project presentation. Good luck. Call me if you need anything.” He left her, returning to the room he had come out of. Alice turned back to her laptop, entering another set of commands. Later that evening when Alice returned to her dorm room she found her bed replaced by a locking crib. The dorm nanny was there, smiling. “Alice dear,” she said, “I’ve heard that you’ve been falling out of your bed.” Alice turned to look at her roommates, other littles. They looked guilty, and would not meet her gaze. They did not speak up for her. “We want you to be safe, so you’ll be sleeping in a crib from now on. Now, I know you littles are want to be naughty, so we’ll be locking you in, but don’t worry, nanny will put you in extra thick nighttime diapers. Isn’t that wonderful?” Alice choked out, “Thank you nanny.” Thanking the woman for what was a bedwetting sentence made her feel sick, but Alice had no choice. One day she would get back at Thomas and the others who had tried to break her. One day. Alice squeaked in surprise as the dorm nanny grabbed her up in her arms and carried her over to the room’s changing table. “Let’s get you ready for bed-bye sweety.” One day. Louise’s office suite took up a quarter of the thirtieth floor. Her assistants had their own offices, there was a private bathroom, a public office, a private office, a kitchenette, and a conference room. It was in that conference room where she held most of her personal meetings. A professor from a prestigious university had requested an opportunity to meet with her to discuss the placement of some Masters program students. He was already there, drinking coffee, when she entered. Placing the cup down her stood. “Miss Carroll, thank you for taking the time for meeting me.” “The pleasure is mine Professor Jameson,” she told him, expression flat. She shook his hand and then sat. “These are some of the students I would ask that you consider. They all are in an honours Masters degree program and would benefit from a summer internship with Wonderland Solutions.” She fanned the folders out with her big hand, looking at the names on each of the folders. “I see,” she said “Your university is known for the quality of its graduates. It is why I was willing to see you.” “Thank you, we pride ourselves on the quality of our education.” She just nodded as she opened one of the folders and glanced at he transcript within. “There was another reason I came here Miss Carroll. I had a question I wanted to ask you.” She looked up from the folders to the professor. Her expression was flat as she asked, “What?” He broke their gaze and looked away as he asked, “Did you adopt Alice Rydel?” Her expression did not shift as she asked, “Who is Alice Rydel?” Professor Jameson looked at her again, trying to hold her gaze, as if he was trying to gauge her truthfulness. Again he looked away first and said, “She was a student, her work shares similarities to your company’s designs.” “This Alice, she’s a little correct? That’s why you asked if I adopted her.” “Yes.” “So you are accusing me of stealing her work?” “No, no,” he said with a shake of his head. “If you had adopted her then her work would in a way belong to you.” Louise said nothing, just pinned him with her stare. He started to sweat and wiped his brow. “It’s just that some people are interested in her work, and she disappeared right after graduating.” “I hope they find her then.” “Yes,” he said nervously. “Well, then, thank you for your time.” “Which ones?” she asked. “Pardon?” “Which of these student would you suggest I consider?” “Well, they are all skilled and bright. If you could take all of them the university would appreciate it. I can’t really say that any are better than the others.” She swept the folders back into a single pile and picked them up as she stood. “Very well. You’ll hear back from me in a month or so.” He stood as well. “Thank you very much Miss Carroll. And if you do hear anything about Alice Rydel there would be some people who would appreciate knowing.” “How long?” “Pardon?” “You said she disappeared after graduating. How long ago was that?” “Three years. About a year before you started Wonderland Solutions. Some people think you might have been in contact with her…” “Three years is a long time. If you find her she might not even be able to count to ten anymore, let alone give you whatever you hope for.” He again could not meet her gaze. “Yes, that’s true.” “Never put your trust in littles Professor. There is no future for them.” “Yes, I’m afraid of that.” “Please excuse me,” she said, and then turned and stomped from the room, holding the folders. “You can see yourself out.” He watched her go and once she had left he said, “What a cool customer she is.” Then he gathered up his things. Louise did not pause as she walked into the office of her chief assistant. She dropped the folders on his desk. “Internship candidates. I don’t see why we cannot take them all, I’ll leave that to you.” He gathered the folders up and flipped through them. “We’ve got enough scut work to keep them busy. If they apply themselves they might actually learn something. When do you want my report Miss Carroll?” “Three weeks.” “I will get right on it,” he told her with a smile. “Good. I’ll be in my private office.” “I will make sure you are not disturbed.” “Good.” She left his office and passed through her public office, the place where she met people when the conference room would not suit. Where she worked with them on the minutiae and the mundane. Everyone knew that her private office was where she did her real work. There were whispers of lovers, or kidnapped littles kept in a hidden nursery. Because she never let anyone in the rumour mill churned along. Louise unlocked the door, entered and locked it behind her, sliding a manual bolt in place. The door was thick, the walls reinforced and soundproofed. The office had no windows. It was obvious she wanted her privacy. She took of her suit jacket, put it on a wooden hanger and then hung it on a coat rack by the door. She walked to her desk, stood in front of it and began to unbutton her blouse. After pulling the tails from her pants waistband she reached up and unclasped her front hooking bra. The garment released her pendulous breast, letting them hang free. Louise straightened, arms dropping to her sides, and she went perfectly still. A vertical seam appeared, running from the base of her neck to her navel. Two horizontal lines opened up, across her collar bones and belly, from hip to hip. The seams opened up, in a disturbing manner, her entire chest and abdomen swung open. Instead of revealing internal organs, the space within her torso was a small cockpit from which Alice Rydel stepped out. She was wearing a sweat stained t-shirt and a wet pull up. Walking to the edge of the desk she lowered herself down to the chair. Kneeling on it, she pulled out a drawer in which her laptop was kept. Reviewing notes and recording of camera feeds throughout he building she clicked her tongue with disappointment. “Unblinking, cold, getting the emotional range and expressions right is going to take forever.” She looked up at her amazon mecha suit. She had never met people in person for the first year she had been using it, always dressed her suit in long coats and hats and scarves to cover its face. Even now most people assumed Louise Carroll was autistic. Alice could accept that for the prototype, but if she was going to produce more she would have to fix it. Fortunately she was getting help. Another email had arrived, more files, improved algorithms for the mech’s facial actuators and the AI behind them. “Looks like you got the blinking error fixed, that will help Louise come across less lizard like,” Alice said as she read through the notes. She did not know who the mysterious programmer was. Probably another little as the price of her help was her own amazon mecha suit, when Alice was able to start building them. No one would notice one corpulent, autistic, genius amazon. They would notice several, so Alice was not making the tech available until she was sure she was safe. Again she looked at her suit and she smiled, thinking about some of the names on the folders that Professor Jameson and brought her. Thomas Fairre and a few others had better read their internship contracts well before the signed them. If they did not they were going to learn a valuable lesson. Well, valuable to Alice.

Games of Chance Games of Skill by Inku Hime This story is not a continuation of sequel to Chasing Emily. Consider it Chasing Emily Adjacent. Emily shows up a few times, but this is most certainly not a story about her. No changes to this story, except for adding chapter headings due to length Chapter 1 - A Lucky Little or a Little Lucky? The back room of a bar, cases of liquor and glassware stacked against the wall or upon the shelves. In the middle of the room, space had been made for a card table which sat upon the bare concrete floor. Above the table, an extra set of fluorescent lamps cast harsh white light down on the card players. Seven people, six of them firmly in the category of inbetweeners, one of them, at a sliver over five feet, a little. The little was a fine-featured woman, with long brown hair and soft golden brown skin, dressed in a flattering little-black-dress. A few other people were standing around the room, or sitting on cases of booze, watching the game, acting as runners if anything was needed, and those that called the game’s results to bookies. People would bet on anything. Three of those at the table still had cards and chips, and therefore were still playing. The little was one of them. Three watched. One time players that had gone bust but could not pull themselves from the table. One, a woman in a suit, was the dealer. The little had her two hold cards, and four face up. Two aces, a two and a five were showing. Another of the players, an older man, dark hair greying, a little doughy, leaned back in his chair, looking at the large pile of chips in front of the little. “About time you start going mad Kelly girl. Bet is to you.” Face up in front of him were two queens, a king and an eight. The little, who had been sorting her chips, looked up. “Is it? Well, I’d rather be loosing having fun than win being bored. I’ll see your two thousand and raise it four.” She pushed six piles of chips into the middle of the table. The furniture was scaled to inbetweeners, so she could sit on the chair with her bare feet on the cold concrete, but had to shift forward to the edge of her seat to slide the chips across the felt of the table’s surface. The third active player, younger, taller, more handsome than any of the men at the table, peeked at his hold cards as if perhaps they had somehow changed, then called, putting six thousand into the middle of the table. He was showing a jack, a ten, a six and a four. The dealer looked at the active players. A few people moved closer to the table. She burned the top card, putting it aside, face down, then dealt the three players their last card. Kelly got a jack. The young man scowled for a moment, gone when he was next dealt a jack himself. The older man got a second king. He smiled. “Mr Ivanhoe has the highest showing,” the dealer said. “Bet is to him.” “Eight thousand,” he said, then paused, “if we are all agreed on going over table limits?” He smiled. “Fine with me,” Kelly said, high, slightly burred voice. “Yeah, whatever,” the younger man said. Mr Ivanhoe pushed the chips forward. “Call and raise sixteen thousand,” Kelly said and moved twenty-four thousand in chips into the middle of the table. “Kelly girl is chasing rainbows,” someone said from the crowd. Someone said into a cell phone, “The little got a jack and has raised.” The pot had grown large in the earlier betting, and the chips on the table represented a small fortune. There had been eight players when the game had begun, long hours before, and the buy-in had been ten thousand. The young man, looked between the two players, his gaze passing over Kelly as if he was discounting her, then holding on Mr Ambrose for several seconds. He put his chips into the pot. “Call.” The dealer looked at Mr Ambrose. “Call.” He put the sixteen thousand into the pot. The pile of chips in front of the men were diminished. Kelly had a significant number of chips remaining. She was in for at least another round. “Your cards gentlemen and lady,” the dealer said. The young man moved quickly, turning over another jack and a ten. “Full house, jacks over tens,” the dealer announced. Ambrose, with a smile, gently turned his two cards: A six and a queen. “Full house, queens over kings,” the dealer told all those listening. The young man stared daggers at Mr Ambrose, and in the crowd who had gathered close someone said, “Lucky Robert’s got a horseshoe up his ass.” There was a soft sound of a pair of cards turning over. “Quite appropriately,” the dealer said, “a baby straight.” Everyone turned to look towards Kelly. She had turned over her hole cards, a three and a four. “You’ve been betting on a straight since the third card?” Robert asked. She smiled. Kelly stood up, looked at the scant number of chips that remained in front of the two men. “Thing about chasing rainbows is that eventually, you catch one.” She slipped her feet into the heels she had earlier kicked off. “I am going to cash out. A good evening to you all.” “Wait a second,” the tall, young man said, standing, reaching for Kelly. A big, knobby hand came down on his wrist. He looked to the hand's owner. A man, about six a half feet tall, with a misshapen nose that looked as if it had been broken so many times it no longer knew what shape it should heal into. He was broad across the shoulders, it made him look stocky. Dressed in a suit, bowler hat pulled low on a big, round head, he seemed to dominate the room. The tall man took a step back or tried to, but the grip on his wrist stopped him. “Yous got a problem?” He had a harsh voice, low, grinding. “Who are you?” the tall man asked, almost stammering. “I’m Kelly’s daddy, and I don’ts like it when some mook threatens my baby. Yous got a problem with the game?” “She won.” A few people laughed. “Someone’s gots to win, and mores gots to lose. Maybe you don’ts want to lose to my girl you ought to play in other games.” He released the man’s hand. “Let’s go Kelly girl.” “Yes Daddy,” Kelly said, all smiles as the man in the bowler hat put his hand on her shoulder, engulfing a good part of her slim back, and directed her towards the door. Outside was an empty bar, but for a man behind the car counter, counting out money. “Cashing out Mr Gordo,” Kelly said. “You banked fifteen thousand earlier, and with your winnings,” he sorted through all the money on the table, “sixty-eight thousand, four hundred and twenty-five dollars. House cut is ten percent, I’ll round up that fifty cents in your favour…” “You’re the soul of generosity.” “…which gives you Sixty-one thousand five hundred and eighty-three dollars.” He put the money in the envelope and then handed it to the man in the bowler hat. “Thanks,” he said, putting the bulging envelope into his inside, jacket pocket. It made for a significant bulge in the jacket. “Going to count it?” “I knows you don’ts wants me coming back here if I find it short.” “True.” “Comes along Kelly girl,” he said, grabbing her again, leading her from the bar. “Did I do good daddy?” she asked. He did not answer for a few seconds before saying, “You did okays Kelly girl.” Outside the bar, he led her along the dark street, under pools of lamplight, to a black sedan parked on the side of the road, with eight other cars. The man in the bowler slipped a young man a hundred. “Thanks for watching the cars.” “Thank you,” the man said, stuffing the bill into his ratty jean pockets. The man with the bowler opened the passenger door, let Kelly get in and pulled her seatbelt across her, then closed the door and circled to the driver’s side. A few seconds later the engine rumbled, and the car pulled away. Kelly sat in the back seat, kicked her heels off, glad she was large enough to not legally require a car seat. At least not while she was in a car sized for inbetweeners. There was a thump as the envelope with all the money landed on the seat beside her. “Yours winnings Miss Fortuna.” “Thank you, Ken,” she said and picked up the envelope, pulling the bills, mostly hundreds, out of it, counting. “You’s got to stops asking me if you done good. Almost started laughing.” She smiled. “Sorry, Ken.” She reached under her seat and pulled out a zippered, canvas pouch. “Stop by the bank, I want to drop most of this off in the night deposit box.” Ken made a soft grunt of affirmation. Other players left shortly after Kelly did. No one liked following Ken too closely. One of them, a nondescript man who had lost early in but had remained for the whole game, wandered farther away from the bar than the others, walking several blocks, to a better neighbourhood, and a large, well lit, gated parking lot. There were a few cars parked there overnight, one of them a giant-sized, red coupe. The man opened the passenger door, had to grab a handhold to pull himself up into the seat. “The little is the one you want,” he said to the giant who sat behind the wheel. The engine started with a purr, and the driver pulled out of the spot. The sun was still minutes away from raising as the sedan crossed the bridge, leaving the city behind for the suburbs. Kelly leaned her face against the cool window, looking out over the water. “Gots any other games coming up?” Ken asked from up front. “Nothing soon, and nothing needed, not after tonight’s win. Gordo has probably got another ten thousand buy in coming up in two months. We could fly out to Vegas in a week or two, see how I can do at the tables.” “Sounds good Miss Fortuna.” Ken asked nothing else, and Kelly closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of cool glass under her cheek. She did not open them until she felt the car slow and turn. She owned a lovely house in the suburbs, not huge, but it had a good sized yard and privacy. Most of her neighbours were giants, but they never bothered her. Not with Ken and his smashed in nose and huge hands around. When they entered the house, Kelly asked, “Going to do anything Ken?” “Just watch some TV, until I falls asleeps.” “See you later then,” she told him and started up the stairs, which were just a little too high for her. The house had been sized for taller inbetweeners or smaller giants. Kelly could move about it, but it all seemed large to her, and she had never got used to it. She took a long, hot shower in the too big glassed-in shower stall. Then, with a towel wrapped around herself, padded into her too big room where she had to use step stool to get onto her giant scaled queen sized bed. It was far too big for her, but she loved all the space. Closing her eyes, she took in some long, deep breaths. She just wanted to sleep all day. She turned over, burying her face in the big pillow. It smelled fresh. The maid had been in yesterday so it would be two days before she came back. No one would be knocking on her door, asking her if she was in. She hated being woken like that. Hugging her pillow tight to herself she laughed softly. She had made fifty-thousand dollars that night. Like Robert has said, she usually went a little mad when the pots got huge, and the games were near their endpoints. She loved betting hight, she loved bluffing. Always she made sure to get back her initial stake and about half of that on top of it. Once that was secure she just wanted to play. She had lost small fortunes, in one case a large one. She had won them as well. No matter what she always had enough to pay back her debts. Flipping over onto her back, flinging out her arms and legs she thought back to the first person who had ever set her up with a stake. “Amelia,” she whispered, a smile on her lips. “What do you need the money for Kelly,” Amelia asked. Kelly looked down at Amelia. She had to. Amelia was a little who was not quite four feet tall, with long, blonde hair, and beautiful blue eyes and a sweet voice that sounded like it should be singing the ABC song. Kelly never said it, but when she was with Amelia, she understood why some of the giants wanted to baby littles. What she did say was, “I’m joining in the poker game that Dummy Diane’s father runs out behind his warehouses.” Amelia’s eyes went comically wide. “Are you insane?” “Maybe. Probably not.” “Diane and her clique of mean girl Amazons are bad enough, but her father is a total monster.” “Come on Amelia, no more of this ‘all giants will put a little back in the nursery’ stuff. You are beginning to sound like a crazy person.” Amelia frowned. Kelly thought it looked like she was pouting and it was so darn cute. “Well,” Amelia said, “they won’t even let a little play.” “Littles have played before. You pay the stake, and they let you in.” “Did any of those littles ever win?” “Well, not sure about that.” Amelia gave her a hard state. “Hey,” Kelly put up her hands defensively. “I’m not stupid. I got this worked out. I got back up.” She used her thumb to point behind her. Across the football field, near the fence that surrounded the school ground, an inbetweener was leaning against a tree. Amelia shaded her eyes. “Is that,” she paused, “Ken Dorchess?” “That is him.” “They kicked him out of school.” Her pure voice sounded alarmed, it was, as many things about Amelia were, cute. “I heard they were going to send him to prison.” Kelly shook her head. “Schoolyard gossip. He’s a decent guy. Likes money, likes fighting, makes a great bodyguard.” “But, Mr Combine and the others, most are giants.” “Ken’s like a rattlesnake. Sure, a rattlesnake might be smaller than you, but it is all bad temper and poison. Do you really want to hit it?” Amelia shook her head. She pulled an envelope out of her pocket and held it out to Kelly. “Two thousand dollars.” Kelly took the envelope. “Thanks, Amelia.” She bent at her knees to lower herself so she could hug the other girl tightly. “And don’t worry,” she said into Amelia’s ear. “You’ll get all this back and half again.” “I don’t care about the money stupid,” Amelia told her. “I just want you back safe. I don’t want to see you end up in a nursery.” Kelly released her and took a step back. “Why Miss Black, I do think you love me.” Amelia blushed, then shook her head. “Just shut up and go.” Kelly laughed and turned, striding confidently across the empty football field, overgrown with summer grass. “Good luck Kelly!” Amelia yelled from behind her. Kelly turned and gave her a wave. Chapter 2 - Secret Agent Man A loud thumping sound woke Kelly from her half remembrances and dreams. She crawled across her bed and then stepped down onto the footstool. There was another thump. Was Ken moving furniture around or something? She grabbed a t-shirt and pulled it on, leaving her room and walking to the stairs. At the top she found herself looking down at a scene that she could not comprehend immediately. It took her a few seconds to sort it all out. Ken was down there, in a fight, with a giant, a man who was near twice his height. Ken swung one of his big, hard hands out in a wild haymaker. Kelly had seen that punch catch giants just as big, right in the gut or the groin, and drop them. However, this giant turned, just enough, and dropped his hand, knocking the punch aside as he moved behind Ken and kicked the inbetweener in the back of the knee. Ken stumbled forward a step, but his knee did not fold, Straightening he drove the back of his head hard against the man. Ken had experience fighting giants, the giant, on the other hand, seemed at somewhat of a disadvantage against his smaller opponent. Or at first, Kelly thought. It was only a few seconds later after the two had exchanged a few more attacks and counterattacks that Kelly realised two things. The giant was going out of his way not to hurt Ken too badly, and he was also doing his best to keep the noise of the fight down. As if he did not want to be disturbed. Kelly ran down the hall, to her room, found her phone among her clothing. She stared incredulously at the screen and the fact that she had no bars. Letting her phone drop into the pile of her clothes she ran across the hall, to a room that served as something of an office, and where she had a landline. On picking up the phone, she discovered there was no dial tone. Whatever was happening it was no simple home invasion. She ran back to the top of the stairs where she watched the final moments of the fight. The two were on the ground, the giant had his legs wrapped around Ken’s throat, one of Ken’s arms in a lock. Ken was struggling, hard, but every second those struggles got weaker and weaker. The giant was choking the life out of him. Then Ken went still. The large man shifted around, onto his knees, pulled something from the pocket of a ripped sports coat. He secured Ken’s hands behind his back and then looked up at where Kelly stood. “He will be okay,” the man said in a surprisingly smooth baritone. “Bruises and sprains. Please don’t try to run away.” Kelly spun in place, thinking to do just that, but then she wondered where she would go. Climbing out of the window on the second floor was just going to leave her standing on a ledge with a drop that would probably break her leg. Likely some of her nosy neighbours would call family services if they saw her climbing out a window. She turned back, saw the big man lifting Ken onto his shoulder. “I can promise you that this is not whatever you think it is. We need to talk.” He walked away, towards the living room from where she could hear the sound of the TV. Kelly nearly fell as she rushed down the stairs, towards the front door. Pulling open the door she discovered an inbetweener man there. She recognised him from the poker game. “Please, just go back into the house,” he told her. Behind her, she could hear the heavy footsteps of the giant. The inbetweener smiled at her and then pushed the door closed. Kelly turned slowly. The giant man stood at the end of the entry hall. She noticed his head was close to the ceiling. He had taken off his jacket, wore a sweater and a pair of dark jeans, a shoulder holster apparent without his jacket. “I would like to talk to you, Miss Fortuna.” Kelly found her voice. “Why?” He looked at her, frowned. Perhaps not used to explaining himself to littles. A lot of the giants were like that. “I need your skills as a gambler.” “Excuse me?” He turned and walked away, deeper into the house. Kelly followed. In the living room, Ken lay on the couch, still out, looking as comfortable as a man who was trussed up could. “I gave him something to keep him out,” the big man said as he took a seat in a chair too small for him. The windows shades were back, and the room well lit with the rising sun. Kelly got her first good look at the man. Short, dirty blonde hair, cut neat, pale blue eyes, fair skin. He had a strong, straight nose and a strong chin. It was a very handsome face. And his build, suggested strong, lean muscles, an athlete. Her cell phone had been jammed, her landline cut or interfered with, and this man was armed. What’s more was that she realised that had that man wanted to hurt Ken, or had been willing to make more noise, it would not have even been a fight. She had not known giants like that existed. It was the first time she felt at a loss, that the natural confidence that she could get through life entirely on her own terms was somehow misplaced. Maybe Amelia Black had not been so crazy, not if there were more giants like this. Kelly shook her head angrily in a silent denial. “Who are you?” “You can call me Steven, Mr Artimage where formal address is required.” Kelly took a seat, choosing one of the smaller chairs, so she did not have to climb into it. “What do you want Mr Artimage?” “As I said, I need your skills as a gambler, as those are skills I lack.” “I don’t understand.” He said nothing for a few seconds. “There is a man I need to get to. That man is a gambler. Currently, my best way to get to him in the manner I wish is to keep him from winning a high stakes poker game. I need you to play in this game, to beat him. It does not matter if you win in the end, as long as he loses.” “What game? Where?” “The ‘Cartes D'or Triomphantes’ in Monaco.” Kelly sat back in her chair. For a moment she felt as if she could not breathe. “You know of it?” Again the angry shake of her head. “Of course I know of it. The game has a twenty-million Euro buy-in.” “I’ll cover it.” “You’ll cover it? Just like that?” “Just like that.” “It’s invitation only.” “I have an invitation, it is yours.” “They don’t let littles play!” “They don’t offer littles invitations. And who would give one to them? But if you show up with an invitation and the buy-in they will let you play.” “Why me? Why are you here?” “Four years ago you played in the Cartes D'or Petites.” She nodded. “By all accounts, you should have won, but apparently you…” “Chased rainbows.” “Yes, that is how they described it. You bet high and bluffed often.” “I enjoyed it.” “I am not surprised. Littles tend to lie.” She looked up at him, wondering if he was trying to pick a fight. He looked back at her with a ‘matter of fact’ expression. When Kelly did not say anything else, he continued, “I will need you to put that aside. You won’t be playing this game for fun.” “What do I get if I win?” “I’ll pay you five million dollars.” “That’s a fraction of the pot,” she said. “It’s not your money that is providing the stake.” “And if I don’t win, but knock your boy out of the tournament? What then?” “A free round trip to Monaco and a generous per diem.” “That’s it?” “Adults don’t reward failure Miss Fortuna.” Real nice, she thought, but said, “Fine.” “You didn’t ask about the third option.” “That’s because it is not relevant.” He smiled. “Who is it you want me to beat?” “A man named Conrad Revel.” “The same Conrad Revel that won the Cartes D'or Triomphantes last year?” “The same. Does that scare you?” “Are you,” she almost said stupid but went with, “kidding? A chance to play in a tournament with someone like him? If you’re not jerking me around, I look forward to it.” “I assure you, Miss Fortuna, that I am not playing some elaborate hoax.” “Why do you want Revel to lose?” “That is need to know Miss Fortuna.” “Is this something illegal?” He smiled. “You are just playing in a poker tournament. What could be illegal in that?” “Nothing I guess.” “You have a valid passport?” She nodded. “Yes.” “Can you travel tomorrow?” “Tomorrow? But…” “Yes or no?” It was not a tone that brooked explanations of the need to cancel newspaper delivery and arrange someone to pick up the mail. “Yes,” she said and wondered if, even as the words left her mouth, she would regret it. He stood, picked up his jacket from where he hung it. From a pocket, he produced a business card and held it out to her. In her hands, it was more a playing card than the business card it looked when he held it. “My contact information. On the back is the address of an FPT site, a username and password…” he paused and looked down at her. “You understand what those are?” “Yes, I know,” she told him, tone exasperated. “Good. You can download what information I have on the confirmed players. Look at it all.” He put on the jacket. “I will be here tomorrow at 9am. Be ready to go. Pack light.” She was about to ask what ‘pack light’ meant when he pulled a knife from his pocket, flicked it open, and moved towards Ken. “Wai…” she started, thinking he was about to kill Ken, so there would be no witnesses, but instead, quickly, he cut the bonds that held him. “What?” he looked over his shoulder at her. “Nothing, I just sneezed.” He looked doubtful but said, “9am tomorrow,” as he folded the knife up and returned it to his pocket. “9am,” she repeated. “Packed light.” “Packed light,” she agreed, sighing. He left her there. Kelly looked at the card. Neat lettering, Steven Artimage, Vice President Green Imports, London England. There was a phone number, an email address and a website URL. She flipped the card over. In neat, cursive script was the FTP site address and the login credentials. She sat back in her chair, wondering what she had gotten herself into. But, to play in the Cartes D'or Triomphantes… It was worth whatever trouble she ran into. Chapter 3 - You got to Plan, even if you trust to Luck Later Ken and Kelly sat in her office, Ken close behind, looking over her shoulder. She had four monitors set up, which was a little excessive as she really had a hard time focusing on more than two at any time, but it looked neat. On one screen videos of Conrad Revel playing were being shown. On another flight booking information and another showed the odds currently being offered on the tournament. However, the screen that she and Ken were focused on was the website for Green Imports. “Looks fake,” Ken said. “Looks real, but that a man like Steven Artimage would work there, that seems fake.” “It’s what I meants.” She nodded. “And no mention of Steven Artimage anywhere else.” “Fake name.” “Maybe, or a name that people are trying to hide.” She slumped in her chair. “I suck at this kind of computer research.” She moved the betting site to the monitor in front of her. “Looks like they figure that Izzy Aster is going to go out first. That will change once they know a little has entered.” “Should I bets on you not being the first out?” “Sure, it will be some easy money. The odds will be decent enough.” “And bets on yous to wins every hands that you plays.” “Catalina is the best bookie to be working with. That lady will never believe that a little can win. You’ll clean up. She’s gonna get so pissed.” She had already worked out the amounts that Ken could bet, based on how much his working capital grew. She would never win every hand, but with the odds Ken would get she only had to win one in four to make a lot of money off this. She moved the flight booking information onto the screen. “We’ve got your ticket. Maybe you’ll even be on the same flight as me.” “Once you sends me the informations on where you are in the city I’ll be close.” “Good.” She’d feel better knowing she had Ken as backup. Finally, she put Conrad Revel in front of her, watching the man play. “Hows you gonna beat him?” Ken asked. “I have no idea.” It was close to 9am the next day when Kelly had finalised everything with Ken. “I still don’ts likes this,” he told her. “I’m still not entirely certain of it myself, but I am willing to take a chance. To play in the Cartes D'or Triomphantes, and 5 million if I win.” “It’s a lots of money.” “It is. And we can make more.” She took a deep breath. “Wish me luck Ken.” “Goods luck Miss Fortuna, but you don’ts need it.” She smiled up at him, then opened the front door, stepped out onto the porch. Ken stepped out behind her. At 9am on the dot a large, red, sporty looking coupe pulled through the gates and rolled up the driveway. It stopped in front of them, the passenger door and trunk opening. Ken had to help her into the car, but he knew to do it by offering her a hand up as opposed to picking her up. She settled into the huge seat. Ken leaned into the car. “Yous better takes of her,” he warned Steven. “You don’t need to worry,” Steven told her, then reached across the car to pull the door shut, forcing Ken to jump back or be hit by the door. “Rude much?” Kelly asked. He did not answer. She heard a soft thump that she guessed was Ken tossing her bag in the trunk and then the sound of the trunk closing. A moment later Steven was driving away, following the circle drive at the front of the house and then back towards the gates. Not that Kelly could see where they were going. “Your bodyguard is waving.” Kelly raised a hand above the window that she could not see out of and hoped Ken saw her farewell wave. She asked Steven a few questions, but he was not forthcoming with answers, so she gave up soon enough. They spent an hour driving in what Kelly thought was an uncomfortable silence, made worse by the fact being unable to see where they were going made her feel a little car sick. Eventually, they stopped, Steven parking the car in a garage that, by the sound of things, was near the airport. He opened the door but did not help her out. It was easier to get out than to get in, and she slid down to the ground, glad she had worn jeans instead of a skirt. He was waiting, holding out her small, overnight bag. It looked tiny in his hands. She took it, noting his overnight bag would have been a duffle bag were she carrying it. She should have asked for a definition of ‘pack light’ because it was possible she could have brought more stuff. He led the way, probably taking shorter steps, but she still had to jog to keep up. They did not go into the main terminal but circled around out to where the private aircraft flew in and out of. The silver, private jet that sat on the tarmac seemed huge to Kelly, as it was sized to giants. The waiting attendant, a pretty woman probably around 9 feet tall, had to help her up the boarding steps, and into the plush, leather seats. She was kind enough but spent too much time telling Kelly where the bathroom was and encouraging her to ask if she needed any help. “These are leather seats after all,” she finished off with. Steven sat and showed no interest in the attendant's conversation with Kelly. Not long after, faster than any commercial flight she had been on, they were in the air, climbing. The captain, a calm sounding woman, announced when they had reached their cruising altitude. The attendant came back, asked if they wanted anything. Steven asked for a whisky and water. “A gin and tonic,” Kelly said. The attendant looked towards Steven. “Get her whatever she wants,” he told her. “Thank you,” she said to Steven. He did not answer. A short time later the attendant came back with their drinks and a booster seat. “This will make you more comfortable,” she explained to Kelly. Kelly suspected the sunken plastic seat which would hold an accident would make the attendant feel more comfortable about the safety of the leather seats. “Is the only way I get my drink is if I sit on that?” Kelly asked. “You’re so cute,” the attendant answered. Kelly let the woman set up the booster seat. It actually was a little more comfortable and gave her a better view. Finally, she could enjoy her drink. Being on the flight to Monaco, drinking a gin and tonic, reminded her of the last time she had seen Amelia. “This is where you are going to live?” Kelly asked. “What’s wrong with it?” Amelia asked back. “Its kind of, well, old, drab, out in the middle of nowhere, there is a blacksmith on the first floor… I mean you might as well have stayed back home in butt fuck nowhere and worked fixing farmers’ computers.” Amelia shook her head. “This is much better. Great internet connection and no giants.” “Cause every giant is gonna try to grab you.” “They are.” Kelly shook her head. “Listen, why don’t you put that crazy idea aside and get a new crazy idea. You could be a cat lady. This place looks perfect for a crazy cat lady.” “You’re pretty lippy for someone coming to ask for money.” Kelly laughed and hugged Amelia. “You know I’m just bustin’ your adorable chops.” “I have chops?” Kelly smiled. “Okay, I can give you forty thousand dollars.” Kelly blinked. “I was only asking for ten, and I felt guilty about that.” Amelia shrugged her small shoulders. “I’m actually pretty well off. Had some good paying work in college. And if I give you this much you have to ask fewer people for the rest. I’ll feel better. “Cashiers check okay?” Amelia asked as she produced the slip of paper. “That’s great Amelia, I mean… I don’t know what to say.” “Just tell me you’ll be safe. I can’t believe you are still doing this gambling, and around giants.” “Don’t worry. I got Ken around, keeping any grabby people away.” “He’s still with you?” “You sound surprised.” “I thought he would be in prison by now.” “Not nice Amelia,” Kelly said, angry and showing it. Amelia took a step back. “Sorry.” “He’s a good guy. We take care of each other.” “Are you…” “What? With Ken? No. He’s not my type, and I’m not his. He still calls me Miss Fortuna most of the time.” “Well, I’m glad then.” Kelly walked to the window, looked out over the mostly squat, old buildings. “Still, you went to that fancy college. Why aren’t you working for some big company in a nice office?” “You know why.” Kelly looked back at her friend and shook her head. “Amelia, you can’t hide away. You got to spread your wings, like me.” Amelia did not answer. Kelly sighed. “Fine. Any place around here where we can get a drink? We’ll toast our reunion and my guaranteed success at the tournament.” “There is a bar close by. The bartender is a weird blind guy, but he makes a good gin and tonic. Do you really think you are going to win?” she asked as she walked to the door. “I am going to try, but the sure money is on the side bets that Ken will be making.” “Side bets?” She opened the door to the hallway. “That I win the hand. Those odds are always going to be long, so I don’t even have to win the tournament to pay back all my loans and get enough money to buy my house.” She followed Amelia out of the apartment. “You’re going to buy a house?” Amelia closed and locked her door. “Yeah, got my eye on one in a nice neighbourhood.” “I hope you get it. Oh, in case you need some computer help, my card.” Amelia produced a plain, white business card from her pants pocket. Kelly took it. “Emily Black? Why did you change your first name?” “There might be some people from college who would look for Amelia Black. No one is ever going to look for Emily Black.” Chapter 4 - An Outing With 'Daddy' Kelly was startled out of her thoughts when Steven asked, “You looked over those files from the FTP site?” Kelly took a sip of her gin and tonic. Almost as good as the ones that blind bartender close to Amelia’s place made. “I did.” “What do you think?” “I’ve seen Izzy play before. He’s not as good as he thinks he is, and he pays to play in tournaments like this so he can be around great players. He’ll be the first one out.” “That is what the bookies think.” She nodded. “Lyle Redmond is good, but not as good as he thinks he is, and I am pretty certain he is never going to consider me a threat, even if I were to win every hand. He won’t believe that I can bluff him and he’ll assume he can always bluff me. A man more dismissive of littles I don’t think I have ever seen.” “Be careful around him. Apparently, he is thinking of adding another little girl to his nursery.” “Some people want big families I guess, but I’m not worried, Daddy. You’ll be there to protect me.” “Daddy?” He sounded shocked. Kelly looked over at him. “That’s part of Ken’s job, to make a pretence of being in loco parentis.” “I’ll have someone else take care of that. While you are playing, we don’t know each other.” She was a little surprised but said, “Fine.” “Continue.” “No idea about Charles Wright, he is sort of an unknown. Even the stuff you gave me did not tell me anything.” “What does that mean?” Kelly had thought about it. “He’s either an unknown ringer or he is someone who’s been prepped for this, in hopes he will be good enough. If the former he is a threat and if the later I expect him to drop out soon.” “When will you know?” “First few hands probably.” “And Conrad?” “I don’t know if I can beat him.” “The entire purpose of you being here is to beat him.” “I know, but he’s good. I watched those videos you sent me and was never able to tell when he was bluffing. It might be better if I am in the same room as him, but I think it will come down to skill and maybe a little luck.” “I don’t like counting on luck.” “And yet you sought out me.” He frowned, then shook his head. “You’re skilled, and you are unexpected. Those will be of benefit. That is why I brought you into this.” “I plan to win,” she told him. “I’m glad otherwise I’d have to find someone else.” They talked a while longer about the four players they knew, but it was a conversation quickly exhausted. Afterwards, it was just polite, filler conversation, and little of that. Steven started flirting with the attendant, and she was quick to start flirting back. Kelly slept for a bit, in her reclined chair, and when she woke she saw Steven was gone. Soft moans from the back of the plane suggested where he and the attendant were. She squirmed for a bit, picturing what was happening. She almost got up to go and peep but decided against it. It would just arouse her all the more with no option of release. So she closed her eyes and went back to sleep. Monaco was hot and wealthy. Almost everyone in the city was a giant, the few littles that Kelly saw were being treated like babies. She had never been in such a city, the Cartes D'or Petites had been held in Montpellier farther along the coast. They passed quickly through customs and outside the small airport a giant scaled, silver sports car awaited them. There was a booster seat in the passenger seat, and Steven lifted her up and put her into it. “We’re not going to do anything that would attract attention,” he told her before she could object. Then they were driving into the city proper. It was still early morning, though late night back home, and Steven drove them right to the hotel and casino. They checked in and were shown to their suite. “Would you like a crib brought in sir?” the bellhop asked Steven. “No, that won’t be necessary.” “Very good,” he said, and then left after Steven had tipped him. “Get some rest, we’re going shopping this afternoon.” “Right,” Kelly said. She saw Steven’s room, larger, with a king-sized bed. She did not begrudge him as he was a big man. Her room in the suite was smaller, but not by much, with a twin sized giant scale bed that would be more than big enough. The lack of a step stool meant she had to use one of the chairs to get up on the bed. The mattress was amazingly comfortable. So comfortable she slid back down to the floor and slipped the sheets aside so she could get a picture of the label. She would look into buying one when she got home. A useful thing to do with all her winnings. While she was doing that she had heard a knock on the door and then the sound of Steven letting someone in. She had just finished taking the pictures when a maid came in and with an ‘excusez-moi’ stripped the bed of its sheets and then put a plastic protector on the mattress before remaking the bed. “There you go sweetheart,” she said in accented English before scooping Kelly up and putting her on the bed. “Now be careful not to fall off, or your papa will have to have a crib brought in.” She then ruffled her hand through Kelly’s hair before leaving the room. That was annoying, Kelly thought, glad that the plastic protective sheet did not rustle when she moved about. She considered for a moment removing it, just to make a point but making the large bed seemed like more of a chore than she wanted to undertake. Still on the bed she stripped down to her panties and then climbed under the sheets. She grabbed her phone and texted a message to Ken, letting him know where she was. Then she closed her eyes and went to sleep. Steven woke her around 1pm, knocking on her door. About thirty minutes later, after showering and brushing her teeth, she was ready to go in a pair of tan shorts and a green t-shirt, her hair combed back into a functional ponytail. Steven was dressed in a linen suit, clean shaven, painfully handsome. She smiled at him. He merely nodded and said, “Let’s go.” Not very talkative, she thought, but that seemed to be his way. If it was not about business, he did not engage in idle conversation. In the lobby, he checked with the concierge to see if there were any messages for him, and then to have his car brought around. The parking valet helped Kelly into the car as Steven got in, and then they were off. He pulled the car to the side of the road, just outside of the hotel. “Take this and keep it with you at all times,” he said, taking a key fob from his jacket pocket and giving it to her. “The keys to the car?” “Just to open the doors. It is not as if you could drive it.” Kelly did not know if he was being cruel or just pointing out the obvious. She nodded. “If you get in trouble, if you need help, just get in the car.” He pointed at the GPS screen set low on the dashboard. “Tap that twice, then press the red button that will appear and ask for help. Someone will be there to answer.” “A lot of support for someone who works for an import company.” He did not react to that, instead said, “Remember, I need you to blend is as much as possible. That will be hard enough for you playing in the tournament, but other than that I need to you look and behave like any other little in this city.” “I’ve seen a few littles in this city, and I don’t think much of that.” He shifted into drive and pulled away from the side of the road. “Part of the arrangement.” His tone told her that it was not open to negotiation. Again she supposed she could put up with a lot for five million dollars and the opportunity to play in the Cartes D'or Triomphantes. They drove into the city, old buildings and streets, to a stretch of shops with high fashion displayed in every window. Steven pulled the car into a small lot, then walked with Kelly back along that street to a store with windows filled with the dresses for children and littles, and in this city, Kelly thought, there was no real difference. “How can I help you?” one of the women asked Steven when they entered the shop, completely ignoring Kelly. “I need four party dresses for her. Conservative, in the latest fashions.” The woman looked down at Kelly for the first time. “Of course. What is the occasion?” “She’ll be interacting with adults in a formal event.” “Red would look nice with her skin tone and hair colour.” “I was thinking various shades of white.” “Of course.” No one was asking Kelly. Really, she wondered how those littles who chose to live as children or just were incapable of handling the adult world dealt with that sort of treatment. Well, she could put up with it for a short time. The woman helped her up onto a stand that was not quite as tall as Kelly herself, putting her at a manageable level for the giant to work with. The shop clerk brought out dresses, showing them to Steven and then holding them next to Kelly, commenting on how the colours flattered her. As they were all very childish, with empire waists and large bows in the back, Kelly would have chosen none of them, but after an hour Steven and the woman had picked out four. “I’ll need her measurements if we are to get these adjusted to her fit. And you’ll need them when?” “Tomorrow night, or the next day early.” She produced her smartphone and entered a few notes. “We can do that. It will be a little extra.” “That’s fine.” Kelly was tempted to ask if this was coming out of her five million but supposed that was the sort of question that would attract the attention Steven said he did not want. “Let me get her undressed and into a diaper so I can measure her.” “A dia…” she started to say, but she caught Steven’s hard glance, and the words were left unuttered. He asked, “Is that the current fashion?” The woman laughed good-naturedly. “Of course. No one would take a chance with such an expensive dress and a little or small child.” “As you say,” Steven told her with a smile. Kelly did not argue as the woman led her behind a folding privacy screen and then speedily and skillfully undressed her before Kelly even had time to suggest she could do it herself. Kelly tried not to act embarrassed, though she had a hard time not cross her hands over her small breasts. The woman was probably about eight feet tall, so she could not quite handle Kelly as if she were a toddler. She rolled out a changing pad and said, “Lie down honey.” Kelly did, the quilted plastic surface of the changing pad soft but a little cool. “Bottom up.” Kelly lifted her bottom so the woman could slide a diaper under her. She gently pushed Kelly down so her bottom settled into the thick padding, then spread her legs out so she could pull the diaper up around her. Kelly flushed a little at that. It was not that Kelly believed wearing a diaper made her a baby, or that she would be using one if it was put on her. As a little, diapers were sometimes demanded, and she rated them as just another impractical pair of panties, of the same kind but on the exact opposite scale as a thong. She had worn thongs before when the situation demanded, and the same with diapers. It just had been a long time one had been put on her as if she could not handle the relatively simple task herself. The woman fastened the tapes, then ran her fingers along the leg gathers, long fingernails gently grazing the skin of her thighs. “A perfect fit.” Then she pulled Kelly to her feet, patted her diapered bottom and then her head. Next came a white cotton vest that smoothed out her breasts a little, and a filly pair of bloomer diaper covers, which hid the shallow curve of her hips. So dressed she was led out from the privacy screen, with little concern that she was only in underwear (even though the underwear actually covered more of her than the shorts and t-shirt she had been wearing). No one really paid that much attention though, which she disliked more than the diaper and the bloomers. She was once more placed on the stand to be measured, and then the dresses that Steven had chosen were put on her, small chalk pencils used to mark where they needed to be taken in or let out. Steven had his phone out and took pictures of her in each dress. She suspected that she was blushing in each one. “We’ll need some casual clothing as well,” Steven said, “current styles, she can wear training pants with those.” “Are you sure?” the woman asked him. “Very.” “As you wish.” And there were more clothes brought out, though less attention was given to them than the dresses. Kelly left the shop wearing a white sailor style dress with black trim and a pair of thick cotton training panties under it. Everything else would be delivered to the hotel. “Do we really need all this?” “The tournament is broken up into two, five-hour games each day, with a four-hour break between each game,” he said. “Yes.” “Usually they end late on the second day, or the early the third day.” “Yes.” “So you’ll need at least three of the dresses, and everything else is a bit of a blind, though you’ll wear some of it before we are through here.” “I’m certainly not going to wear those twenty-five pairs of training panties she made you buy.” “One would hope.” She wondered if he doubted her. Was all it took was a little to put on a childish outfit for the giants to start questioning their ability to take care of themselves? She did not have much time to think about it for there was more shopping. Steven took her to a shoe store where he showed the clerk pictures of Kelly in the dresses and then got four pairs of shoes, all patent leather mary-janes with a small heel. The also picked up some other shoes to go with her more casual outfits, including the black leather t-strap ballet flats that she wore out of the shop; the clerk having enthused that they were the perfect thing for her sailor dress. Steven went to a shop where he picked up a tuxedo and two suits, with a lot less bother than it had taken for even one of her dresses. She wondered if male littles under care did better in the clothing situation. It was not something she had ever thought about before. In a small shop, he bought her two small handbags for her dresses and then he took her to a jewellery store where she almost forgave him. Three golden chokers and a pair of hair combs, tortoiseshell and edged in gold, were purchased for her. The chokers each had a small golden decoration on them, a heart on one, an angel on another and a star on a third. “Hold out your hand,” he said to her, kneeling down, so he was closer to her level. She held out her right hand. He captured it easily, her entire hand lost in his big one, and she felt him fasten something around her wrist. When he removed it, she saw a beautiful, gold wristwatch, the kind where you could see the movement of the action. “It’s beautiful,” she said. “Just make sure you don’t take it off.” She was pretty sure he was telling her not to lose it and said, a little petulantly, “This is mine now.” He did not say anything for a moment, and then, “I think I heard that is one of the toddler rules of possession if they want it it is theirs.” Kelly blushed and found herself stammering as she said, “It’s just that…” He stood, cutting her off. “Let’s go.” She followed after him and for a moment felt as young as she was dressed. The shopping trip must have been finished for he took her out for dinner at a nice restaurant. She had to sit on a booster seat, and order from a child’s menu, which was designed not to give her any food which might make a mess. When they got back to the hotel room, he told her to go to bed. “Rest up, make sure you get over your jet lag.” “Okay.” Curious she asked. “What are you going to do?” He said nothing to her for a few seconds and then, with a smile, said, “That’s none of your concern to worry about.” Chapter 5 - In the City with Nanny Marie The next morning, as Kelly padded out of her room, wearing a t-shirt she had brought with her, rubbing at her eyes, she found Steven, well dressed, sitting out on the balcony, finishing off his coffee. “I’ve asked for a maid to serve as your companion for the duration of our stay.” Kelly climbed up into the chair opposite to him and kneeling on it, reached for the bacon and one of the croissants. “Why do I need a companion?” “To keep someone from snapping you up. As you said, in loco parentis.” Kelly chewed on the bacon and then asked. “Companion or nanny?” “There’s not a difference between them as far as a little is concerned.” “Really? You drag me all the way here and then act as if I am a mindless drooler?” He looked somewhat confused. “I’m not sure why you are upset.” “You’re not…” Well, of course, he was not sure. She sighed. “You’ve brought me here for an adult job, in so much as you are able to, would it kill you to think of me as an adult, and that maybe being told I need a nanny is a little insulting.” He stared at her as if she had done something shocking. “Mr Dorchess takes care of you.” “That’s different, he’s my bodyguard.” “And this woman will be serving a similar role.” “Ken doesn’t think he needs to change me!” Her tone got a little snappish. “And I am sure as long as you don’t wet your diapers this woman won’t think she needs to change you either.” He got up from the table. “Her name is Marie Frontè. She should be here in a few minutes,” he told Kelly as he walked to the door. “Listen to her, try not to attract too much attention.” Then he was gone. Kelly stared angrily at the door for a few seconds, then grabbed some more of the bacon and shoved it into her mouth, chewing it with gusto before stuffing the croissant in after it and reaching for the coffee decanter and cup. “Listen to her my ass,” she said through a mouth full of food. When she heard a knock at the door a few minutes and all the bacon later she got down from her chair and padded over to the door. The security lock was not latched, so she did not have to pull up a chair to unlock the door. A pretty giant stood there, with a smile on her face. “Hello Kelly,” she said in accented English. “I am Miss Frontè, and I will be your best friend while you are in Monaco. Won’t that be nice?” Kelly wondered about ‘best friend’ and almost asked her new bestie if she wanted to go and get drunk at the bar and then maybe go find a male strip club. Not that that was something Kelly did, but part of her wanted to shock the smiling Marie Frontè. However, recalling Steven’s instructions, she said, “Yes Miss Frontè.” “Good girl, now,” she entered the suite, shooing Kelly away from the door before she closed it. “Let’s get you cleaned up and dressed for the day.” Kelly had been able to persuade Marie to let her shower on her own, but only if she promised not to lock the bathroom door. She would not be convinced to let Kelly chose her own outfit for the day. ‘You want to look fashionable don’t you?’ she had asked. ‘Just trust me, I am French, and therefore fashion is as natural as breathing.’ It was a stupid reason, but not one that Kelly could come up with an argument against. So she ended up in a pair of training panties, white tights, and an A-Line dress with a short skirt. The dress was pink, with a white peter pan collar and stripe that went down her front and another that crossed it just below her hips. She thought it looked like a pink version of the Swiss flag. Marie put a matching hat on her head and declared Kelly ‘comme il faut’. With the same ballet flats she had worn the day before Marie took her hand and led her from the room, promising her a day of fun and admonishing her to say something if she needed to use the potty. ‘Training pants are a big responsibility’ she told Kelly in all seriousness, in what Kelly had to admit was a cute accent. The day was spent being a tourist in Monaco, with Marie leading her from various attraction of interest, to public restroom, to attraction, to restroom, in a cycle that continued even though Kelly never used the restroom in those enforced visits and instead only when she asked to go. Asking to go was annoying. Being praised for it was even more annoying, cute French accent or no. They saw many things, beyond the inside of numerous public restrooms. There was the Oceanographic Museum, and the Opera House, and the Jardin Exotique, and the Saint Nicholas Cathedral where Marie had her place some flowers on the graves of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace. Other than minor flashes of annoyance when Marie dragged her off to a restroom, it was actually an enjoyable day. They arrived back at the room late in the afternoon to discover all the dresses had been delivered. “Excellent,” Marie said when she saw all the outfits hanging from the top bar of a luggage trolley that had been wheeled into the room. She walked over to them and looked at them in the clear, zippered, plastic bags they had been placed in. “Comment adorable.” She plucked a cream coloured dress from the rack. “We shall check these for fit, oui.” It was not a question, and Kelly had little choice as Marie escorted her into the bedroom. “We don’t need the diapers,” Kelly said as she saw Marie take one from a package that had been delivered with other things. “Don’t be silly Kelly. It is how they are worn. It is tres comme.” “But…” “Hush now,” Marie said as she tossed the diaper on the bed and then picked Kelly up and set her beside it. Kelly realised that those littles that proved themselves incapable of taking care of themselves (and she knew she was not in that camp at all) really would have little ability to resist once a giant took them under their care. She could try to fight off Marie, but she was pretty certain all she would do was annoy the tall woman. Marie looked like a slim model, but she was all dense muscle, and she easily handled Kelly as if she were a kitten. Kelly was stripped naked and left lying blushing on the bed as Marie went to hang the dress she had been wearing in the closet, checking the state of the training pants at the same time. She returned to the bed with a smile as she grabbed the diaper and shook it out, the plastic rustling and popping. Unlike the woman at the store, she did not ask Kelly to lift her bottom, but grabbed Kelly’s ankles and lifted her bottom from the bed so she could slide the diaper under her. Marie pushed her legs apart so she could draw the diaper front up between her legs to be fastened securely with tapes. A quick check to make sure the diaper was on correctly and then Marie pulled Kelly to her feet and put her on a chair. “Stand up tall, hands over your head,” she ordered as she then drew one of the vests down her body. Next with the frilly bloomers, pulled up her legs and over the diaper. Finally, the dress was put on her, the sash tied into a big bow at the back. Marie turned her then so she could look at herself in the vanity mirror. An adorable little girl stared back at her from the mirror. “I could eat you up you are so cute,” Marie said and placed a kiss on the top of her head. She then fussed with the dress a bit before declaring it a perfect fit. “Now for the next one,” she said happily as she carefully removed the first from Kelly. After the impromptu fashion show, Marie took Kelly down to the hotel’s restaurant for dinner, then back to her room where she put her to bed. “I was told you need to get some rest, so I want to promise me you’ll go to sleep,” Marie said. “I promise,” Kelly said. “Good girl,” the woman said and kissed her on the forehead. She smelled nice, Kelly thought. Then she was out of the room, turning the lights off behind her. Kelly heard her exit the room. She untaped the diaper she had been left in and tossed it into the trashcan, then found a pair of regular panties from her carry-on bag. She was going to actually sleep, it had been a busy day, and she still had a touch of jet lag, but she was not going to sleep in a diaper. Sprawling out on her bed Kelly closed her eyes and breathed slowly, in through her nose, out through her mouth, until she was asleep. Hours later a knocking on her door woke her. She sat up, fumbled for a t-shirt, and then went and opened the door. Steven stood out there. “Where have you been?” she asked. “I have some more information on the others in the tournament.” “Show me.” He set up a laptop on the coffee table, pulled a chair up close. The giant-sized table was low enough that Kelly could kneel and see the computer. Caroline Jay, tall amazon, had entered a few small tournaments, won a few, no real details on her. Otto Kruugen, short giant, almost an inbetweener, she had heard of him. Old man, had been playing for years. She watched some of the videos of him playing for nearly thirty minutes before Steven asked, “Well?” “Caroline is either some kind of ringer or out of her depth. Otto was good.” “Was?” “Old man, losing his edge. This might be his last hurrah. I couldn’t have beat him when he was in his prime, no one here could, but now… Kind of sad really.” “Don’t let sympathy interfere with the job I brought you in for.” “I won’t,” she retorted. “Otto has class, he doesn’t want sympathy. He is here for a good game. I’m going to give everyone at that table a good game.” Steven regarded her for several seconds, then nodded. “Good.” He stood. “Read over that, then go back to bed and get some more rest. Tomorrow this begins.” “I understand,” she told him with a nod. Chapter 6 - High Stakes, Low Chairs The next morning Marie took Kelly out to a beauty parlour, to get her hair done. She was worried that the beautician, who was not listening to Kelly at all, was going to cut her hair very short and put it up in little girl bunches. She had seen some other littles with the style of hair. However she got a trim instead and then her hair was worked on, layer cuts to give it volume, and curled just enough to give it bounce. And how it shone once she was done. It was, with the curls, a little juvenile, but not terribly so. She could live with it. And then she got a manicure and a pedicure, which were a pleasant way to top things off. Her nails had been filed in a round shape, with pale, pink polish put on them. That was also a little juvenile, but she thought it looked better than if they were left plain. Back at the hotel room, Marie helped her into the pale cream dress, with the flouncy skirt and the sash and bow of a cafe au lait colour. Of course, the diapers and the bloomers and the vest were the foundation of it all, but Kelly had gotten used to the idea she had to be comme il faut as Marie often said. Her new watch and a choker with the angel on it were added, for a touch of colour, but Marie would not let her wear the hair combs. A pair of black mary janes finished off the outfit, and Marie handed her the small leather clutch purse that held everything she needed. “Are you ready?” Marie asked. She sounded nervous. Kelly smiled. “I am. Let’s go.” She was not nervous, she was anxious, like it was Christmas morning and there was a tree surrounded by presents awaiting her. Marie added one more accessory to her own outfit, a fancy looking bag that for all its designer roots was obviously a diaper bag. On their way to the casino, several people gushed over the pretty little, commenting Marie on her pretty little daughter. Marie did not correct them, but a wink she gave to Kelly said she was playing. They crossed through the casino, attracting less attention because most people were focused on their games, and entered a small, side venue. A man in a black tuxedo stood guard there, as it were. “Can I help you?” he asked Marie. Marie gave Kelly and unneeded nudge forward. Kelly opened her clutch and took out the invitation and the receipt that showed a deposit of the entry stake into the casino’s account. The man looked at the invitation and receipt for a moment, then placed them on the small lectern he stood behind and reached for his phone. He spoke to someone in rapid French that Kelly could not understand. Marie leaned close and whispered into Kelly’s ear, “He is making sure the ticket was not stolen.” “I don’t think I would be brazen enough to come here with a stolen ticket,” she told Marie, though she had no idea how Steven had gotten that ticket. The man put the phone down. “Welcome to the Cartes D'or Triomphantes Miss Fortuna. This way please.” He led her and Marie pass the barrier of velvet ropes into a small room, dominated by a bar and several card tables, only one of which was being used. Three men sat around it. She recognised them all. Otto, Izzy and Charles. “Gentlemen, May I introduce you to Miss Fortuna,” he paused and added, “the little. She will be playing with you.” All three men looked surprised for a moment, but Otto and Izzy seemed to recover faster. “Miss Fortuna, your fellow players, are Izzy Aster, Charles Wright and Otto Kruugen.” “I’m pleased to meet you,” she said and found herself curtseying for lack of a better response. All three stood as the man pulled out a chair, took a booster seat from a bellhop who had appeared at his elbow, placed the booster seat on the chair and then helped Kelly up into her chair as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do as a poker tournament. Izzy and the others sat once more. “This seems a little odd,” Charles said. He had a nasal voice, wore a white tuxedo jacket like the other men, though not as well as the other two. “Well, I’m not sure of that,” Izzy said as he sat back in his chair and picked up a glass of an amber liquid from the table in front of him. “Think I’ve heard of this Miss Fortuna before and figure she’s got as much right to be here if she’s paid up.” He spoke with a drawl and punctuated his statement by drawing a finger across a thick eyebrow. “I saw you play at the Cartes D'or Petites, was it four years ago?” Otto asked. “I recall thinking that if you were a more mature player, you would have won.” “Why thank you Mr Kruugen, and I hope to perform better.” “Please, call me Otto, if I might call you Kelly.” “Thank you, Otto.” Neither of the other men asked to be on a first name basis with her, but they regarded her as if she were more than just a child. None of them, not even Otto, were taking her serious yet. An attendant approached. “Would you like something to drink Miss Fortuna?” “I would like…” “Non, non,” Marie said, stepping forward. “Nothing to drink Kelly,” she said, sounding stern and unyielding. The three men laughed, though Otto at least tried to cover it up a little. Kelly felt her face grow warm, but she took a deep breath and nodded. “Of course Miss Frontè.” Marie moved back to the bar, taking a seat on a stool where she could watch. Kelly noted, sourly, that Marie ordered a drink for herself. Do as I say, not as I do. She had hated that kind of thing when she had been a little girl. The man in the black tuxedo approached them, with him was Caroline Jay. She was dressed in a red cocktail dress, wearing stiletto heels that made her taller than her escort by a few inches. Red hair, red dress, black heels with a red sole and smoke coloured stockings. Kelly had never managed to fill out her one cocktail dresses like that and decided that she would start to hate Caroline now. The three men stood. Kelly, being a woman, was not required to, which was good as getting down from the booster seat in the dress she was in would have been almost certainly embarrassing. “Gentleman, lady, Caroline Jay. Miss Jay, Otto Kruugen, Charles Wright, Izzy Aster and Kelly Fortuna.” Caroline offered polite handshakes to all the men first, then bent slightly to offer a hand to Kelly from across the table as the man in the black tuxedo slid her chair in for her. “Pleased to meet you,” she said, a puzzled expression on her face as if she was trying to figure out a joke. “Thank you, Miss Jay,” Kelly said, a fake smile plastered on her face. Lyle Redmond was the next to enter and to be introduced. “I was planning on arriving a little later, but then I head a most peculiar story,” he said as he took his seat (no one had stood for him as he was a gentleman). “And here she is, a little, sitting here ready to play.” He smiled at her. “You know this is not a card matching game don’t you sweetie?” Okay, she hated Caroline less now. She only had so much hate inside her, and now most of it was being directed at him. “Miss Fortuna if you please, Mr Redmond,” she said, as if she were not seated on a booster seat. “And I believe that I am aware of the rules, but if I have any questions, I am glad I have an expert to ask.” Lyle actually smiled, looking a little smug as he took the compliment for himself. She looked down the table. “I am sure Otto will help me if I need it.” Lyle frowned, not appreciating the implied insult. “Oh, I am sure I won’t need to explain the rules to the young woman who plays as well as you do Kelly.” Lyle’s frowned deepened, as if he was somehow offended that she and Otto were on a first name basis. Conrad Revel was the last to come in, a few minutes before the game was to start. Short black hair, slicked back, a nose just a little too small for his face for him to be handsome. He was introduced, offered his hand to both Caroline and Kelly, though he was just as perplexed as most of them by her presence. A moment after he was seated and had been served a drink a tall, bald giant approached them. He wore black pants and a white shirt, tightly buttoned at his wrists, narrow black bands cinching his shirt sleeves in about mid-forearm. He clicked his heels sharply together and bowed. “Ladies and gentlemen, I am Andre Fulover, your dealer, unless there are any concerns?” No one voiced any. He took a step forward to stand behind the chair he would be occupying. “We are playing seven card stud poker, standard rules, house limit on betting will stand, unless those players involved all ask that it be suspended. Are there any questions?” No one had any. “As we have a little at the table I must ask if she is properly attired.” He did not look at Kelly. “She is,” Marie said. “Very good, then…” “I think I would like to verify that. I could check,” Lyle said, shifting as if to get out of his seat. However Marie was there before he could even start to stand. “No need Mr Redmond.” She then picked Kelly out of the seat, turned her, so her back as to the table, and then before Kelly could even think of doing anything her skirt had been lifted, and the bloomers pulled down, likely revealing the white plastic of the disposable to everyone. “Well I am satisfied,” Lyle Redmond said. There was laughter around the table, and Kelly felt her cheeks grow how. Marie straightened her clothing out and then set Kelly back down in her booster seat. To the table and to Lyle, in particular, she said, “Please respect my professionalism in matters of child and little care.” Then with a sniff, she returned to the bar. Kelly took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and wondered if she could ask that they respect her dignity. “Well, I guess we’ve been told,” Lyle said with another laugh. The dealer nodded in thanks to Marie and then to the table said, “While in deference to littles and the length of the game a wet diaper will be ignored, this is a civilised game, and none wish to be inconvenienced by a messy accident. If that is to happen Miss Fortuna will forfeit her place in this game and her stake.” “Wait? What? What if any of the other players mess their pants?” Kelly demanded. The dealer looked shocked. “Miss Fortuna, as I said this is a civilised game, I will not hear talk like that.” Marie was once more at Kelly side. “She of course apologises, don’t you Kelly?” The last thing Kelly wanted to do is apologise, but that is what she did. “I am sorry for my language and insinuation of lack of control amongst my respected opponents.” “And I will see her properly punished later,” Marie said. “What?” Kelly asked. “Very well,” the dealer said as he pulled his chair out and took a seat. “Let’s begin.” Kelly watched at Mr Fulover dealt out the cards on the table. Meant for giants, each card was more than twice the size of her hand. She was glad they were laid out in front of her. It would prove difficult for her to hold them. Kelly took the first three hands and suspected the Ken had cleaned up as he would have started betting high on the first few hands. The first two pots had been small, her face up cards good enough the others players had folded early. The third one ended up with just her and Lyle Redmond, as she had suspected, he was disadvantaged when it was just him against her. He called what he thought was a bluff on her part and raised as high as the table limit would allow. She guessed he expected the little girl to fold when faced with his confidence. She called and raised again, suggested that perhaps they up the table limit. He refused, likely because she had suggested it. If she had just been a little patient, he might have asked for the increase in the table limits, and she could have taken him for a lot more. Three hands in and she was up two million. All the people around the table were looking at her with more respect, perhaps, but all of them, especially Lyle, looked as if they were trying to figure out how a magician had done the trick. As if my winning is an illusion, she thought angrily to herself. The game continued, she won and lost, won a little more than she had expected, but the game was far from over. Then, about two and half hours in, after they ended a hand that Otto took, the dealer said they would break for thirty minutes. Kelly stretched in her chair, thinking a break would be nice. Marie was there, helping out of the chair, and then to Kelly surprise, she was turned about, her skirt lifted, and Marie delivered five smacks to her diapered bottom. She then turned Kelly around again to face the dealer and said, “Apologise for your bad behaviour earlier.” It was more surprising and embarrassing than it was painful, but she felt the prickle of tears in her eyes. When Marie had said that she would be punished Kelly had assumed she had been joking or lying, but that spanking made it clear the maid/nanny was pretty serious about it. Kelly did as she was told. “I’m sorry.” The dealer smiled. “I appreciate your apology, I am sure we won’t have any more trouble.” Kelly could see people around them smiling, as if what had just happened was perfectly sensible. The dealer went off to wherever dealers took their breaks, and the other players drifted towards the bar. Kelly found herself being led by the hand to a nearby private washroom. “I’m sorry I had to punish you like that,” Marie said, “but you should remember to be polite and follow the rules. You do not want them dismissing you from the tournament do you?” Kelly shook her head. “No.” “Good. Now, let’s get you undressed.” “Undr…” was all she had the time to say before Marie loosened the bow at the back of the dress, raised her arms with a quick swipe, and then pulled the dress off of her. Then the bloomers and diapers went, and she was sat on a small toilet. “Alright, try to pee or poop if you can.” Kelly flushed again, this time she was sure her whole body was red. “Can you not watch me?” Marie made a clucking sound but turned away from Kelly to give her some privacy as she went to lay out a fresh diaper on the change table. Kelly managed to pee a little after a few minutes of embarrassment and Marie quickly had her in a new diaper, congratulating her on using the potty like a big girl. As she was dressed again, Kelly said, “I just won eight million euros.” “I know,” Marie said as she brushed out Kelly’s hair, making it neat once more. “But you congratulated me on using the toilet,” Kelly said, wondering if the woman might see how ridiculous it was. Marie smiled and kissed her on the forehead. “You’re such a smart little girl, keeping dry and playing cards so well.” Apparently recognising the ridiculousness of the situation a little might find themselves in was a weak point for giants. From the diaper bag, she brought out a sippy-cup and a bottle of water. She poured about half the water into the cup and then offered it to Kelly. “Really?” Kelly asked. “I don’t want you to spill anything on your dress.” Thirsty, Kelly took the cup, though she rolled her eyes as she drank. Marie escorted her back to the table in time for the next hand. Another two and a half hours and Kelly was still eight million ahead, the last half of the game stagnating for her with her wins and losses being about even. The dealer called a four-hour break. Kelly found herself back in the hotel room, undressed and put to bed for a nap before the next round started. Kelly was beginning to think that she might have made a mistake agreeing to help Steven, if this was the way she was going to be treated. There was a knock at her door, Steven’s voice, “Are you awake.” She got up, remembered she was still in the diaper that Marie had put her to bed in. She grabbed the familiar t-shirt and pulled it on, glad it was long enough to hang down over the infantile underwear, then went to the door and opened it. “Where have you been?” Kelly asked. “That’s none of your concern,” he told her, not unkindly. “I need to know what your assessment of the other players is.” Of course, he needed her to tell him. She was the expert, and it did not matter if she was wearing a diaper, or had been spanked, she was a grown woman brought here to do a grown woman’s job. They sat at the table and Kelly gave him a quick rundown. “Charles and Caroline both come across as technically skilled, but they don’t have to feel for the game.” “What do you think that means?” “I think they both have been recently taught high-level skills by people who know what they are doing, but you can’t teach the gut level of understanding. They are not going to be able to hold on for long.” “Any idea who might have taught them?” Kelly shook her head. Steven looked a little disappointed, which bothered Kelly more than she would have thought. “What about the others?” “Izzy is no different from usual. I expect him to be out of the game tomorrow at the latest. Otto is good, but, he’s worn out.” She felt bad saying it. “I don’t think he can keep it up for more than another set or two. “As for Lyle, he’s better than I thought. He might hang on to the end. One on one I could beat him easily.” “And Revel?” “Nothing has changed in my opinion on him. He’s good. I can probably beat him.” “Anything else?” Kelly frowned. “What do you mean?” “Is there anything else you have noticed.” “Like what?” Again, a flash of disappointment. “Never mind, you’re supposed to be napping now, why don’t you go back to bed.” Just like that, he was dismissing her. “What was I supposed to notice?” He looked at her for several seconds, then shook his head. “No time to teach you. Go and get some rest. You’re here to win, getting tired or worried won’t help with that.” She wanted to argue, but he stood and walked away, leaving her sitting alone on the couch. “Damn,” she said softly, then sighed and went back to her bedroom. A short nap would do her some good. Chapter 7 - A Snake Uses Poison Four hours after the last hand of the first round had been played Kelly was seated at the table again, getting a new hand dealt out to her. She won four times in a row, small pots, but it put her up to nine million. Then Otto and And Conrad went back and forth for a few hands before Lyle Redmond took a big pot. Then Caroline won the largest pot of the night with three queens, and Kelly realised she had better not discount the other woman’s technical skills or her luck. The hands came and went, the better players moving ahead or at least staying even while the less able players had their stakes slowly bled away. The second round ended and Kelly felt exhausted. A bit of jet lag and a lot of demanding poker. She was glad to see she was not the only one looking tired. Marie took her up to her room, got her undressed and cleaned up, and then put to bed, in a pair of the training panties rather than a diaper. She was tired, and her head was full of games she had played. Things she should have done and things she should not have. Everything the others players had done, how they had looked when they did it. She fell asleep to dreams where she was playing poker, and the stakes were the players’ ages, where going bust meant returning to infancy. She woke to the sound of soft voices in the suite. One was Steven’s, the other, female, sounded familiar. There were only a few words that she could make out, but the conversation was intimate, private. She heard them go into Steven’s room. The soundproofing between the suite’s room was a little lacking, and she heard the sounds of soft feminine gasps and of the bed shifting under the weight of two. Kelly told herself just to pull the pillow over her head, but she was also encouraging herself to sneak out of the room and peak in on Steven and his partner. She wondered what Steven looked like naked. She knew he would be all hard muscle. What about skin? Did he have any scars? What would they feel like under her fingers? She imagined the two spotting her, inviting her to join them. The complexities of little/big physical relationships were smoothed over by the rules of fantasy. Her hands slid into the waistband of her thick panties, and she turned over in the bed, moving slowly, glad her slight weight did not make the mattress move too much. Face pressed into the pillow to muffle her own soft cries, bottom pushed into the air with her hands in her panties, she brought herself to orgasm twice, an unknown participant with Steven and his partner. She finally fell asleep, spent, though the sound of Steven and the woman were still in her ears. Her dreams took on a far more welcome more erotic cast. In spite of her dreams, Kelly has slept well and woke refreshed to a gentle shaking. Marie was sitting on the side of her bed, hand on her shoulder. “Bonjour,” she said with a smile. Kelly rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands and mumbled a sleepy, “Good morning.” “Time to get up,” Marie said with a laugh as she pulled back the covers and the with growing familiarity grabbed the waistband of Kelly’s panties and yanked them off. “Hey,” Kelly said, more surprised at the moment than angry. It was only as she saw Marie looking closely at the thick cotton garment that she remembered her late night, erotic activities. Of course, any giant finding a damp undergarment on a little would take an interest. “That… it’s not…” Marie looked at her and smiled. “Don’t be worried. I know some older littles get a special enjoyment out of their padding.” Kelly was about to object, but she could not bring herself to say that she had been listening to the activities in the other room and masturbating while fantasising being involved in a threesome. And she was still too sleepy to come up with a good lie. With a smile, Marie dropped the incriminating undergarment into the room’s laundry hamper and then came back to the bed, swept Kelly up off of it, swung her about and then placed her on the floor. “Come along, let’s get you cleaned up.” She hustled the naked little out of the bedroom into the suite’s main room. Kelly almost fell in the resisting, worried Steven, and even worse, his night guest, might be there, and Marie caught her up and pushed her along. The room beyond was empty, and relief made Kelly relax for a few seconds. Long enough for Marie to get her into the bathroom and on the toilet. It had been a long night, and she had to go, which earned her more praise from Marie. Marie let her shower on her own, after putting a shower cap over her head, as if she could not be trusted to remember. Well, to be fair to the giant, Kelly usually did not have professionally styled hair to care for, so she might have not worried about it. Marie had picked out an outfit, pink voluminous shorts with wide suspenders and a white blouse. They went down to the hotel restaurant where Marie ordered her a late breakfast—Kelly was disappointed she did not get any bacon, but the fruit and yoghurt were good. Then they had an appointment at the small beauty parlour in the hotel. Kelly was not in the chair long, all the beautician did there was restyle her hair, changing it slightly and making it completely neat, and her nails got a little buffing and colour touchups. Back to the room, Marie helped her get dressed, starting of course with the diaper. After she had that on her, she helped Kelly off the bed and to the floor, then gave her a gentle pat and rub on the back of her diaper before going to get the rest of the clothing ready. The dress was a warm, pale shade of yellow, and Marie put the hair combs into Kelly's hair, completing the effect the beautician had started. “Comme il faut.” Marie said with a smile as she clasped the choker with the star around Kelly’s slim neck. “Let’s go,” Marie said as she picked up the diaper bag. The second day of the tournament began without introductions. It also began with a realisation of who Steven had been with. Caroline, dressed in a smart, sophisticated pants suit, greeted the fellow players and Kelly knew she had been with Steven the night before. There was a moment of an erotic thrill as her fantasy from the night before had an identity for the giant female, but that was washed away with confusion almost immediately. (Which was fortunate because she did not need to have Marie to find her in an arousal dampened diaper) Why had Steven been with the woman? Weren’t she and Steven in this together? Was he trying to find out something about one of the other players? If so why hadn’t he told her? Was he looking for a new partner? Had she not played well enough the day before? Well, she would show him that that was a mistake. Confusion was easily forged into anger, and anger honed into razor-sharp determination. She was focused, she made no mistakes, and she played her cards and the others players as well. She would fold sooner than she needed to, or hold off, bet lower or higher. It had an effect on the others players, and they did not even recognise it, at first. Otto and then Conrad caught on after the first hour. Lyle and Izzy seemed to catch on but had not yet pinpointed what was causing the change in the game after the second hour. Kelly was not winning every hand, but she was pulling ahead of everyone else. There was a short break while a new deck was put in play. She looked at the other players, a few of them had stepped away from the table. Lyle and Caroline were speaking, Otto was talking to one of the servers and Conrad speaking to one of the spectators. Kelly looked around, returned a wave from Marie, but she did not see Steven. Was he not watching at all? Did he not see her dominate the game? Annoying. The dealer called the players back, and a new hand was dealt out. They played a few more hands, Kelly won them all, before the dealer called for a thirty-minute break. Kelly looked around, expecting that Marie would be at her side, ready to rush her off to the bathroom, as if she was only seconds from losing control. But the maid/nanny was nowhere around. She got down from her seat, stretched out a little. Playing so focused was exhausting and not much fun, but she had decided it was how she was going to play. “I am quite impressed.” She turned, looked up. Standing there was Conrad. “Thank you.” “I must apologise,” he said to her. “I was somewhat dismissive of you when I saw you would be playing.” Kelly was aware but she said, “You were polite enough not to say anything.” “Have a drink with me,” he said suddenly. “We’ll drink to each other’s skill.” “Well, maybe…” “Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to put you at odds with your nanny.” “She’s just a maid,” Kelly said, “and I would love to toast to your skill.” And why should she not have a drink? Lyle went to the bar, came back with two small tumblers. He presented one to her. “It’s top-shelf stuff, just enough for a taste. Neither of us wants to dull our game.” “Of course.” She took the tumbler her offered, the one with less liquor in it. That was fair, she had less body mass. Kneeling her held out his glass and said, “To skilled players who challenge us.” “To skilled players,” she replied, and they tapped their glasses together. She drank. It was like warm honey and fire. “I’ll have to get a bottle of this stuff later,” Kelly said, looking at the empty glass as if she wished there were more. “I’ll buy you one at the end of the game.” She knew she was there to make this man lose, but she did not know why, and she saw no reason not to be polite. “Thank you.” “Come for a walk with me. A little fresh air to clear our heads.” Kelly nodded and smiled. “Please.” Finally, someone treating her as a skilled player and not as if she were some sort of clever, trained animal. She grabbed the clutch she had brought with her, taking a moment to pull out her phone and check it. She set the alarm just so she would have ten minutes warning before the game was to restart. As they stepped out the glass doors, into a balcony overlooking the garden, Conrad said, “Would you like to look at the ocean? That path circles the parking lot and comes out at a lookout point.” “Thank you, that sounds nice.” They walked along the path, Conrad taking slower, smaller strides so she did not have to run. They talked about the game, or hands that had come up and other games they had played. After several minutes they came out on the high lookout point where below them stretched cliffs and parts of the city and the ocean. Kelly stepped up on a raised platform so she could lean out over the rail and into the ocean breeze. “This is beautiful,” she said. “Yes, it is. You present a very fetching picture yourself, quite adorable.” She decided to take that as a compliment and said, “Thank you, Mr Revel.” He walked up the railing, close to where she stood. “You play very well, for a little,” he told her. That she decided to not take as a compliment. “I play very well period.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I would ask that you drop out of the tournament. This is not something you should deal with.” “I am afraid I am going to have to say no.” He sighed, looked at his watch. “I was afraid of that. I did wish to spare you some embarrassment.” “I don’t think I am the one who needs to be worried about being embarrassed about losing.” He smiled and reached into his jacket, pulled out a glass vial with a light blue liquid in it. He looked at it for a second, then hurled it out into the air, over the railing. “What was that?” Kelly asked him. “A counter agent Miss Fortuna. You’ll excuse me now.” He turned and walked away, long, fast strides that set a pace that Kelly would have a hard time matching. “Counter agent for what?” she called after him. Then she felt her stomach cramp, and she almost fell to her knees from the pain of it. Her eyes widened. Had he poisoned her? Was she going to die? Her insides cramped again, and she felt a pressure growing in her bottom. Was she going to mess herself? If that happened, if she could not get cleaned up fast enough, it might get her kicked out of the tournament. She opened her clutch, she could call someone for help. Another cramp made her gasp. Could anyone get there in time? She did not have Marie’s number. She could call the hotel, see if they could put her in contact. She moaned with the pain. If any time she needed a nanny it was now dammit. There was something else in the clutch, besides the phone. A key fob. Her head snapped up. They had circled the parking lot, were close to it. There! Steven’s silver sports car. She ran towards it, breathing heavily from the pain in her stomach, one of her hands was pressed against her diapered bottom as if that might stop the hot mess that was threatening to fill her seat. Close. She pressed the key fob. There was a beep. She heard the click of the doors unlocking. “Thank god,” she gasped. As if someone had considered the very possibility she was in, the passenger door had swung itself open, a small set of stairs had unfolded from the rocker panel. That was good because she was positive if she had had to jump up to try to grab the door handle or climb up into the car she would have messed herself. Lying on the seat, buttocks clamped tight, she reached for the GPS screen, tapped it twice, and then when it lit up tapped the red button. “Help,” she begged, near tears. “What is it Miss Fortuna?” someone asked male and calm. “I drank something,” she did not feel up to explaining the complete details, “I think I am going to shit myself.” There was a hiss, and a small tray opened from the dash. “There are several white syringes, get the green tipped one.” She looked into the tray, grabbed the pen-shaped device with the green tip. “Got it,” she said as another wave of pain hit her. “Put the green tip against your thigh and press down. It will go through clothing.” She pulled her skirt back and jammed the green tip down against her bloomers. It felt like she had been stung by a bee and she let out a small yelp of pain. “Good,” the person on the other end said. “Now take the two small white pads with wires on them and put them on bare skin over your tummy. Hurry, you’re almost done.” She did what she was told, pulling her skirt up, thankful for the empire waist that easily allowed her to get it above her stomach. The pads went on the bare skin of her stomach. “Done.” “Deep breath," the voice ordered her. She took one. A strange tingly feeling spread through her stomach, and twice she felt all the muscles in her abdomen twitch hard. The feeling that was going to poop went away so suddenly she was worried she had, but patting the back of her diaper and then slipping a hand into it revealed she was clean still. “That should take care of it,” the voice told her. “My stomach still hurts,” she said, more of a whine in her tone that she would have liked. “I can’t do anything about that. It will get a little better in a few minutes and I will let Mr Artimage know what happened so he can arrange to take care of you.” “Do you have to?” she asked. A soft chuckle. “Sorry Miss Fortuna.” “And I won’t…” “You don’t have to worry about messing yourself. In fact, you will probably be badly constipated for the next week or two. Sorry.” “Better than the alternative,” Kelly said, rubbing her aching stomach. “You had better get back to you game Miss Fortuna.” “Right!” she said up, groaned, and then climbed down from the car. She watched, impressed in spite of the pain, as the small stairs retracted back into the rock panel, closing up smoothly as if they were never there, and the door closed itself. A beep and flash of lights told her the car had locked itself. She put the key fob back in her clutch and ran as fast as her pained stomach would allow back to the casino. She passed through the doors just as her phone started beeping, warning that she had ten minutes to get back. Plenty of time to spare she thought, though it had seemed much longer. Before the feeling of relief could fully settle on her, she was snatched up and hugged tightly by a scared looking Marie. Rapid fire french, sounding equally concerned and relieved as Marie petted her and stroked her, looking for any sign of injury. Finally seeming to remember that Kelly did not speak French she said, “Oh, where did you go Kelly? I was so worried about you. I was called away and then delayed and…” Then sounding cross, she said, “You should not go anywhere on your own.” She heard someone say, thought it might have been Lyle Redmond, “I’m a big fan of harnesses when I am out and about with my girls.” “I’m okay Marie. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry.” She did feel bad for the woman and remembered how not that long ago she had desperately needed her. Marie took a deep breath. “Let’s get you to the bathroom, we have little time.” She put Kelly back on her feet and grabbed her hand. “Now just a moment,” Conrad said. She looked towards him, that smiling face with his pudgy nose. “While I hate to embarrass her I would ask that the state of her diaper be checked. I thought I caught a whiff of something when she came in.” “Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” Marie growled. “This is the break, and I am taking her to the bathroom.” “Ah, I am sorry,” the man in the black tuxedo said. “However Miss Fortuna is in the play area, and the rules, well, they are the rules.” Marie muttered something softly, angrily that Kelly was certain was French swearing. Then she spun Kelly around, knelt down and pulled up her skirts, skimmed her bloomers down around her ankles, bent her forward slightly and pulled the back of her diaper away from her. “See. Perfectly clean.” Kelly wondered if the pain in her stomach might kill her before the humiliation of the current moment did. She heard the man step closer, then felt fingers on and in her diaper. “Clean as you say,” he announced. “Of course she is, of all the… as if I would not have…” she pulled the bloomers back in place and smoothed the skirt down. “Oh, there is no time to take you to the bathroom.” “I’ll be fine,” Kelly told her. “It’s okay. I really don’t have to go.” Marie had turned her back to face her, reached up and adjusted a hair comb. “Very well, but nothing to drink.” “That’s fine, I’m not very thirsty.” Her gaze sought out Conrad’s and when she saw him, she gave him a tight smile. She was pleased to see the look of discomfort on his face. Beating him had become very important to her because the momentary discomfort he felt was nothing compared to the churning in her own guts. Chapter 8 - A Gambler's Sorrow The second part of that round of play was not as good for Kelly as the earlier one had been. The pain in her stomach made it hard to focus. She did not lose anything, but the flow of the game changed, Lyle, Otto and Conrad all moving ahead, mostly to the detriment of Izzy, Charles and Caroline. She was relieved when the round finally ended, with both Caroline and Izzy likely to be knocked out in the next round. Kelly just wanted to curl up in her bed and hope the pain in her stomach would fade. “You look a little pale,” Marie told her, brushing a bit of her hair back from her forehead. “I’m just tired,” she said, unable to explain why she felt so bad. Marie nodded. “We’ll get you to your room and you can rest up.” Holding Kelly’s hand firmly she led the smaller woman back to the room. Steven was waiting. “I’m sorry…” Marie said. Steven held a hand up to silence her. “It is not your fault Miss Frontè. In fact, we both know who is at fault here.” He stared down at Kelly. Kelly was seized by the desire to hide behind Marie. It wasn’t fair. She had been poisoned and her stomach was killing her. She did not need Steven staring at her like that. “She’s already apologised,” Marie said, coming to Kelly’s defence. “I’m sure she has. Come back in an hour please. Kelly will apologise to you again then, and you can be certain she will mean it.” “Yes sir,” Marie said. She put a comforting hand on Kelly’s shoulder and then left. Steven went and sat down in the couch. She stood where she was, certain she was not being invited to sit. “Are you stupid?” he asked her. “I’m not stupid.” “Well, you acted like it. Conrad Revel is not your friend. You don’t take anything to drink from him, you don’t go anywhere with him. That is basic!” She flinched at the volume of his voice. “I’m here to gamble,” she said, trying to sound sure. “And if you had not gotten lucky, if you had not had the support you did, that would be over. You’d have been kicked out of the tournament. That would cost me a great deal of money, but it would have likely meant that Conrad would win.” He stood up and came to stand over her. “I will not let that happen,” he told her. “I’m sorry,” she told him, eyes prickling, “my stomach hurts. I just want to get some rest.” She was whining, almost crying, but her stomach hurt and Steven was so damn intimidating. Steven shook his head, returned the couch and sat. “I don’t know how to deal with children or littles,” he told her. “I deal with problems, I am a blunt instrument. I am afraid I am out of my depth trying to sort you out.” “Then what are you going to do?” Kelly asked softly. “Wait.” “What?” “Wait,” he said again. Kelly realised it was a command. She waited, put her hands on her stomach, hoping that would ease the pain. Sometime later, just a few minutes at most, someone knocked at the door. “I don’t know how to deal with you,” he told her as he stood, “but I found someone else who is good at this sort of thing.” He opened the door. Kelly turned to see Caroline Jay come in. The two embraced for a moment, then Steven stepped aside. “She’s all yours.” “What?” Kelly asked. “Caroline is working with me now. She will help get you sorted out.” “What?” Kelly asked again. “Everything you need is in the bathroom,” Steven told her. “What is happening?” Kelly asked, then moaned softly as her stomach cramped again. “I can’t win,” Caroline said. “Steven here has told me you can.” She looked doubtful. “She was dominating that table today, up until she was poisoned. She’ll come through.” “Okay,” Caroline said to Steven. “What is she doing here?” Kelly asked Steven. “She,” Caroline said, “is here to get a naughty little sorted out. And you will refer to me as Miss Jay from now on. Now come along.” She grabbed Kelly and marched her into the bedroom. Kelly threw a desperate look Steven’s way, but just met his stony gaze and knew no help would come from there. In Kelly's bedroom, Caroline stripped her down to the diaper. She was nowhere near as gentle as Marie but was careful of the clothing, and the dress was off her and hung up in short order. Caroline holding her hand, she was pulled into the bathroom where Caroline released her hand then turned on her. “I have babysat littles and spent several summers working in an Etiquette School. I know exactly how to deal with you and were you not needed I can assure you that you Kelly Fortuna are the exact sort of little I would demote back to diapers and her ABCs.” Kelly took a step back, but snake fast, Caroline grabbed her. She pulled her off balance and then across her lap as she sat down on the room’s toilet. With a quick motion, the tapes of her diaper were undone and it fell open under her. “You do not go with strangers.” Every word was punctuated by a crack of a slap across her butt. “You do not go with strangers,” she repeated and this time it was the backs of Kelly’s thighs that felt the sting of Caroline’s hand. “You do not take food or drink from strangers.” Again, her bottom was warmed. “You do not take food or drink from strangers.” The backs of her thighs were again slapped. Caroline continued those two lessons for a time. Long enough that Kelly, whose stomach still hurt, was crying uncontrollably and babbling apologies by the time Caroline seemed to tire of teaching the lesson about strangers. “If you’re Nanny is not around, stay where the tournament organisers can see you,” Caroline told her, then spanked her five times. “I’m sorry,” Kelly sobbed, just wanting the spanking and the humiliation and the pain in her guts to end. “Use your phone to call someone if your Nanny is not around.” Another five spanks. “I will, I will, please stop.” She felt so powerless across the Amazon’s lap. “Think about that poor woman, looking for you, not knowing what happened to you.” Caroline gave her six hard swats and Kelly was bawling. Then Caroline stood and lowered the spanked and naked little to the floor, the diaper falling away. Kelly tried her best to get control of herself, but for a time all she could do was stand there and cry. Caroline left her to sob as she went about with something else. By the time Kelly had enough control of herself to pay attention to what Caroline was doing the Amazon already had an enema bag with its hose set up and hanging from the curtain rod. Kelly shook her head, sniffed, and said, “No.” Caroline looked at her, perhaps a little bit of pity in her eyes. “Do you want your tummy to stop hurting?” Kelly nodded. “Then you are going to have to have this. Now, on your hands and knees, bum up in the air.” She wanted to refuse, she really did, but her stomach hurt so much. She did as she was told. As she knelt there on the cold tiles of the bathroom, she was reminded of the night before, when in a similar posture she had masturbated to the sound of Caroline and Steven making love. It made her giggle, though any desire to find humour in the situation was gone a moment later when the enema nozzle was pushed into her bottom and the flow started. If anything it was even more painful and she found herself sobbing as Caroline simply lectured her on her bad behaviour. And when the enema was completely administered and then expelled into the toilet Caroline patted her still hurting stomach and said. “Just three more.” “Three more?” Kelly cried. “Three more. And you’ll be getting at least one a day until your bowels get themselves sorted out.” She left Kelly sitting on the toilet as she went to prepare the second enema. “What have you learned?” she asked. Kelly sniffed. “Not to go anywhere with strangers, not to take food or drink from strangers and to stay with my nanny.” “Good girl. Now get on the floor, bum in the air.” The next two enemas were just as unpleasant as the first, but the last one, with various medications added to it, finally soothed her stomach, the pain finally leaving her. She was humiliated, exhausted and naked, but at least she was no longer in pain. Caroline put her facing one of the bathroom’s corners, the discarded diaper between her feet, in case she leaked. She heard Caroline moving about, cleaning things up and then heard her leave the room. Leaning forward she put her forehead against the cool tiles of the wall. She was glad she was not one of those littles who could not handle the adult world because she knew she could not handle their world. Outside she heard a knock on the door, footsteps, the door opening. “Kelly, come here,” she heard Steven call. She looked around, wondered if it would be okay to wrap a towel around herself. Somehow she did not think so. She walked from the bathroom. Marie was there, as was Steven. Caroline was nowhere to be seen. “Do you have something to say to Miss Frontè?” Kelly sniffed, feeling tears start in her eyes as she thought about how scared poor Marie had seemed when Kelly had come back. “I’m sorry Miss Frontè,” she cried, “I’m sorry, I won’t be naughty again.” Naughty? She supposed Caroline had used that word during the spanking, and now it jumped to her lips as if the most natural thing to say. “Please take care of her Miss Frontè. She’s had an enema, so make sure to get her cleaned up and rested.” “Yes sir,” she said to Steven. He left the room. Marie came forward and enfolded to still crying Kelly in her arms. “There there, I’m not mad at you, you’re a good girl, I know it.” After Steven coldness and Caroline’s punishments, Marie warmth was irresistible to Kelly who pushed her face into the larger woman’s side and sobbed. She was aware of being bathed, patted dry, and then carried to her bedroom where she was diapered without complaint. Marie sat down in one of the chairs, held Kelly tight in her arms, and sang softly in French. Her head pillowed on the amazon’s ample chest, Kelly fell asleep. Kelly stayed close to Marie when they returned to the casino. She tried to tell herself it was nothing, but the woman’s hand holding her did make her feel better. However, when she took her seat at the table, she was all business. She could not forget what had happened earlier. While the padding of the diaper cushioned her bottom, the unpadded backs of her thighs were tender against the surface of the booster seat. She wondered if Caroline was aware of that. The smile she offered as she sat suggested she might be. However, the sting on her thighs was a minor thing, nothing compared to the pain she had earlier dealt with. When the cards were dealt the sting faded from her mind. It was a hard game, everyone at their best. Kelly, Otto, Lyle and Conrad took most of the hands, small pots, larger pots, slowly draining away the stakes of the others. The round ended with Kelly taking a big pot with a full house, kings over twos. That took Caroline out of the game. Kelly gave her a smile, feeling as if she had gotten some of her own back. “That is it for this evening,” the dealer told them. Izzy looked up from his small pile of chips. “Looks like I’ll be in for one at least more hand tomorrow.” Kelly was confident that it would be only one hand unless he were going to ante and fold, but she figured Izzy would go out fighting. Charles Wright would not last much longer either. Then it would be the four best players. A gentle hand touched her shoulder. “Let’s go,” Marie said. Kelly let Marie help her from the chair and lead her by hand through the casino towards the hotel. The earlier feeling of comfort she had derived from the woman’s presence had faded a little in the heady excitement of the card game and all her winning hands. Still, she felt glad enough for the hand that held hers. Steven was not in the room when they entered. Marie undressed her, Kelly had given up the attempt to help, and then took her to the bathroom. She was put in a fresh diaper before being put into the bed, and she felt too tired to argue and did not even know if she would be awake enough to take it off once Marie left. The day had been so exhausting. Marie did not leave immediately, but sat at the bedside, holding Kelly’s hand, singing softly in French once more. Kelly slept deeply, and if Steven and Caroline made love in his room again, Kelly did not wake. Chapter 9 - Winning but Sad In the morning Marie administered another enema to Kelly. It was not pleasant, but it was better than when Caroline had done it. Marie had her lie on her side, on some towels laid out on the floor, with a robe draped over her. And she gently patted Kelly’s head and rubbed her stomach, telling her it would be okay. A bath afterwards, then dressed in a set of rompers, Marie took Kelly down for breakfast. Kelly was in a diaper, just in case there was still a little bit of enema, Marie explained. It was an annoyingly enough valid concern that Kelly did not protest. “I don’t want this,” Kelly said, looking at the meal of bland cereal and yoghurt placed in front of her. “We want to give your tummy a chance to get better,” Maire said. “You don’t want that bug you picked up coming back.” Kelly agreed silently that she certainly did not want to be poisoned again. Marie smiled and picked up the spoon. “I can feed you if you want.” Kelly took the spoon from her and ate one of the most uninteresting meals she had ever had. “It’s like eating cardboard,” she said, somewhere halfway through the meal. “You’ve eaten cardboard?” “It is like I assume eating cardboard would be like.” Marie laughed softly and gave her hair a quick pat. “I so like taking care of you.” Kelly almost said that she liked having Marie take care of her, but it would be a lie. At least she thought it would be a lie. “I enjoy the time we spend together,” Kelly replied instead. Marie smiled, and Kelly wondered what the woman had heard in that statement. They went to the hairstylists again to get Kelly’s hair put right once more. There they discovered Caroline in one of the chairs, having the finishing touches put on her hairstyle. As she was helped into the chair by Marie, the maid/nanny said, “I’m sorry you lost Miss Jay. I’m sure Kelly is sorry as well.” Did she really believe that, or was this one of those deals where she was supposed to show good manners for the sake of good manners? Kelly said, “Yes, it was too bad.” The stylist tilted Kelly’s chair back so her hair could be rinsed. “It is the nature of these things,” she heard Caroline say to Marie. “You never play a game unless you can afford to lose.” The sound of rushing water kept her from hearing anything else they said, and she had to close her eyes against the shampoo. When her chair was straightened up, Caroline was gone. A trim, a rinse, drying and curling, it did not take too long before Kelly left the beauty parlour with Marie and returned to her room to get dressed. Marie chose the pale pink dress, with the red shoes. “You will look quite fierce in red my card playing warrior,” she said, dressing Kelly for the day. She did not let Kelly face the mirror as she put the combs in her hair again, and then applied a little makeup on her face. “There we go,” she finally said, and let Kelly see. After the last few days of seeing a cute little girl in the mirror Kelly was surprised to see, well, she still looked young, what with the dress, but something closer to a beautiful, not so little girl. “I want you to look fierce today,” Marie told her as she patted the combs into place. “This is fierce?” “Of course. Girls always look fierce when they are pretty.” Kelly smiled. “And is it,” she sounded the word carefully, “comme il faut?” “For any other little in the city? Non. But for my Jean d’Arc of the poker table, it is tres comme.” Kelly smiled for a moment, then frowned. “Didn’t they burn her?” “They would not have if I had been there,” Marie stated confidently. She laughed, and it felt good to laugh. Kelly would miss Marie when she left. But that was not today. Today Marie would hold her hand when she needed it, and Kelly would play poker. Otto knocked Izzy out of the game in the first hand. Six hands later Otto took the remainder of Charle’s stake, and he was out of the game as well. They took a short break to rearrange the table for the four remaining players. Lyle Redmond suggested a drink, to celebrate the winners to that point. Even if Caroline had not spanked the lesson into her Kelly would have refused to take a drink from him or at his instigation. She was kept from having to tell Lyle Redmond to ‘piss up a rope’ by Marie who brought a bottle of champagne from behind the bar and four glasses. “A celebratory drink is a wonderful idea,” she said and opened the bottle, a towel around the neck and a slow twist to avoid popping corks. She poured Kelly’s drink first. “Just a little,” she said with a smile, then filled the glasses of the other three. “Well then,” Lyle picked up his glass. “To the best players at the table, and of course Miss Fortuna.” Lyle and Conrad drank. Neither Otto nor Kelly did. “Something wrong?” the giant asked. He looked honestly confused. Kelly was about to say something, but Otto spoke first. “You are a boor, Mr Redmond. A churlish and insolent robber baron and were I ten years younger after I beat you in this game I would take you out back and thrash you.” He knocked his glass off the table. “However I am an old man.” He sat down in his chair. “I believe you will be beaten, though not by me, and even if you do win, I will make sure every casino along the coast knows you for the boor you are.” Several people applauded the old man’s words. Kelly did as well. She was saved from having to knock her glass off the table by Maire taking it away. Lyle looked around, looked both confused and angry at the way people reacted. “You’re fortunate you are an old man,” he said as he sat. “We will have politeness at this table,” the dealer told Lyle. “What? What about what he just said to me?” The dealer shrugged his shoulders. “The truth is always polite.” Then he dealt their next hand. Kelly believed with all her heart that Otto would be remembered for playing well, for the skilful hands in which he had defeated Izzy and Charles, for his speech in defence of a fellow player. He would not be remembered for winning this tournament. Kelly herself took him from the game, playing hard to make sure that was the case. She fought for it. And as the dealer declared him out of the game he reached out and put his hand on Kelly’s. “Thank you for a challenge my dear, and for giving me a worthy opponent to lose to.” Kelly felt tears in her eyes that for the first time in days had nothing to do with being treated like a child. “You’re welcome.” He smiled, took his hand off hers, then stood and bowed to the dealer. “I thank you for your skilled work, Monsieur Fulover, it was a pleasure to have a dealer so skilled.” Andre Fulover nodded but said nothing. Kelly supposed it was to maintain a semblance of neutrality. Otto then bowed to her. “Were skill and size matched you would stand a giant Miss Fortuna. I hope you might come and see me one day if you are willing to share stories with an old man.” Stupid tears, Kelly thought, but she smiled and nodded. “It would be an honour.” He nodded politely at Conrad and ignored Lyle as he turned and left. “We shall have a thirty-minute break,” the dealer announced. Marie took Kelly to the bathroom, and Kelly was glad enough to go because she wanted a few minutes to get her head together. She could have done without being undressed and put on the toilet by her maid/nanny, but Marie gave her some actual privacy. When Kelly returned to the table, she was ready to do. The seats had been switched about. She had the dealer on her right and Lyle and Conrad across from her. She smiled as she put a large, square, ten thousand Euro chip into the pot, next to the chips that Lyle and Corand had already anted. “Something amusing Miss Fortuna?” Conrad asked her. “No more friendly targets I have to worry about.” “Pardon?” She did not expand as the dealer dealt out their first two face down cards and their first face up. Kelly looked at the Queen of Spades that landed in front of her, smiled. Conrad got a Four of Clubs and Lyle had a King of Hearts. “Mr Redmond,” the dealer said. “Twenty thousand,” he said as he put two chips. And so the next part of the game started with only three players. Kelly played as well as she ever had, better really, because she was playing smart. She discovered a new source of, well, not fun, but satisfaction. It was not crazy bets and bluffs, but being focused on beating people she did not like. Who knew improving her game required playing with odious people? She moved ahead, a little bit at a time, taking equally from both Lyle and Conrad. Those two seemed to focus on one another, as if only the two men were at the table, though they forgot Kelly at their peril, because she was always there, ready to turn over a card, with a smile, and reveal she was the winner. Still, she suspected they would play their second round of the game that day, and perhaps tomorrow as well, for while she was ahead of them both, no one was close to going bust. Then something strange happened on the last hand of that round. Kelly folded on the fourth card the dealer dealt to her, giving up the sixty thousand she had put in the pot after Lyle had raised by eighty-thousand. She expected that Lyle would fold right after Conrad called and raised, as she was sure he would. Conrad had a pair of fours showing, while Lyle just had an ace and jack of hearts. Conrad pushed his chips into the pot, then raised by one hundred and sixty-thousand. Lyle didn’t fold. Lyle called. Conrad stayed. Another two cards were dealt out. Lyle got a six of spades and Conrad got another four. Conrad opened with forty-thousand. Lyle called and raised eighty-thousand. Raised into three fours. Kelly stared at his two face down cards. Was he actually drawing for a royal flush? Even if the two hole cards were the queen, king and/or ten of hearts it was a crazy play. It was the sort of thing she might do. As a bluff, it was only good if Conrad fell for it. And he never would. Conrad checked and raised one hundred and sixty-thousand. People were gathering, watching, feeling the tension that was building between the players. Lyle checked, and the next cards were dealt. A queen of clubs to Lyle and a nine of spades to Conrad. Conrad looked over at Lyle. “Shall we increase the table limits? Starting bet a million?” Kelly was not the only one who hissed in a breath of surprise. Fold you, idiot, Kelly thought, as much as she did not like Lyle, his continuing to play was just embarrassing. She knew in her heart that Conrad had four fours, and suspected Lyle, if he was lucky, might have three jacks or three aces. “Agreed,” Lyle said. Kelly suddenly wondered, as Conrad opened with a million euros and then Lyle matched and raised to three million, if all the people she had played with had thought her that much of an idiot, when she had bluffed blind in the hopes of getting the right card. Looking at it from the outside she suddenly thought of it as childish. And with that thought came the idea that maybe she was one of those littles that was not ready to grow up. Or at least had been, she quickly assured herself. She was snapped out of her thoughts by Lyle saying, “Call, raise to 15 million.” He had gone crazy. What had Amelia said once to her, too much thin air up there? Conrad looked perhaps a little uncertain as he checked. Lyle was getting to him. Insane bets were rattling the otherwise cool man. The dealer laid out the seventh and last cards. Lyle got a queen of hearts and Conrad a six of diamonds. Kelly knew what cards she had had in her hand when she folded. It was not impossible that Lyle just had picked up that royal flush. Unlikely, improbable, but not impossible. Still, she thought, were it her, if she was in Conrad’s place, she would fold. If it was a bluff, it was masterful. Conrad took a deep breath and, still showing the high hand, Pushed forty thousand into the pot. “Suspend table limits?” Lyle asked. It took Conrad a few seconds to say, “Agreed.” Lyle nodded, looked at a pile of chips, a few million dollars, then leaned back and said, “I am all in.” Silence for several long seconds. Kelly almost told Conrad to fold. Not that he would have listened. The dealer spoke at that moment, “That will take all you have Mr Revel.” Conrad nodded. “Agreed. All in.” People were leaning in around the table as Conrad turned up his two hole cards. A four and a three; the four of a kind Kelly had been certain he had. All attention turned to Lyle. Kelly believed he would turn up junk, and then with a deprecating smile and a shrug of the shoulders, he would excuse himself. It was what Kelly had done in similar situations. Lyle’s cards went face up, smoothly, together (smoother than she could have achieved with the big cards); The king and the ten of hearts. He had been bluffing right up to the end. Right until the queen of hearts had fallen into his hand. Shocked expressions, soft applause. Kyle leaned back in his chair, smiling, accepting the congratulations as for a moment people seemed to forget the dressing down he had received from Otto. Looking pained Conrad stood. “An excellent game,” he congratulated Lyle. “You played well,” Lyle told him, magnanimous in victory. It still sounded like an insult to Kelly’s ears. Conrad nodded once at Kelly, then turned and walked away, towards the bar. “We will meet again in four hours,” the dealer said. Lyle looked surprised for a moment. He actually forgot about me, or maybe he just thought that if only ‘the little’ were left they would declare him victor by default. He looked at her and nodded. “In four hours then.” Kelly nodded as well, feeling empty. Cheated. Marie got her at that point, to take her up to her room. She looked back at the deserted table, saw Lyle taking a seat beside Conrad at the bar. Was he offering more consolations or needling the man for loosing? “What is the matter?” Marie asked a few minutes later as they rode the elevator up to the room. “Nothing is the matter,” Kelly said softly. “No fibbing Kelly.” There was a mock sternness in her tone. Kelly laughed softly as the elevator doors opened and they walked towards the room. “I was just hoping for a better game.” “Are you sad that Mr, Kruugen lost?” She stopped in front of the room door. “Yes, but that’s not it.” Marie knelt down, gently straightened the combs in her hair. “Then what is?” She sighed. “Lyle is an idiot, and he is going to be no challenge.” “Kelly, that is rude,” Marie said, though she did not sound angry. Kelly shrugged her shoulders. “I know, but it’s true. He doesn’t even remember I am in the game half the time. How can he beat me?” Marie smiled and stood. “Don’t discount luck Kelly, and play him with all the seriousness you would want him to show you. I know you can be the better person.” She opened the door. Steven was in there. “Come back in about ten minutes Miss Frontè.” “Oui,” she said, and then after giving Kelly a gentle push into the room and a pat on the head, she closed the door. “Revel is out,” Steven said. Kelly walked into the room, took a seat on the couch. “Yes. You got what you wanted.” “I still want you to win.” “I will.” “You were not sure you could beat Conrad.” “Conrad at least could conceive that a little might beat him, Lyle Redmond is incapable of thinking anything like that. He has already lost.” She said it morosely, disappointment obvious. “No one is going to remember this tournament as the one where Kelly Fortuna won against a table full of giants. All they are going to remember is that some churlish robber baron played like an idiot.” “I hope you are right.” Steven stood and left her alone in the room, going wherever he went when out. Probably to have sex with Caroline. She sat on the couch, staring at her red shoes for several minutes before she heard a knock at the door and Marie’s voice, asking to come in. Kelly got up from the couch and opened the door for the Amazon. Maira undressed her, told her she should take a nap. “Can you hold me on your lap, like yesterday?” Kelly asked her. “Of course my petit Jean d’Arc,” she said and lifted Kelly into her lap, once more singing softly. Kelly placed her head against the woman’s chest and closed her eyes. Chapter 10 - A Gambler's Glum Revenge She sat down at a table, smaller than the one they had used earlier, directly across from Lyle, the dealer between them. Five hands in and she knew it was bad as she feared. She bluffed him, and he folded. She called his bluff, and he stayed in too long. She played better than him. The hands went faster with only the two of them. An hour in it seemed as if he was beginning to realise that he was not taking her seriously enough. His playing got better. Not good enough. After about two hours he was back where he had been when he had knocked Conrad from the game. The dealer called a break at the midway point. “Come on Kelly, let’s take you to the potty,” Marie said, helping her down from the chair. She as a little embarrassed at Marie’s words, but went without a complaint. When the game started again, Lyle was once more playing poorly. Was that all it had taken, Marie treating her like a small child to make him forget? And had Marie done it on purpose? She wondered if Marie had any money on the game. Lyle tried. She gave him that. He tried to get her to agree to go over the table limit. She politely refused most of the time, and when she agreed it was only when she was certain she would win. His chips diminished. Several times she had to force herself to not try and take him out in one, grandiose play. At one point she was certain she could draw an ace five straight, and the thought that she could win on one, like she had back at the bar several days before, almost made her go wild. However, she recalled the lyrics of a song, that if you chased rainbows, you were going to get wet. And no little wanted to get wet. The dealer let the game go over the five hours at both Kelly and Lyle’s agreement. He was desperate, and she was cool. And then he was out of chips. The dealer laid out the rest of their cards. And anticlimactically Kelly won the game with three of a kind to his two pair. “You are out Mr Redmond,” the dealer said. Lyle seemed confused by the words. “She’s a little,” he said. “You are still out Mr Redmond.” He took a deep breath. “Of course. Thank you.” He stood and offered his hand to the dealer. “You did an excellent job.” He left without acknowledging Kelly. It did not win him any friends. However, Kelly had no time to think about that as she was led from the table, onto a stand that put her eye level at about eight feet. She was able to take the offered hands of the giants and inbetweeners who came to congratulate her. There were no littles there. Otto took her hand, gave it a firm shake. “A most enjoyable game to watch Miss Fortuna.” “Yes,” she said with a weak smile. “You played well and gave your opponent every chance not to be a fool. It was a true victory.” She nodded again, but she did not believe it. “Consider this Miss Fortuna. Sometimes we don’t get the opponent we deserve, but often in those cases, you are the opponent the other person deserves.” Kelly smiled, then laughed. “Thank you.” “You are most welcome.” He gave her hand one last shake before moving aside for others. It was a little intimidating, all those people, all those giants, taking her hand in theirs. But Marie stood close by, and Kelly felt secure. Caroline stepped up to her, took her hand, and said, “Wonderful performance.” She was smiling, and Kelly could not help think that it was a smile of someone who had given her a spanking. Though perhaps she was reading too much into it. Then the owner of the casino and the hotel, Jean Noble, approached, holding a golden medallion. A knot had been tied halfway along the red, silk chord so that when he put it around her neck, it hung down around her chest rather than down by her waist. “A most well-played game,” he told her, and then kissed both her cheeks. When she had a moment, she looked at the medallion. It felt heavy enough that it could contain real gold. ‘Cartes D'or Triomphantes’ had been engraved in the surface, and the year, and with small flecks of metal from being recently cut, her name, ‘Kelly Fortuna’. She ran her thumb over the name, wondering if another name had been engraved there and then smoothed out so her name could be put on it instead. But no, it felt flat around her name. They had shown enough class to not assume that Lyle was going to win. And as the well-wishers began to thin Mr Nobel said, “If you come with me Miss Fortuna, we can take care of your winnings.” “Yes, thank you,” Kelly said as he helped her down from the stand. Marie followed close behind as Jean led them to his office. He seemed somewhat confused by her presence when they reached the door, but Kelly said it would be okay if Marie entered. Marie stood near the wall, away from the desk, as Jean helped Kelly into the seat behind his desk and turned the laptop to face her. He brought up a bank’s online site. Entered a password. “Your winnings, minus the casino’s ten percent. Simply change the password to one of your own choosing.” He moved away so Marie could enter the new password in private. And it was done. “Thank you, Mr Noble,” she said as she got down from the chair. “Of course Miss Fortuna. Will we see you next year? I will ensure you are sent an invitation if you are interested.” Kelly smiled. “Who knows.” She had no idea if she could get the stake together. “Perhaps I can let you know in a few months?” “Of course.” He took a business card from his pocket. “If you need to get in touch with me.” “Thank you.” He showed Kelly and Marie from his office. “So, do you want to go back and celebrate?” Marie looked towards where the tournament had been held. “Do you think it would be rude of me if I did not?” Marie smiled. “I am sure they will forgive you.” And she took Kelly’s hand to lead her back to the room. Steven was there, waiting. “Miss Frontè, thank you for taking care of Kelly, your services will no longer be needed.” “Of course sir,” Marie said. Kelly turned her head, looking between Steven and Marie, for a moment not understanding how he could say that. Then she remembered that Maire had been doing a job, and that job was no longer required. Marie knelt down to bring her face close to Kelly’s. “I enjoyed showing you the city and helping you, and watching you play. Bonne chance Kelly.” Kelly nodded slowly. “Thank you for all your help,” she said. And with that Marie stood up and left, closing the door behind her. Kelly still couldn’t quite accept that Marie had just left. However, Steven gave her no time to think of it. “I need you to give me access to the money,” he told her. Kelly nodded. “Right,” she said, walking over to the laptop that Steven had set up. He already had the bank’s site open. She paused. “I’m going to give you all the money, as we agreed, but, can you tell me what all this was about?” Steven sat down next to her. “It’s complicated, and some of it is confidential.” “I can handle the complicated part and tell me what is not confidential.” She typed in the password, opening up the account with all the money. She moved aside, and Steven took her place, but he did touch the laptop. “Conrad is an arms dealer, of a sort.” “Of a sort? Complicated or confidential.” “Confidential. He has used the money from such tournaments in the past to support his activities.” “So he’s lost so he’ll stop.” Steven leaned forward and typed across the laptop’s keyboard, made a few mouse clicks. “No, it will only slow him down. I needed you to win so that I can use the prize money as a way to get closer to him, so I can stop him and find out who he is working with.” “Who do you work for?” “I’ve moved your five million into another account for you. Enter your own password, and it will be yours.” He stood and walked towards the door. “Is there anything else you can tell me?” Kelly asked his retreating back. “You’ve done a good thing,” he told her without looking back, then he opened the door and left the hotel room. Kelly shifted over to the laptop, looked at the account that had been set up in the same bank as the prize money had been. She would have to move it to her own bank account, but that was for later. She typed in a new password, taking control of the account. She closed the laptop and slid off the couch. In her room she undressed, fiddling with the bow, and then pulling the dress over her head. She tossed it into a messy pile on the floor and undressed down to the diaper, which she pulled off and threw into the garbage. Next, she took a long shower before returning to her room. Later, dressed in her jeans and t-shirt, she sat on her bed and called Ken. “Heys Miss Fortuna, beens waiting to hears from yous.” “Good evening Ken. It all went well?” “Yous cleaned up. Just likes yous said. No ones thoughts yous could win.” She smiled and fell back into her pillows. “Good work. Can you see about getting us a flight out of here tomorrow? Come and pick me up.” “I will do thats Miss Fortuna. And congratulation ons winnings.” “Thank you, Ken,” she told him and hung up. Dropping her phone on the bed beside her she closed her eyes. “What a game.” Chapter 11 - Getting Wet She had been asleep, dreaming of something pleasant that escaped from her as soon as she opened her eyes. Someone was knocking on the room’s door. Looking at the bedside clock, she saw she had only been about asleep for about an hour. Maybe it was Caroline looking for Steven, she thought as she slipped off the bed, or Steven had forgotten his key, or someone from the casino, up to congratulate her. She unlocked the door and pulled it open. She did not expect Conrad Revel to be standing out there. “Can I help y…” He stepped forward and hit her, knocking her back. Kelly had been somewhat rough and tumble as a kid. She had fallen from the back of a horse and had the breath knocked out of her. She had broken her arm playing touch football when she had been tackled by an over-enthusiastic inbetweener. The point was that she had been hurt before, so lying on the floor, the breath knocked out of her, was not an entirely new feeling for her. But never had a giant hit her (well, besides spankings and those never counted). What left her lying there, doing nothing, was more the surprise that a giant would hit her than the actual hit itself. He stepped in after her, kicked the door closed. He was kneeling at her side, a roll of duct tape in his hands. He put a strip over her mouth, then used more tape to secure her arms behind her back and taped her feet together. He waved something over her, something that beeped. He reached down and grabbed the gold watch around her wrist, yanked it off her, tossed it away. Conrad had brought a duffle bag with him. He put her into it. It was padded with towels to hide her shape. He zipped it closed, leaving her in darkness. She felt him lift her and the bag up, then he was moving. She was bumped around, turned about in the bag, felt him almost running downstairs, the bag with her in it slapping against his side. Then she was falling, but only for a moment as the bag landed on something hard. A soft ‘clunk’ of metal on metal. She had been put in a car’s trunk. Not long after she felt the vibration of the car starting up. Where was he taking her? What was going to happen to her? Eventually, the car stopped, and she was pulled out of the trunk, walked somewhere, and then dropped to a hard floor. Even with the padding of the towels, it hurt enough to leave her stunned. The bag was unzipped, Conrad pulled her out, held her up. “No one is around here to hear you scream, but I don’t want to hear a screaming little, so keep it down, or I’ll hurt you.” He then grabbed the tape over her mouth and yanked it off. “Understand?” “Yes,” she said, the skin around her lips stinging. He took a knife and cut the tape around her arms and legs, then dropped her into a chair too big for her. There were other men around, standing or sitting near the edge of the room. “I want the bank code for the game’s winnings.” “I don’t have it,” she told him. He backhanded her, hard enough to almost knock her off the chair. She cut the inside of her cheek on her teeth. “Don’t lie to me.” “I didn’t have the buy-in, someone else provided it. They got all the money.” He grabbed her shoulders, fingers digging painfully in. “Don’t lie to me.” “I’m not. His name was Steven Armitage, and he was in the room with me.” He seemed to think about that for a moment. Then he slapped her again. “Don’t lie to me.” Kelly shook her head. “What do you want me to tell you?” she said, not wanting to be hurt again. “Give me the password for the account!” “I don’t know it.” He kicked the chair out from under here, she hit the floor hard. “Give me the password.” “Stop that Conrad,” a familiar voice said. Kelly looked up, mouth agape as she saw Lyle Redmond enter the room. “She’s not giving me the password. She says she doesn’t know it. Says she gave it to her backer.” “Do you think that is possible?” Lyle asked as he walked into the room to stand next to Conrad and over her. She tried getting up, but Conrad pushed her back down the floor with his foot. “You think a little would give up that much money, just like that.” Lyle looked down at her. “I will admit littles can be greedy things if you let them. I have to keep a firm hand on my girls to keep them from getting spoiled.” Conrad reached down and grabbed the front of her t-shirt, pulling her up. “I’ll get her to talk.” “You are treating a little like an adult Mr Revel. That will fail.” He righted the chair and took a seat. “You don’t interrogate littles, you punish them, and they realise they are wrong.” He plucked Kelly out of Conrad’s hands and laid her on his lap. “No, no, no,” Kelly said, struggling. Not that it did not do any good. Lyle lay six, rapid hard spanks against her jean covered bottom causing Kelly to let out a howl. Who would have thought she would look back fondly on being spanked by Caroline? “Little girls should not lie,” Lyle said and slapped his hand against her bottom five more times. “Little girls should answer truthfully when asked a question.” More spanks. “Little girls should respect their betters.” More spanks. Kelly was sobbing uncontrollably. She felt him loosen her jeans and then whisk them down to her knees. A minute or two passed and Kelly stopped sobbing, stopped gasping. Her bottom hurt so much. “What is the code for the bank account?” Lyle asked her. “I don’t know.” More smacks fell across her pantie covered ass, his large hand effortlessly encompassing her whole bottom. Kelly screamed, wiggling, trying to get away, crying, ‘I don’t know, I don’t know.’ Finally, it was Conrad who said, “Maybe she really does not know.” Lyle stopped spanking her. He stood, kept hold of her, turned around and set her on the chair. Kelly sobbed as her well-spanked bottom was placed on the steel of the chair. They ignored her until she had cried herself out. She looked down at her jeans and wondered if she should pull them up. Lyle leaned in. “Kelly, I want you to tell me what the passcode is.” His tone was soft, almost kind. “You’ve been punished, and if you tell me, I will consider you a good girl. You want to be a good girl, don’t you? Good girls don’t get spanked.” Kelly did not know if she wanted to be a good girl, but she knew she did not want to be spanked. However, she also could not tell him what she did not know. Sniffing she said, “I don’t know it. Steven changed it.” “I am inclined to believe her,” Conrad said. “Perhaps, but littles lie. It is in their nature,” Lyle answered him. He walked away from her, then turned and came back. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a smartphone. He held it out towards her. “Do you know what this is Kelly?” “It’s a sm…” Her attention was captured by flashing lights. “...artphone.” Something felt strange. Some of the men were laughing. She looked down. Her panties were soaked, a puddle of urine had spread across the seat, stinging tender skin inflamed by the earlier spanking. “What?” “A simple hypnotic colour pattern. Some therapists use it to help littles take the steps back they need but cannot admit to themselves.” She stared wide-eyed. “I care little for it myself. I prefer that my girls make those decisions on their own.” He smiled at her. “It is important that littles know they are not adults.” Conrad and a few of the others laughed again. “One exposure, just an accident, but multiple exposures, the effect lasts longer,” Lyle told her. “Eventually, without intervention, it becomes permanent.” “I don’t know the code,” Kelly said once more. “You’re one of those littles, the ones who have something special about themselves that make them think they are grownups. It’s sad. You see something special, but really, it is just something making you unhappy. “I now have access, thanks to my new partner,” he looked at Conrad, “to some interesting and advanced variations on this style of program, and some experimental medicines that make the effect take hold much stronger, and faster, with greater scope.” He walked a few steps from her then turned around. “Do you think you could play cards if you could not even count to ten Kelly?” For a second she did not think she had heard right, and her mind spun about with the implication of what he said. “You couldn’t” she whispered. He could not do that. Could he do that? “I suppose you could try. Perhaps something like, I have this many,” he held up three fingers, “of this kind,” he held up five fingers. More laughter from the others. “Perhaps you would have to play barefoot to better keep track.” With a sob, Kelly said, “I’ll give you the code.” The best way to bluff someone was to give them what they wanted to believe. A laptop was brought to her. She brought up the banking website. “She’s in the right place,” Conrad said from behind her, where he looked over her shoulder. Kelly typed in the password. “There. That’s it.” “Wait, there is almost nothing there,” Conrad said. “What?” Lyle demanded. “What?” Kelly asked, sounding shocked. “That’s five million dollars,” Conrad told them. Lyle put a large hand on her head, turned her to face him. “Where is the money?” “It was there. It was all there just…” she trailed off, made her eyes go wide. “Ken!” “Ken?” “I was working with him, this was all his idea.” The two men looked away from each other, to each other, their expressions changing like she had told them the secret of life. “Of course,” Conrad said. “I suppose he was coaching you over some sort of wireless device?” Lyle asked her. That was the stupidest thing that Kelly had ever heard, but it seemed to be what he wanted to hear, so she nodded and said, “Uh huh.” “Obviously this Ken person took all the money,” Conrad told Lyle. Lyle nodded, then frowned. “Why leave anything in the account though?
 Kelly was careful not to react, but she suspected her bluff was about to be called. “Who would leave a little completely helpless?” Conrad asked Lyle. After a moment Lyle nodded. He turned back to Kelly. “Where is he?” Kelly told him the hotel she knew Ken was staying at. She did not want to give him up like that, but the cards she showed had to be good. They checked, confirmed it. Conrad sent five of the men to go and get Ken. Five did not seem bad for Ken, as long as none of those men was like Steven. Ken might even enjoy the fight. Or she might be trying to make herself feel better. Conrad sent two men outside watch while he and Lyle remained in the room. She had bought herself some time, maybe. Ken might be able to find her if he made it through those five men sent after him. And she could hope that Steven would show up. He had brought her. He should be trying to protect her. The watch he had given her, the one he had told her to not lose. Not lose was just another way of saying ‘never take it off, keep it with you’. He must have put a tracking device in it. But Conrad had torn it away. Several minutes passed as Kelly sat there, trying to figure out what who might be able to help her. “What should we do with her?” Conrad’s voice made her turn her head, realising they were talking about her and wanting to know what they were saying. “I had thought that she would make a perfect sixth for my nursery, but, she’s too tall, and not very cute.” She could not see them and relaxed enough to let the anger show on her face. More like her face would remind him he was a loser… at least at poker. “So, we’ll need to make her disappear.” “Disappear?” Lyle sounded concerned. “We could scramble her memories, dump her in some place, or leave her with someone, where they won’t ask questions.” Would they really do that? “That sounds like a good plan.” It sounded like a terrible plan to Kelly. “The problem with that is whatever we do can be undone, if one puts enough effort and money into it.” “What are you suggesting?” Lyle asked. What was he suggesting, Kelly wondered. “Mr Redmond, you care about littles, want to see them taken care of. I understand that. Sometimes though, well, a few have to be sacrificed for the rest to be taken care of.” “You can’t be suggesting?” “Why not? Big picture wise, well, does it matter?” “It matters to me. I want to see littles looked after.” “And if your desire to protect this one means many others are not protected?” Lyle made an uncertain sound. They were going to kill her. No one was going to save her. So she was going to have to save herself. Quietly, carefully she reached down and grasped the waist of her jeans, pulled them up her, dragged them through the urine on her chair. She was careful not to make a noise as she wiggled her pained bottom back and forth so she could get the jeans up around her waist. She buttoned them, then took a deep breath. Pushing herself from the chair, her feet made a scuffling sound as her shoes hit the cracked concrete. She took off at a run, towards the dark doorway in front of her, away from the men behind her. She had to run, to keep running. She hated running. Heavy footsteps behind her, she tried not to picture the longer strides of either giant bringing them closer to her. All she had to focus on was the door. On getting away. Someone grabbed her long hair, hauled back and yanked her to a painful stop. Then she was lifted by her hair, which hurt a lot and made her scream out in pain. Swung around, more screams, then thrown back into the chair, which almost went over backwards and actually went up on two legs before falling forward again. Conrad, who had grabbed her, closed, put his palm on her forehead and pushed her head back. In his other hand, he had a gun. Kelly had never seen a real gun before. It looked terrifying. If Lyle’s phone had not made her wet herself earlier, she knew the icy fear that stabbed through her would have left her in soaked pants. “What are you doing?” Lyle shouted. “We don’t need her, we can get rid of her.” “No! Not like this! Not with her seeing it.” “Sometimes we have to be cruel to be kind Mr Redmond.” “I won’t let you,” Lyle said. She thought they were going to come to blows. Conrad pushed the barrel of the gun hard against the side of her head. Everything went dark, and for a moment Kelly thought she was dead, but it was the lights that had gone off. “What the hell?” A shout. Conrad. “Marcelle, why are the lights out!” Then there was a flash of light and an echoing boom that made Kelly cry and put her hands over her ears. “No, no, no,” she sobbed. Flash, boom. The sound of people running. The chair was knocked over, and she fell to the floor, once again having the breath knocked out of her. She lay there, trying to suck in a breath of air, wondering just when she was going to die. Then the lights came on, and a vast figure appeared over her, a gun in its hand. Kelly closed her eyes tight and hoped it would not hurt. She flinched away from the hand that touched her, but there was no pain, just a gentle almost caress as the hand ran from the top of her head, down the side of her face and over her shoulder and arm. “Es-tu blessé? Parle moi? Kelly, my petit Jean d’Arc, open your eyes.” She did not believe what she was hearing, thought it some kind of trick, but she opened her eyes. Marie was kneeling at her side, one hand running over her body, checking for injuries Kelly realised. In her other hand, she held a frightful looking gun. While she was speaking to her, examining her, she was looking elsewhere, all around, as if there was still some danger. “What are you doing here?” She looked down at Kelly for a moment, smiled, then went back to scanning the area around them. “I would be a terrible nanny if I let my pretty girl out of my sight more than once. Are you okay?” Was she okay? “Nothing’s broken… probably.” “Formidable. Stand up and put your arms around my neck, keep clear of my pistol.” Kelly got up, feeling bruises, but as she had said, nothing was broken. She wrapped her arms around the big woman, careful not to hold on as tight as she wanted to lest she choke Marie. Marie straightened, her free hand slipping under Kelly’s bottom so she could hold her up, pull her close. “Wet,” Marie said, with a small click of disapproval. Kelly almost laughed. “Who else was in this room?” “Conrad and Lyle.” “Lyle Redmond?” “Yes.” “Interesting. Hold tight, I will need to move fast.” Marie ran, her long strides and heavy weight booming on the floor, then outside, thumping on the ground. Each footfall jolted Kelly in her arms, reminding the little of all the hurts she had taken. She bit down on them and made no noise, not wanting to distract Marie. Then they slowed, and she felt the Amazon shifting her about, heard the sound of a car door opening, and then she was placed, gently into the car’s bucket seat. The door closed, a few seconds later Marie opened the driver’s side door and slid in. “I hope you don’t think too badly of me for not having a child seat,” she said and started the car, shifting into reverse, hitting the gas, rapidly spinning the steering wheel about. A shift into first gear and the vehicle sped away. Kelly started laughing, which turned into sobbing and she probably cried for nearly a minute before with sniff and hiccoughs she got herself under control. “Feel better?” Marie asked. Her attention was on the road. “No,” Kelly said, then, “yes.” “I would hold you and let you have a good, proper cry, but that will have to wait.” Kelly sniffed, then said, “Ken!” “What?” “I sent them to where Ken was, I had to…” Well, she had chosen to, cause she was afraid. “Use my phone,” Marie took one hand from the wheel and removed a phone from her jacket pocket, held out to her. She dialled, got Ken. “This is Kelly Ken, you’re in trouble.” “Trouble? What troubles Miss Fortuna?” It was too hard to explain it all. “Some people tried to rough me up for the prize money. I had to point them at you. Five giants.” “Oh, is thats all. Don’ts worry. Better you sends them at me. Wants me to break them?” “No, just go somewhere else…” “Wait,” Marie said. Kelly looked at her. Not taking her eyes off the road Marie said, “If your Ken does not put himself in danger, arranging to capture these men would be of use. We could arrange for the police to help, but that may take a little time, and it might scare them off.” “Did you hear that Ken?” she asked. “I heards it.” “Do you think…” “Don’ts worry Miss Fortuna. I’ll sees if I can gets these guys for your friend.” “Don’t take any chances, Ken.” “Don’t worries Miss Fortuna.” He hung up. “He seems like a nice man,” Marie said. “I’ve always liked having him around.” “Are you…” “No,” Kelly shook her head. It was not the first time she had been asked that question. “How did you find me?” “I followed Conrad. I’m sorry I was not able to get to you sooner.” She looked at Kelly for a moment. “Your poor face.” “Is it bad?” Kelly asked, putting her hand to her face, wincing slightly as she touched the swelling around her mouth. “It will fade soon, but I take offence at someone hitting a little.” “I’m not a fan of it myself.” Marie laughed. “I was waiting for some backup, but then those five men left, and I was preparing to go in carefully, but then I heard you scream…” “Thank you.” She paused. “You’re not a real nanny are you?” “Do you have complaints about the way I took care of you?” Kelly was hard pressed to find an answer to that, but after a few seconds she said, “It was very professional.” “There you go. However, one can be a perfectly skilled nanny and be something else as well.” “What is that something else?” Marie did not answer, remaining silent so long that Kelly assumed she would not. Then she said, “Mr Artimage, and Miss Jay and perhaps Mr Wright came here with complicated plans to take away Conrad Revel’s resources and get leverage on him. However, my superiors took a much more practical approach. If Conrad Revel had won, I was to kill him.” “Kill…” “Yes. Terrible isn’t it.” Kelly nodded, and then, because Marie was still watching the road she said, “Yes.” “Sometimes my job requires me to do terrible things, and sometimes it allows me to do wonderful things, like taking care of a pretty girl who plays poker. I am something of a spy, though with a French flair.” Kelly thought about it. She looked for some way to connect a woman who had been ready to kill Conrad Revel (terrible as he was) and the woman who had held her and sung lullabies to her. “Have I shocked you?” Marie asked. “Yes,” Kelly said. “My poor petit Jean d’Arc. Littles and such violence should never mix. Mr Artimage has much to answer for in my opinion.” “You’re not…” Kelly started to ask, alarmed. Marie laughed. “I am not going to shoot him. I am just going to give him a piece of my mind for letting you be hurt.” “Good.” “Have you fallen in love with him?” Marie asked. “He’s very handsome.” “Oui.” “But I’m not in love with him. I just don’t want him to be hurt.” “Littles, so gentle.” Kelly did not think it was a criticism, though she was not sure she could take it as a compliment. “What happens now?” Kelly asked. “We stop off at a hospital where I get you looked at…” “I’m fine.” “We will not discuss this. And then we return to the hotel to sort a few things out.” “Okay.” She wondered what ‘sort a few things out’ meant but guessed she would learn soon enough. Chapter 12 - Letting Go It was still a few hours away from dawn when the four of them sat in the suite. Kelly was wrapped in a thick robe, warm and tingling from the ointments that the doctor at the emergency room had applied to all her bruises, from the ones of her face to the ones on her bottom. She had sat on the couch and listened to Marie give Steven a ‘piece of her mind’. She also included Caroline in that as, having partnered up with Steven, was equally responsible for ensuring Kelly was kept safe. “I admit,” Steven said when Marie had finished, “I made a mistake. I never thought that Conrad would waste his time on Kelly.” “Waste his time?” Kelly asked, offended. “You should both be glad that she was not seriously harmed,” Marie said, apparently ignoring Kelly’s statement. Finished with her dressing down of the other two giants she then filled them in on how she had spotted and tracked Conrad. Steven told Marie that he had left Kelly to find Conrad himself. “I assumed I would be the likely target.” “Kelly, can you tell us what happened?” Marie asked as she took a seat next to the little. Taking a deep breath, she told them the entire story, from opening the door (which had three giants all admonishing her for opening a door without seeing who was on the other side) to her rescue by Marie. When she got to the part about convincing them Ken had been in control Caroline asked Steven, “Did you teach her that? It was a good play.” Kelly, tired of the way the giants seemed to automatically stick her into a space labelled ‘child’ snapped, “I came up with that idea myself bitch.” Caroline looked shocked. Kelly felt a short, sharp pain across the crown of her head and looked up in surprise at Marie who had just smacked her on the head. It was not like it had been very hard, and cushioned by her hair had not really hurt at all. “If your poor bottom was not so bruised I would give you a swat on it right now,” Marie told her. “Just because people do not treat you the way you want is no reason to be rude to them. I believe Otto Kruugen congratulated you on remembering that fact not so long ago.” Kelly flushed and nodded and then looked over at Caroline. “I’m sorry.” “Apology acc…” “But I’m not stupid, I’m just small.” Caroline nodded. “Yes. You are not stupid.” Kelly wondered if she could bring up not being demoted back to diapers and her ABCs but decided not to push it. Finally, she finished telling them what had happened. “It was really Lyle Redmond?” Steven asked her. She nodded. “It really was.” The three giants looked to one another then back at her. “And he spoke of hypnotic devices and drugs.” “He threatened that I would not be able to count to ten, and he had that thing on his smartphone that he flashed in my eyes that made me,” she paused and swallowed, “wet my pants.” Not her favourite part of the story. “But he specifically talked about advanced and experimental applications?” Steven asked her. He seemed dismissive of the fact that an app on a smartphone could make her wet her pants. Kelly had heard there were places where a little who wet themselves was no longer considered an adult. And a smartphone app that made you wet your pants did not even engender the smallest bit of surprise from the giants. As a little Kelly had to wonder what other tricks the giants kept secret. However, she only said, “Yes, he said advanced and experimental.” The giants looked at each other. “We’ll need to find Conrad. What about Lyle?” Steven asked. “I’m afraid he had both alibi and lawyers, and the word of a little against a man like him,” she shrugged her shoulders. “I think he is already on his private jet over international waters. I am sorry Kelly.” Kelly sighed. “I’ll contact my government, see if we can work together on this,” Steven told Marie and Caroline. “What about me?” Kelly asked. The three looked at her. “What about you?” Caroline asked. Marie saved her, in a manner, from having to explain herself by saying, “There will be security watching over you, until you leave tomorrow. You already have plane tickets home, do you not?” “I do.” “Then you will leave and go home. You will be safe there,” she said with confidence. “Oh,” Kelly said. For a moment she had thought she was part of what they were doing. She had played her part after all. But that part was over. Marie stood and picked Kelly up from the couch. “We need to speak of things you cannot know of,” she told the little she held, “and you should rest up. It had been a trying ordeal.” “But…” “Hush,” Marie told her and carried her into the bedroom. She wrapped Kelly up tightly in the oversized robe, and then slid her under the covers and tucked them tight around her. “Just get some sleep Ma brave fille.” And she kissed her on the forehead and stepped away from the bed. Kelly wanted to say so much, ask so much, but it all got caught in her throat, and she was silent. On her way out Marie stopped and picked up the pale pink dress that Kelly had tossed to the floor earlier. She gave it a shake, then went and hung it up in the closet. Kelly watched as she ran her hands through the clothing hung there. She looked back at Kelly and smiled. “I will see this all gets to someone who will be comme il faut in them.” “Thank you,” Kelly said the only word that would escape the tangle in her throat. Then Marie turned off the light and left the room. When Kelly woke the next morning Marie and the others were gone, and she had not even come to say goodbye. The hotel had a doctor who worked there every other day for half a day. He gave Kelly her enema the morning she was to leave. Clinical, he gave her the privacy of a screened off bed. It did not make it any better, but it was not as humiliating as with Caroline or quietly embarrassing as with Marie. Afterwards, he wrote out some prescriptions for her and gave her the brand names of some enema bulbs she could use herself, a list of foods she should stick too for two weeks, and advised her to see her doctor if she had any stomach pains. He actually said 'achy tummy'. Then he wished her well and left her to get dressed. Her clothing from the night before had been laundered, so she was wearing the jeans and a blouse, with a ratty pair of running shoes. She knew were Marie to see her that she would pronounce Kelly anything but ‘comme il faut’. That thought made her smile as she pulled the jeans up over the training panties. Just in case there was a little enema left to expel. Those panties, the three chokers and the hair combs (along with over fifteen million dollars after all was counted) were the only things she was taking with her. Well, she supposed she should not use the word 'only' for fifteen million. As she walked from the small clinic, she wondered who Marie was going to give all the other clothing to. Perhaps Marie had a child, or a little, of her own. If so she felt bad for them, it must be hard with Marie gone all the time. Walking towards the lobby, it was impossible to not notice the men and women in black suits who trailed her. Obvious security, as promised by Marie. She collected her small overnight bag from the bell captain’s station. The man thanked her for staying with them and told her that all costs had been made complementary by the house then congratulated her on the win. Kelly smiled and thanked him and wondered if Steven had planned to stick her with the bill. She waited on the steps of the hotel for Ken. A few people came up to offer her congratulations, often saying how surprised they were that a little had managed to win. Like there was something miraculous in it. If someone asked her to touch them and cure whatever ailed them, she was going to boot them in the shins as hard as she could. Fortunately for such hypothetical shins, a taxi pulled up, and Ken got out. “Morning Miss Fortuna,” he called. She picked up her bag and walked down the too tall steps. “Good morning Ken.” He gave her a hand up into the passenger section and then circled around to get in the other side. As the taxi pulled away from the hotel, he asked. “You okay Miss Fortuna, yous gots some bruising ons your face.” “It will fade soon. What about you?” There was a strip of tape across his nose, suggesting it had been broken again, and at least five butterfly closures sealed cuts on his bruised face. His hands were bandaged. He smiled. “Me? I’m fines. Nones of those five you gaves to me were anythings special. That was real smarts of yous Miss Fortuna, sending them to me likes that. Any of thems the ones that did that?” He lifted a huge hand and pointed at her face. “No.” “Thats too bads, I liked to thinks that I got some back for you.” “You did more than enough. I am sure the information that those men provide will help someone get some back for me.” “Just have preferreds thats it was me.” Kelly smiled. “Maybe next time.” The first class tickets got them through check-in and security quickly. As Kelly was walking through the airport, she often looked over her shoulder. She delayed during check in, until the attendant insisted she get onboard or be left behind. As she stepped onto the boarding ramp, she looked over her shoulder one last time. Amelia had always told her that if a giant ever got their hands on a little that little was almost certainly caught. “You’re a crazy idiot Amelia Black,” she said softly and jogged down the ramp towards the open door with the attendant behind her, saying “Hurry, hurry.” Chapter 13 - BunBun Interlude In a bright and cheerful nursery, Emily Black lay on a play rug, a pink laptop computer with pony stickers on it in front of her. She wore a pale yellow and white striped dress with a skirt too short to hide her thick disposable diaper. She was squirming because she had to go to the bathroom, but the information on the screen was so interesting. It was the results of a new predictive algorithm she had written. Of course, she was in a diaper, so if she were going wet herself, it would be no big deal. But that was what they wanted her to think. But the information was so interesting, and surely she could hold it. She was peripherally aware of the conflict in her mind, but whenever she thought about it something else would catch her attention, all too often what she was working on. And why should it not? What she was working on was always so compelling, and surely she could hold her pee for a little while longer. Such decisions often led to a wet diaper, or worse, but at the moment such juvenile outcomes were chased from her head like she herself chased a new piece of data she had spotted. Like Alice after the Rabbit. She had just about puzzled out what she was looking at when she heard Chase call, "Emily, you have to see this." Emily looked up from her computer. Chase did not often call her Emily these days. That was something unusual, enough to tear her attention from her work and make her more aware of the building pressure in her bladder. Chase came into the nursery, a huge presence both in size and personality and in Emily's universe. The Amazon was holding a tablet, smiling brightly. It was on Emily's lips to ask for the potty when Chase scooped her up. Emily made a surprised squeak and started to wet her diaper. Only needing one arm to hold up Emily, Chase's hand cupped Emily's diapered bottom. Chase gave the diaper a gentle squeeze, making it clear to Emily that she was aware of its state. Instead of playfully teasing Emily as she often did she held up the tablet. "Look at this Emily." Emily wondered if it was some kind of trick, or perhaps a catalogue full of baby goods, but it was the webpage of some luxury hotel in Monaco. The hotel had had a recent poker tournament, the buy-in had been obscenely expensive. Emily did not understand what Chase was showing her until she saw a picture of some of the players. One of whom was Lyle Redmond. "Lyle?" "Now Emily, that is Mr Redmond to little girls." Emily ignored her and knew that saying 'mister' would make her lisp. "How did he do?" Chase actually giggled. Not the kind of laugh Emily had come to expect from her mommy. "Swipe the page," Chase told her. Emily reached out and swiped the screen to the next page. There were more pictures of the players, little bios on them. She swept twice more then suddenly stopped. "Kelly," she said, surprised, looking at the woman she had not seen in a few years. "Yes, Kelly Fortuna," Chase said. For a moment Emily thought Chase knew she and Kelly had been friends, but she said nothing else. She must have thought Emily was just reading the name out loud. "Isn't that an adorable little party dress she is wearing EmEm?" Emily knew that such a dress would be making its way into her wardrobe soon, and there would be an opportunity to wear it. She wondered how Kelly had ended up in such a situation. She was playing in the game, not some giant's little girl luck charm. It made her suspect that Kelly was in that outfit because it was required and not that she was some giant's adopted child. She swiped through some more pages, saw pictures of Kelly playing. Her old friend wore a deadpan expression in most of the pictures of her playing, all serious and focused. A few more pages and she got to the page with the results. "She won," Emily said. "Quite surprising, but look at the paragraph about the end of the game," Chase said, sounding excited. Emily did. "She played him last," she said, "and beat him." "She humiliated him," Chase crowed and spun about, bouncing Emily in her grasp. Emily grabbed tight to Chase, afraid she might fall. Chase stopped, cleared her throat. "Now, EmEm, it is not nice to take joy in other people's suffering. However, I'm sure you can forgive your mama." As it had been Chase's desire to 'one-up' Lyle that had brought them together Emily understood Chase's wish to celebrate and to include Emily in it. And Emily had to admit to not being too fond of Lyle. "Yes mama," she said. "I hope Lyle does not end up taking this out on his girls. He wouldn't of course, but maybe I will just have someone look into it." Emily did not say anything, but she did wonder who Chase knew who could find out how Lyle was treating his captive littles. "I would like to meet this Kelly Fortuna," Chase suddenly said. Emily felt her stomach flop at that pronouncement. Chase wanting to meet a little might bode ill for said little. And Emily did not want to meet Kelly. Not as Chase' baby girl. "Mama, I have to go potty," Emily said, in her sweetest tone, thinking to distract Chase from her new thoughts. Chase put the tablet down and then gave Emily's diaper a squeeze and a pat. "Silly bunny, you already have." She blushed and then said, "I have to poopy." "Just poopy in your diaper." Chase smiled and cradling Emily in one arm she tickled her tummy through the thin cloth of the dress. "It won't be the first time." Emily giggled in spite of herself, but shook her head and said, "Potty." "You're lucky mama loves you," Chase said, and then carried Emily to the nursery's attached bathroom. She took Emily out of her dress and then untapped the wet diaper. Naked, Emily was placed on rabbit shaped potty seat. Without being told Emily put her hands on the rabbits lowered ears, like she was riding it. "Now show mama what a birl girl you are," Chase told her, kneeling down. Emily blushed. As she made herself relax she asked, "Why was Lyle playing in that game?" "Mr Redmond EmEm, and he plays poker." "But never in that type of game," Emily said. "Maybe it means something." She had learned about the man when he had been trying to hire Emily Black. "If my silly bunny is not going to focus on her potty maybe I should just put her back in her diaper," Chase said. Emily did not pursue it. She did note a slightly distracted expression on Chase's face. And she hardly praised Emily at all when she had pooped in the potty. Emily supposed she had planted a seed. No doubt Chase would want to talk about it later. When she would act like it was her idea. Chapter 14 - Catching a Rainbow Kelly Fortuna started receiving invitations to play in big buy-in games, mostly in Vegas, but several also other cities as well. Her winnings from the ‘Cartes D'or Triomphantes’ allowed her to afford the buy-in, and the skills she had learned let her win. Consistently. She played smart. Still had Ken make side bets that would guarantee, even if she were to lose, she would keep her stake and make some profit on top of that. But she did not lose. She could stake herself at next years Cartes D'or Triomphantes. All she had to do was ask for an invitation. She was gaining some fame, and with that reputation came more interest from giants. However, with Ken around any giant who seemed too interested could be chased off. Though Kelly had been worried he was going to actually have to punch one Yvonne Tanson, an old Amazon who had shown no doubt she was going take Kelly away with her. She still recalled the look of affront and perhaps a little fear as Ken had told her, ‘Yous best be leaving my Kelly Girl alone, unless you wants me to knocks you down and put you overs my knee fors a spanking.’ Most giants seemed to accept that the intimidating inbetweener was her daddy, or close enough, that they stopped bothering her quite so much. She leaned back slightly on her booster seat, staring at the substantial pile of chips in front of her. She suspected she was about to win another of these tournaments. They were on a break, while the dealer prepared a new deck. Kelly looked towards her opponents, all giants, all seeming a little off put by the little in their midst. She had yet to meet anyone as bad as Lyle Redmond when it came to discounting her, but there were always ones similar. Really, she sighed, it was getting boring. “You do not look like you are having fun my petit Jean d’Arc.” Spinning in her booster seat so fast she almost fell from it Kelly turned to face Marie. The Amazon was dressed in a white, tight evening gown, with a slit up the side that allowed her to kneel. “Ma… Miss Frontè. What… Why…” “I am happy to see you too Kelly. You are looking well.” “But what happened. What about Con…” Marie put a finger to Kelly’s lips. “Hush,” she said with a smile. “Heys, whats do yous think you are doings?” Ken had stepped away from the spectator seats, ready to defend Kelly. Kelly turned towards him. “It’s okay Ken, she’s a friend. I want to see her.” Ken stopped, then nodded. “Right Kelly girl.” He went back to his seat. “Kelly girl?” Marie asked. “It’s what people called me.” “Seems a little redundant to me. What else could Kelly be but a most wonderful girl?” Kelly suspected she was grinning like an idiot and blushing at the same time. “As I said, you are looking well Kelly, though your outfit…” Kelly looked down at herself. She was wearing a Chinese style dress, red with gold trim. “Is there something wrong with it? I thought it looked nice.” “Oh, it looks wonderful. You are quite fetching in it, but it is not comme il faut.” “I didn’t think that mattered.” Marie laughed. “That is because you do not have French sensibilities on fashion, but I think that is something you can achieve, with some work.” “Oh. What…” “But to come back to my original point, why do you look like you are not having fun.” “But I am having fun.” “Really? That glum face I just saw is the face of Kelly Fortuna having fun?” Kelly did not answer. “I had heard that Kelly Fortuna was always smiling, she could lose with a laugh. That she would chase rainbows, that is the correct term, oui?” “Yes, Kelly girl who chased rainbows.” “I thought that Kelly sounded quite pretty. I, of course, understood that at the Cartes D'or Triomphantes where she was not playing for her own enjoyment that she could not treat the game as such, but afterwards, I was certain that that pretty Kelly would show up. And I finally come to see her and what do I find? This is not my Kelly I think.” Kelly frowned. “It’s just, like the song said, if you chase rainbows you’ll get wet.” “I am sure that is true, but Kelly,” she leaned in close, “if you get wet, don’t you think I will dry you?” Kelly stared wide-eyed at Marie. Marie smiled, reached out and ruffled Kelly’s hair. She stood. “Chase your rainbows Kelly. I want to see my petit Jean d’Arc smile and laugh.” Then she walked away. Kelly might have gone after her but the new deck was ready, and the other players were taking their seats. When her fourth card was dealt out to her Kelly looked at it, considered her hole cards, and saw the possibility for an ace five straight. It was there. Not certain, but maybe… She looked over her shoulder, saw Marie sitting among the spectators, watching the game, watching her. When the bet came around to her, she turned and looked at the other players and the dealer. She smiled. “Call and raise one hundred thousand.” They all seemed surprised. It made her laugh. Kelly won the game. She got lucky at the end. She was okay with that. And during the congratulations from the other players (some given with a certain amount of grudging respect) and spectators. Kelly smiled and was polite, but all the time she was looking through the crowd. And then she saw her. Standing towards the back of the group, near the exit of the room. In her white evening dress Kelly wondered how it had taken so long to spot Marie. “Please excuse me,” she said as soon as the opportunity presented itself, then she got down from the chair she had been standing on and walked towards Marie. Ken was close by, but she waved him away. She came to stand in front of Marie, looking up at the woman. Her cheeks grew warm, and she realised she was blushing, feeling shy. She stammered just a little as she asked, “Was that okay?” Marie smiled and patted her on the head. “It looked like you were having fun, I enjoyed watching it. I was worried I was going to have to tell you to stop playing if you were not going to enjoy it.” Her tone was light, teasing, and yet there was a serious nuance which suggested that Marie might very well make that demand. Part of Kelly wanted to be defiant and say something along the lines of ‘you can try’, but that part was silenced by another part that wondered if she was not really enjoying it, should she be doing it? Marie held out her hand towards Kelly. Kelly looked at that offered hand. It was not trying to grab her, had not picked her up, was only there, and she now had to decide if she was going to take it or not. It surprised her how little she hesitated, perhaps she did not hesitate at all. She just reached out and took the Amazon’s large hand. Marie turned and led her from the room. Kelly wondered if there were some surprised looks from those that watched. Or maybe no one noticed. She was having a hard time thinking about anything else other than the hand that held hers, and the indescribable feeling of security she felt. A feeling she had first felt when Marie had rescued her, and that she had been missing ever since. Missing without knowing what it was. As they walked through the huge casino, lost among the crowds and the noise and the lights Marie asked, “What would you do if I told you I would not let you play poker again?” Kelly wondered. What would she do? “I’d tell you that I enjoyed it and still wanted to play.” “You would not simply walk away?” Kelly paused. “Could I walk away? I might have to crawl.” Marie stopped. She looked down at Kelly. She laughed. “What?” “I think you would look cute, crawling, but you would be dull if all you ever did were crawl.” She started walking again. “I suppose some giants do, to a greater or lesser extent, restrict the littles in their lives.” Kelly almost asked if Marie had met Lyle Redmond (though she might have used any giant as an example). “However, a nursery in my home would not be a prison,” Marie told her. “But it would still be a nursery,” Kelly said as they came to a halt in front of the elevator doors. “Of course, as it should be,” Marie told her. Well, that was now giants were, Kelly thought. And you either had to accept that or run away. Kelly did not want to run away. “I understand,” Kelly said. Marie smiled and pressed the elevator’s call button. They rode up to the floor where Kelly had a suite, complimentary from the casino. She was not surprised that Marie had a key card and opened the door. Marie was a spy after all. Inside the suite, Marie took a seat on the couch and pulled Kelly up on to her lap. “Now little one, we need to talk a little.” “Talk?” Marie nodded. “I am still working.” “Here?” Kelly looked around. “No. But I am. Which is why I have not been able to take care of you.” “Well, I’ve been doing okay,” Kelly said. “Except you were all grumpy.” “I wasn’t grumpy.” “Grumpy,” Marie repeated. Kelly did not further argue the point. “As I said, I’ve been busy, and will still be busy, but as it happens, things are occurring in which your presence would be of great use,” Marie told her with a smile. “A card game?” Kelly asked, looking up into Marie’s face. “No.” “Then what… Wait. This is not some sort of beauty pageant thing?” “You’re very smart.” “No. Not a chance.” “Oh? Really?” Kelly nodded. She was not going to enter some sort of stupid little beauty pageant. “Well, then it will be a few months before I can see you again.” A few months? “Well…” “I suppose I’ll need to find another little to help me.” Another little? It was not that she was jealous, Kelly told herself, but how could she trust that Marie would be safe with another little? Maybe they would say something stupid that would get Marie in trouble. So she said that. “You can’t trust some other little to keep any secrets.” “I suppose that may be true. And we both know that you have a good poker face.” Kelly nodded, frowned and then said, “Fine, I’ll go with you.” “Good girl,” Marie said and patted her on the head. “But I’m not wearing any stupid baby dress or diapers!” “Of course not. The baby dresses and diapers you'll wear will be quite smart and will flatter you considerably.” Marie smiled at her. Kelly realised she was doomed to lose any sort of argument about this, so she nodded. “Fine,” she said as if that had been what she had meant all along. “Tell me that you love me,” Marie said. “I love you,” Kelly said without any real thought. Marie kissed her on the forehead and then quickly on the lips. “Good girl.”

Hi there, figured I'd post something that I've been working on for the past two years. Maybe a few here have seen it over at A03, but in any case I figure someone would enjoy this. There are bound to be mistakes here and there, but as long as people are enjoying this, I'm sure it won't be too much of a problem. --- Chapter One: Baby Henry and meeting Mommy It is a time of chaos and war. The Horde and Alliance continue to wage an endless series of proxy conflicts and battles against one another upon the world stage. The recent victory over the Lich King and the Scourge wasn't even enough to warrant cessation of hostilities, and so the war for domination of Azeroth continues. The need for heroes and adventurers remains at an all-time high. Across the world, young men and women hear this call and go to seek their fortunes and destinies among the dangers and wonders in this realm of magic, divinity, and strange technologies. One such individual was a young human named Henry. An orphan that bore no last name, Henry was just another young man seeking his fortune and place in Azeroth. Though he had a boyish charm, decent physique, and a curious mind, he was effectively a nobody from Stormwind. Still, this hasn't stopped him from wanting to explore the world and go on adventures. Growing up in an orphanage, even inside the massive capital of the Alliance, he always felt confined to one place. He found solace in reading books and hearing stories from passersby about the world outside the walls of Stormwind. Many would tell him that it was dangerous outside and to explore during such dark times was a foolhardy and childish endeavor. As he grew older, the world continued to be torn apart by conflict. Such realities didn't stop Henry from imagining the places he'd find and the people he'd meet. And even at twenty years old, he never lost his childlike wonder for the strange and bizarre. Unfortunately for Henry, that wasn't the only infantile quality that he kept. Henry was, for all intents and purpose, slightly incontinent. He had been from a young age, which resulted in him having nighttime accidents for as long as he could remember. It got worse as the young man got older and started having daytime ones as well, around the time Henry began puberty. No matter what magic, arcane or divine, or alchemical potions used, he couldn't control his bladder most of the time. Naturally, to prevent him from pissing all over the place, his sheets, and pants, the orphanage put him in diapers. But what started as just a nighttime arrangement (and occasional punishment) turned into a full-time requirement for Henry by the time he was fourteen. One can imagine how embarrassing it was for him to deal with this situation. Being diapered for most of his life had also compounded particular "interests" to develop and nurture inside his young mind. He was doted on by most of the matrons at the orphanage, and most of the children called him "Baby Henry," sometimes not even in cruelty but as if to state a fact. To everyone at his orphanage, he was a baby boy to them. He did smell like baby powder, have a noticeable bulge around his crotch, and it didn't help that a matron would randomly pull down his pants to check him. He never resisted, not after the time he got spanked in front of the other kids. Sometimes, the matrons forgot that he was a growing boy and babied him extensively. They got him toys, pacifiers, and even a crib when he was ten, but he soon grew out of it. This treatment was used initially as a punishment against Henry, but it became its own reward to Henry in time. Soon the memories of being punished and rewarded started to blur together after a while. A few matrons who acted as wet-nurses would even practice with Henry before breastfeeding real babies or come to him when they needed excess milk drained from their breasts. None of them minded; most of them had already changed his diapers and took care of him when he acted up. There were some benefits to all of this embarrassment. By age twelve, Henry was the only boy in the orphanage that had seen the tits of every matron in the orphanage, although his mouth was soon suckling milk from them all those times. As he got older, such practices stopped, but he could still recall how a few older matrons remarked that having a big baby like Henry around certainly helped take the pressure off their bodies when they were lactating. A few matrons and older people thought it inappropriate to keep treating Henry like a baby, but they couldn't deny that he somehow fit the bill of one. It didn't help that Henry started to enjoy those memories fondly and became sexually aroused when thinking of it all. At eighteen, he knew that was someone that enjoyed being taken care of by women and babied by them, even dominated by them. He was a submissive man, he realized, and Henry found that he didn't have too many issues with it. As always, his biggest concern was wanting to leave the orphanage and explore this world. So when he was allowed to leave at 18, he bid farewell to the matrons (although they did offer that if their former ward was feeling homesick or needed to be taken care of, they could always find room for him) and went to locate some work to help pay for his start as an adventurer. So try as the world might, Henry did still grow up and learned more about the world. He became educated, built his body up, and even trained with how to use a sword! He found work at a local tanner and made a decent enough wage to get his small room at an inn. Henry found the whole adult world to be tiring but also quite interesting. No one outside the orphanage knew him as Baby Henry, which gave him a chance to grow as a young man. He even found the confidence to stop wearing diapers for a time, to which a few accidents reminded him that he still needed the damn things. Around this time, he discovered a new type of diapers, an invention from the gnomes of all people, disposable diapers. He was intrigued, especially after the embarrassment of getting his cloth diapers cleaned all the time by the nice old lady at the mill, and even found that he could afford a pack of twenty-four diapers for a whole forty copper. They were a step above cloth diapers in quality, granted they were thick and loud. But Henry couldn't deny that he enjoyed the feeling of this "plastic" that the gnomes had invented. Try he had many close calls with people almost finding out, and he had a noticeable waddle when he was wet, but in the end, he didn't have too much incorporating these diapers into his life. It was odd to say, but he felt empowered by wearing them. It took him another four years before he had enough money to buy a suit of leather armor, an actual sword, and the gear to become an adventurer. By the time he was ready, he had heard that the Horde and Alliance finally bested the Lich King, but the world was still on the brink of war. He wasn't too interested in politics; he just wanted to see the world and experience what he had only heard from storybooks, rumors, and his dreams. The only thing he worried about was where exactly a young man like him would fit into it. Henry left Stormwind and started on his journey towards Westfall. He had been given a rather easy quest by the Stormwind garrison, deliver a message to the Alliance Watch at Sentinal Hill and then aid them in their fight against Horde raiders. His first real quest was a big deal for Henry. He packed his gear, his sword, and plenty of diapers and changing supplies. He felt like an adult for the first time, a real one that was venturing out into the dangerous but exciting world. He even did some minor quests along the way, killing some boars and gnolls. It was crazy and even a little scary in some places. He felt glad to be wearing his diapers; he was pretty sure he soaked them once or twice. As he continued on his journey towards Westfall, he felt something strange was in the air upon his third day into the quest, and as the young man slept that night, he felt as if something familiar, something comforting found and said: "yes, you are the one" but didn't remember much else. So he didn't think much of it. It was on his fourth day that Henry encountered a woman that would change his life. He had been walking down the Elwynn road, minding his own business as the saying went when he heard a sultry voice call out to him. "Come here, young traveler..." Henry stopped in his tracks immediately, swiveling his head to the side to put a face to the sound. "Yes, you! I want to talk to you for a moment." The voice said to him as he felt something start to stir in him. To the right side of the trail sat a beautiful, busty Draenei with white hair and dark purple skin. She was wearing a flowing white dress around her body, that while not figure-hugging, somehow gave her an aura of feminine grace and beauty. Henry had only seen a few Draenei back in Stormwind, but he never got the courage to see one up close. The young man felt his face get hot at the sight of this magnificent creature. A thick and voluptuous body, with full breasts and wide hips that any man would kill just for the chance to grope such marvelous mounds of flesh. Still, he was hesitant to approach her at first. Who the hell was she, and why was she out here? Hell, why was she talking to Henry?! But he made his way slowly over to the beautiful-looking woman anyways. She had a soft aurora around her; it was almost as if he felt...at home? "Oh, look at you, such a big boy you are for going out on your own and fighting all kinds of monsters, huh? Aren't you such a cute little boy trying to impress everyone. How many copper pieces have you collected, hmm? It seems like a lot!" She said, pointing to his slightly poofed-out pants. His face instantly went red with embarrassment. Why was she talking to him like that?! Did she know he was wearing a diaper?! He was mesmerized by her voice; it was so maternal. The way she spoke, it was like she was talking to him as she would a toddler playing the part of an adventurer. Henry felt very self-conscious about his diaper now. He tried to deflect her question, but he was so embarrassed and surprised he stumbled over his words, "N-No, it's just um... Yeah! Yeah, I have tons of copper." Henry said with a nervous smile. The Draenei just giggled, and he was suddenly feeling a lot smaller. She got a bit closer to Henry, and he noticed the size difference between them. Henry wasn't a tiny man. He was at least six feet tall and with decent muscles across his body. This strange woman looked just as strong as he did. There was also a lovely smell around her, like fresh linens and strawberries. She was giving him a coy smile as she stared down at the embarrassed young man. "Why don't you... Show me then!" She said, suddenly grabbing Henry's bum. The shock ran through him instantly, freezing up any physical response as he felt her hands groped his diapered butt. He didn't know what to do; hell, what could he do in this situation? But as she pulled him closer, a loving smile started forming across the Draenei's face. As Henry looked at this face, he felt his worries wash away ever so slightly. "Oh, Baby... Baby boy, this isn't a large coin purse, is it?" She said, squeezing the thick padding taped around Henry. The young human didn't even know how to respond; he just nodded his head. The Draenei kept her smile as she twittled her right hand behind Henry's back. He didn't know she summoned a small, green-like flame formed in her palms as she cast her soothing spell. Henry now felt his worries melt away, and he relaxed slightly. His mind felt a little funny as if the strange creature in front of him was now a familiar caretaker. The white-haired stranger gently worked to calm him down completely, "Shhh...don't you worry about anything, little boy, Mommy is going to take care of everything now? Isn't she?" She said, watching the little boy's face start to relax even more. He nodded again, this time much slower as her words echoed in his mind; she was calling herself his mommy? None of the matrons ever called themselves that, and Henry always wondered what it was like to have a mother. It sounded so lovely to him, so tantalizing, but even as the idea whispered in his mind, he still couldn't get his head wrapped around this situation. He didn't know what to do. Should he fight back? But why would he? It wasn't like she had hurt him or tried to rob him. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the lovely, caring smile on her face. She was looking at him like a mother would to a baby or toddler. It was so delightful pure and sweet that he wasn't even paying attention to how close her breasts were to him now, "O-Okay... Dra-" Henry said before being cut off. "No, Mommy." She commanded, ending her spell and rubbing the back of the little boy's bum now. Henry gasped as he felt her feel up his diapered butt. She was in control of him as he willingly let her words percolate through his mind for a few moments. Mommy, this was his mommy. She might have been someone that he just met two minutes ago, and by no stretch was she his actual mother, but Henry accepted that she was now his mommy at this moment. But some part of him, the one last shred of dignity, wanted to deny this whole farce. He was a man now, wasn't he? He had left the orphanage to escape this sort of treatment and finally throw off the title of "Baby" that haunted him for 18 years. But as he stared at the motherly face in front of him, enjoying the feeling of safety and security offered by this woman, and then at her luscious body...his resistance collapsed in a second. "Aw, who am I kidding." He thought to himself as he nodded with a small, nervous smile on his face. "Okay, Mommy," He declared, letting himself relax completely. He had done it, and he accepted that perhaps he wasn't done being Baby Henry, at least right now. But as the final piece of mental resistance crumbled and he received his fate, he felt the crouch of his diaper grow increasingly warm from his eased state. He felt bliss as he wet himself in front of this strange woman. When she reached for his hand, Henry did not attempt to resist as she gently guided him towards a tree off to the side of the road. It was an ancient oak that provided a lot of shade to anyone that sat on its trunk. His Mommy, the phrase became almost comforting in his mind, sat down under the tree as she continued to smile at him. He was about to ask what they were going to do next when she unceremoniously pulled out her plump breasts. Henry blinked a few times, and his jaw dropped as he bore witness to a fantastic pair of breasts laid bare to him. Henry considered himself quite familiar with breasts, a connoisseur if one was generous, and after his experiences with the tits of the orphanage matrons, the young man thought that he saw quite a few pairs in his short time on this planet. But what he saw now blew anything seen at the orphanage, out of the water. But as he stared and his mind started to comprehend what he was looking at, familiar memories began to resurface. He knew intrinsically the position that Mommy had taken, and as he glanced towards the puffy nipples and the smooth, dark purple areolas, Henry saw liquid slowly drip out. He licked his suddenly dry lips and realized that he was quite thirsty and hungry all of a sudden. She giggled as she saw his expression, and then patted her lap. "Come here, little one, let Mommy feed you." She said, but Henry didn't even respond. She was going to breastfeed him. A young man that she just suddenly met off the side of the open road? Henry had heard about some women looking to have a quick fuck with a passerby, but this whole situation wasn't anything like he heard in taverns and inns. But then again, what about this situation was normal? He'd already resigned himself to this "fate," and she knew he was wearing a diaper anyway, so what harm was there in all of this? Finding his nerves, he quickly walked over and instantly laid down on his Mommy's lap. He knew how this all worked, having done it so many times in the past. He didn't even bother pretending he didn't "remember" how to suckle from a breast. Henry just had his mouth wide open as he stared directly at the pair of amazing tits dangling right in front of him. The infantile part of him was hungry now, and he was staring straight at lunch. It had been years since he'd tasted breastmilk anyway, and he could only imagine what the taste would be from this Draenei. She gave a small laugh, "Someone is eager!" She lovingly guided her right nipple into his mouth; he latched on immediately. The nipple was hard, and her skin tasted of a sweet, almost vanilla-like taste. He didn't focus much more, though, as he started to suckle like the infant, he was at this moment. He was rewarded only a few seconds later with thick, delicious milk. The natural liquid substance came in a torrent, and the remaining adult part of his mind wondered if this was a trait that Draenei women had over human women; Henry idly didn't seem to care either way as he swallowed mouthfuls of the milk. Mommy was gently running her hands through his hair, "Such a good little boy, that's right, drink up Mommy's milky. It'll make you my good diaper boy, won't it? You'll make nice wet diapers for Mommy, won't you?" Her words no longer embarrassed Henry, as he accepted what she said as the truth. He was her diaper boy, and he wanted to fill his diapers at her request. Henry could still feel the warmth from his accident only a few minutes ago. The young adventurer felt utter contentment as he knew he would be taken care of after the young man got enough of mommy's milk. Henry was so focused on getting milk from these tits that he didn't see as she weaved another spell with her hand as she continued to speak embarrassing truths. In a second, Henry felt a breeze on his legs, and then one of her hands gently caress his legs before moving down to his diaper. She had somehow removed his pants, and now, all that was left was his soggy, sagging diaper. "Oh! Are you already wet? By the Naaru, how long have you been wandering around here without your Mommy?" She said with what sounded like genuine concern towards him being in a wet diaper. Mommy didn't want him to get a diaper rash; it seemed. She kept speaking, "Well, it's a good thing you were wearing such thick diapers, but I think it might be best to get something a little more colorful and appropriate for you?" Mommy was beaming a smile at him now. Henry said nothing, though, as he continued to suckle from one breast before periodically moving towards the other. His hands were gripping her soft, silky smooth thighs, and he finally started to become hard. She must have noticed this, now that his diaper was laid out for the entire world to see. She rubbed the front of his diaper a little harder, feeling his hard erection through the wet padding. His diapers were thick things, made even thicker when soaked with pee. In some instances, it had made masturbation quite tricky to accomplish when Henry was alone with his erotic thoughts. But he could feel her grip and her palm as her hands skillfully and slowly moved up and down the front of a wet diaper. "A little excited, aren't we?" She said, stroking even faster and likely with a little bit of magic in her hands. She spoke, though, wasn't talking like someone who was performing a handjob by diaper proxy. It sounded more like a mother that was showing a necessary task for her child, "My little boy is enjoying this. Why don't you show me how much you want to be my baby boy?" Now she sounded like she was getting into this whole situation as well. Henry could detect just the barest hints of passion in her tone, though she was hiding it quite well. She kept talking, "Come on, show me how much you love being my little diaper boy." She said, rubbing his diaper even faster. Henry's mind was starting to slip into a haze of pleasure. What was happening now had been in only his wildest and dirtiest fantasies. Try as he might, he could never shake or forgot the memories of the matrons babying him and desire to repeat those times, albeit with more sexual undertones in them. Everything happening at this moment was pushing him over the edge now. He could only whimper as he continued to drink breastmilk, "Are you gonna cum? Huh? Are you going to cum to your new Mommy? It's okay; just cum into your diaper. Come on, cum in your diaper, baby." She was increasing the speed now, and Henry was finally close to cumming. Her words echoed in his mind, yes he was her baby boy, and he belonged in diapers. He wasn't just Henry the Adventurer, and he was Baby Henry as well. This stranger was his mommy, and she was feeding him, and then she would change him into a dry diaper. All was right in the world, and he felt his mind start to go dark as he neared his orgasm. She must have known because she seemed so gleeful as she spoke again, "That's right; make cummies in your diaper for mommy!" She said, fully jerking Henry off. The experience was incredible for Henry. It was a mind-shattering orgasm, literally. He felt his mind go as he moaned and writhed as hot cum shot into the front of his infantile cage. "Great job, little one, we're going to have so much fun, aren't we?!" Mommy said as she gave an excited clap now, acting as Henry had done a good thing for her. At that moment, Baby Henry looked up at her and stared at a pair of glowing eyes that conveyed absolute adoration and unconditional love towards him. He hesitantly pulled away from the nipple and gave a childish giggle towards her before saying one word, "Mama!" Henry awoke from a rather strange dream. He felt refreshed for the first since starting this quest. The young adventurer had taken to sleeping in a forest as he didn't have much money to spend on Inn rooms just yet. Regardless, Henry felt great and stretched as his mind was still waking up, only idly paying attention to his hands, hitting the bars around him. It took him a few more seconds for his sleep-addled mind to notice this particular development. "...what?" He asked himself as he looked around and saw that were bars around him. And as he started to move about, he felt something substantial around his waist, no doubt his diaper, and then pulled away from an unfamiliar-looking blue blanket. It was still dark, wherever he was at this moment, but he saw what looked to be a window with sunlight peeking through drawn curtains. As he tried to get his bearings, he felt some serious concern over the prospect of having been captured or arrested. "Hello, is anyone out there?!" He called out in a panic to the darkened room as he gripped the bars. He didn't even seem to care or notice that he wasn't wearing anything other than his diaper. Henry called out again and was rewarded this time with the sounds of what sounded like hoofsteps approaching the room that held the caged adventurer. His eyes were now adjusting to the darkness a little more as the figure entered the room. It then spoke to him, "Oh, I see Baby-Henry is up!" It was female and quite familiar. He had only a few seconds to start remembering before she walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains. The room became flooded with sunlight, and Henry finally got a good look at his jail cell. They were the bars to a crib of all things, and as he looked down at his single piece of attire, he was embarrassed to see what seemed to be a rather infantile-looking diaper. Now, Henry was the first to admit that would be an oxymoron, but his regular diapers were generally all-white covers. The one tapped around his crotch had rattles, toy swords, and toy horses. He didn't know that a diaper could be so expressive, in terms of conveying a babyish side of things — Henry kind of liked how they look on him. "Did you have a good night's sleep?" He looked up from the study of his new diapers as Mommy, his memories helpfully reminded him, approached him. What had the hell happened? The two of them were just on the side of the road, and then...Henry blushes as the memories started to come back. The young man feels his entire body grow hot as he remembered everything that happened. The purple Draenei didn't seem to notice as she worked the crib railing to lower it. "Okay, let's check your diaper!" Henry felt two fingers suddenly intrude upon one of his diapers leak guards and felt them touch his skin and the padding. The human boy was still processing that whatever happened on the road wasn't some dream. Mommy pulled her fingers back, "Well, good boy, you made another wet diaper for mommy!" The once stranger cheered at his rather infantile act and rewarded him with a hug. Henry's face collided with the two large mounds of flesh that were her delectable milk makers. He felt a hand gently caress his padded backside, "No, poopies though, but I guess that's alright." Henry felt like his mind would blackout again and felt the need to regain some control over this situation. So he, hesitantly, pulled his head away from her breasts and tried to steady his breathing. "P-please, just, just let me think for a second." He practically exclaimed as he got his racing thoughts under his control. He could see the surprise and what he thought was a look of disappointment at his outburst. "Oh, you are back to normal?" Henry picked up on the wording, "What do you mean 'back to normal,' what happened to me?" He paused again as he looked around a little more. "Where are my clothes? Why are I in just a diaper and this crib? And by the Light, are we in a nursery?!" To his shock, they were indeed inside one. He could make out a large changing table in the corner, toys on some comfortable-looking rugs, several dressers and cabinets, a vanity, and a host of minor items. The room had a soft color to it all. He could smell powder and other scents and felt a comfortable warmth to this place. Mommy had a beaming smile on her face as he looked around, "Goodness, you don't remember the past two days?" "Two days?!" She had to be fucking with him. How did he blackout for two entire days? What did he even do for two days? Henry tried to wrap his head around this whole situation, but he felt something pushed into his mouth before he could ask any further questions. He tasted something rubbery and hinted at vanilla. Henry saw that she put a blue pacifier in his mouth. He could see the look on her face, expecting him to start sucking it. It didn't take much for him to start doing just that. "There you go, that will help calm you down." His Mommy responded with a smile as she waved a green flame near his head. Another spell that seemed to have a calming effect, and he did indeed feel a lot better. Soon he allowed himself to contently nurse on the bulb of the pacifier. She grabbed his hands and helped him out of his crib. "Now, let's get you into a fresh diaper!" The young man didn't say anything, but the thought of a dry diaper sounded lovely, right. As he stood up, he felt the diaper sag between his legs. Even with the pacifier's calming nature and the spell, Henry couldn't stop a pathetic whimper escape from his throats. Mommy gave him a small smile, "Don't worry, Mommy will take care of her little diaper boy." She gave him a little pat on the head before grabbing his right hand and leading him towards the changing table. Henry figured this was going to happen, and as he looked at the changing table, he saw that it seemed quite sturdy and headed a fair amount of changing supplies stack in its nooks. The young human didn't have any more time to consider the changing table, as he felt the Draenei grab him by his armpits and effortlessly lifted him. She was strong, Henry thought, and he quickly was told to lie down. He obeyed without issue and just sucked on his pacifier as he lifted his head to watch her. She was humming a very gentle tune as she pulled out some supplies and a fresh diaper. Henry noticed it was another one of those cute diapers, similar to what he was wearing. "Mhm?" He pointed towards the diaper while keeping the pacifier in his mouth. His caretaker looked a little confused before smirking and giggling, "Oh, where did I get these?" Her right index touched her chin as she pretended to ponder how to explain it, "Magic." Henry gave her a rather flat look, and she gave a very soft laugh before she went and grabbed the four tapes of his diaper. When she pulled back the front of his wet diaper, Henry's eyes widen in shock, and his pacifier dropped out of his mouth. "My hair!" His pubic hair was gone now; in place was smooth skin. He was completely hairless down there! Mommy gave a tiny giggle before speaking, "Trust me, baby-boy, getting rid of the hair makes cleaning you up a lot easier, and it's easier to put the baby powder on!" She made a gesture with her left hand, and Henry saw his dropped pacifier levitate up in the air and then move back into his mouth with an almost audible popping sound. "Now keep that in your mouth; it'll keep you calm." She partially commanded towards Henry, who just slowly started to suck the pacifier again. As he watched her, Henry couldn't help but notice how serene she looked at this moment. It didn't faze this woman that she was changing some random man's diaper inside some nursery. Even when considering everything that happened outside near the road, Henry figured that this was wholly some act on her part. But she looked even more motherly than even the matrons. The young baby boy felt something stir in his heart as he realized that she was genuine in her caring of him. His thoughts were interrupted as he felt a warm, wet cloth move about his penis. The Draenei was so gentle that he didn't even get an erection from the act. It was almost like getting a tender massage. Granted, as she slowly started to work his penis and balls, he began to notice that it felt terrific, and her fingers would linger on his tender pink flesh. As he closed his eyes and took in the feeling, he nearly shot up when a few seconds later, he felt her push the cloth up to his asshole slightly. He heard a somewhat mischievous giggle before she spoke again, "There we go, all the icky peepee is gone now. Time for the powder and then a nice, dry, and thick diaper for Henry!" She sounded so excited, and he couldn't help but feel similarly about the prospect as well. He loved this treatment, and since she was enjoying it as well, he felt no reason to bring the mood down. Mommy quickly pulled out a container of powder and then a small powder puff, the type women used to apply makeup on their faces and coated the fuzzy thing with a sweet-smelling powder. She began to dust his crotch and then rub the powder into his skin, gently and with a sense of purpose, "Don't want my baby-boy getting rashes." She explained, and Henry agreed with that sentiment. As she finished with his crotch, he felt her pull his legs together and then one with one hand, hoisted them up in the air. It had been a long time since anyone had to raise his legs and hips to powder his butt efficiently. Mommy did, and she took her time to cover his inch of flesh with powder and rub it in as well. He closed his eyes again and gently sucked on his pacifier as Henry became lost in this infantile massage. He felt her rub a little more powder into his abdomen, and he once again felt her linger just a little bit, "Hmm, my baby-boy takes care of himself. He must drink lots of milkies." Another motherly giggle and he felt himself giggle along with her. She finished powdering him, and he could hear her put the powder away, and a loud crinkling followed. He looked up and saw her unfurl a thick diaper. It had white and blue color patterns and some images that he couldn't make out. She gently pulled his legs and hips again slightly and slid the plastic under Henry's butt. Henry sighed as he felt the familiar material under his rear. Now he was truly content, knowing that he would be back in a dry diaper. He would be safe and secure, ready to take on the world and explore it. This combination of infantile bliss and adult fixation is what finally caused Henry's penis to start to swell. Mommy notice and gave a very gentle laugh. "Of all the things I did, it was finally feeling a diaper that makes my baby-boy have a little stiffy? Does Henry love being put in his diapers? I bet he does!" He felt her fingers slowly work around his penis, but he was disappointed when she didn't try anything else. He soon felt the front of the diaper being pulled across his crotch, encasing his semi-erect cock in its diapered confines once again. "Can my diaper-boy count how many tapes are on this diaper?" She gave a small smile as one diaper tape was pulled up and then over to the front. "One!" She spoke to Henry like trying to teach his numbers, but Henry was barely paying attention and watched and sucked on his pacifier. "Two!" Another tape pulled to the front. "Three!" She was enjoying this quite a bit, and it was pretty cute in its way to Henry. "And four!" And with that announcement, his new diaper was fully secured on his person. Henry could see baby murlocs, balloons, and toy-blocks adorning the front of his diaper. He felt it was appropriate for him, and Mommy agreed, "There we go, all nice and snug in your cute diapers!" He just continued to lie there and suck on his pacifier. He felt more relaxed at this moment than he had in five years. A part of him wondered if Mommy was using some magic or if he just missed being babied after so long? Before he could consider it a little more, he felt a pair of soft lips touch his stomach, and then air is blown on his belly. He was surprised to discover that he was quite ticklish and started to laugh as Mommy blew raspberries onto his stomach. After about a minute or two of this, Mommy finally relented from her assault upon Henry. "There we go!" She said with a small smile, "You have such a precious laugh, and while you looked so peaceful, I figured you could use a little excitement." She reached forward and grabbed his hands, pulling him off the changing table gently, "I learned that your baby side loves that quite a bit." There she goes again, mentioning as if Henry had some alter-ego. He figured that now he could pull out his pacifier and ask some questions, "Okay, I feel as if I need to ask some questions about everything that happened in, evidently, the last few days." He'd expect her to dismiss him or something, but instead, she nodded. "Very well, but might I first suggest getting something to eat?" Henry did feel quite hungry at the moment, "You were certainly carving food, right after your morning diaper change these last two days." That sentence brought him slightly back to considering his current attire, or lack thereof, and predicament. He felt his face get hot again. It seems that the calming spell was wearing off, and the post-pleasure haze was leaving him back in reality. Henry nodded and tried not to think about what just happened, even though he wanted to. "Right, let's have breakfast." The young human found that his Mommy's home wasn't anything special. It was a small cottage, likely somewhere in Eleywn Forest. What was confusing about all of this was that the cabin felt a little off. It was almost like he stood inside a building with no foundations or whatnot, but that didn't make any sense to him. Not that he voiced such concerns. Henry followed the white-haired Draenei, or instead, she held his hand and guided him. He waddled and crinkled all the way, without any clothes to cover his thick diaper. Being pantless wasn't exactly new to Henry. A few times back at the orphanage, when he was younger, the matrons used to let Henry walk around with just a shirt, shoes, and diaper showing. Everyone knew he wore diapers, and the matrons found that it was easier to check to see if he needed a change. So at this point, it wasn't the worst thing that could happen to him. But every time Mommy looked at him with a smile or giggled when his crinkling was quite noticeable, he felt his face get hot. It didn't help that her hand was so warm, and he felt safe when holding her hand. When they arrived at the kitchen, it was a small thing. A few gnomish appliances were around the kitchen, and Henry was surprised to see a high chair at the table. By the Light, how and why did she have this stuff here? He wanted to ask her that question, but she soon grabbed him by the armpits again and, of course, placed him in the high chair. "Is this truly necessary?" Henry tried not to whine, but his objections fell on deaf ears as she locked him in the chair. "Don't whine." She gently chided him as she walked over to one of the gnomish appliances. "Now then," She started speaking as she worked on something, "you wanted to know about your baby side." "Yes?" Henry was trying to get comfortable in the high chair. He was thankful his diaper provided some decent padding on his rear. "What did you mean by that?" "Just as it sounds." She pulled a lid off from the device and grabbed something from inside. "As soon as you were done making cummies in your diaper, " Henry winced at the terminology used, "You went still for a second and then opened your eyes." She gave a shy sigh, as if a mother remembering something fondly, "You looked up at me and called 'mama' in the sweetest voice possible." He then saw her grab a plate and start to pour whatever she pulled out from that contraption. She kept speaking, "After that, you became so infantile I almost forgot in some instances that you were still a young man." She gave a rather haughty giggle, the first he'd heard such a sound from her, "But sometimes it is hard to tell what the difference is between a young man and a baby boy." Henry felt a personal dig against his maturity as a male from that statement. "So, you didn't mind-control me or anything like that?" Henry slowly inquired as she shook her head and walked over to him with a plate. "My sweet baby boy, Mommy, would never do that to you." Henry picked up that she didn't deny that she could use mind control powers. "You just accepted what you were, so much so that Baby Henry came out to play for some time. He told me quite a bit about you." Henry could see there was a bunch of goop on the plate but tried to keep his focus on this development, "So I have some weird baby alter-ego?!" Before he could ask further, a spoon floated up from the plate with some goop and went into his open mouth. Henry tasted something akin to honey and bread. What the hell was this stuff? "Nothing so dramatic as that. I think your baby side just got in control for quite a bit." She grabbed the spoon in his mouth and pulled it back. "Honestly though, four years without anyone taking care of you? What were you thinking, Henry?!" She sounded so disappointed in him, and he felt terrible for making such a beautiful creature sad, even more so that it was his mommy. He couldn't answer as she kept feeding him, "No one to change your diapers, or bathe you, or feed you." She sounded quite frustrated but thankfully not at him. "What's wrong with this world. All anyone in power does now kills and fights over lands that don't matter." He felt that the frustration in her voice wasn't aimed at him. "No matter, though, you can stay with me. Mommy will take care of you now." She said with some finality, and that was when Henry spoke up finally. "Stop!" He generated enough power in his voice to surprise her. "Can we, can we please calm down." He quietly pleaded with her. "I don't...I don't think I can stay here." He said with some conviction, as a part of him was screaming at him to stop. However, what surprised the hell out of him was that he felt the more infantile side of him agreeing with his decision. "W-what?!" Mommy looked surprised and shocked. He wasn't expecting such a reaction, and again, he felt genuinely awful to do this to her. "But you don't have to leave! Henry, the world outside is dangerous, and you are just a baby!" The white-haired creature was pleading with him. He honestly thought she was going to try and stop him, but she looked like he was about to poof and leave her. He honestly didn't know why she was so attached to him after only a few days. "Believe me, I don't want to leave, but I have to go. I know the world is dangerous, but It's been my dream for as long as I could remember. I need to explore this world, go on adventures, and maybe even help make things better in the process." He looked a little embarrassed, but for different reasons, "I can't do that here. Maybe I am just a baby, but I'm one with a sense of adventure, and it just burns in my soul. I have to do this; otherwise, I'll regret it forever. I have to leave and get back on my quest!" He wasn't referring to just the mission to Sentinel Hill. He saw that Mommy looked distracted, scared, and even nervous for some reason. He had expected a lot of things to happen, but it almost felt like he had ruined something for her. Finally, though, she nodded at Henry. "I, I want to make you happy, Henry. And if that means letting you go, I guess...I guess I will concede to your request." She set the plate down on the small table and walked over to hug him. "I won't stop you from leaving. I'll get your gear, and I'll make something special for you, something that'll always make you think of me and help you with your journey." Henry's face was once again smothered by her bountiful tits, "Uhh, thanks." He could smell the linen still, and he idly felt the desire to nurse from them again. He was sure that he was selfish, leaving Mommy, but he couldn't ignore his passion. He allowed himself to embrace her to offer some comfort. She kept speaking as she hugged him, "Going to miss changing you, feeding you, playing with you, and bathing with you." He could feel the longing and sadness in her voice He blinked as he heard the bathing "with" you remark. His baby-side got to be naked with Mommy? Another part of him was bashing its head into a proverbial wall at the thought of leaving before getting to experience that chance. Henry decided that he might enjoy these tits once last time, and in the best way possible. "Before I go, can I umm, can I uhh." He let his hands feel her breasts up to signal his intent. He heard an amused chuckle and felt her nod. She pulled back and grabbed the front of her dress and allowed her plump tits to bounce out. She gave a small smile to him, "Never change, baby-boy." He didn't bother speaking as his mouth latched on to those beautiful tits. He spent a little time getting breastfed before he decided that he had enough. He was going to miss this milk, that was for sure. After that, Mommy allowed him out of the high chair and then told Henry that she would get his stuff. For the first time since meeting her, she left him alone now. The young human wondered if she spent the last two and a half days with him the entire time. He'd never seen anyone dedicated to her craft of caretaker; even the matrons had to take breaks sometimes. But he couldn't figure out why this had all happened. Why was she so invested in taking care of him, and more importantly, not wanting him to leave? Indeed she could've stopped him, but she didn't even attempt to bar him from leaving. Henry felt awkward being alone in this place. He didn't feel like an intruder, but more akin to an awkward guest in someone's home, to which he then upset his host. Henry was just happy that she didn't start to cry when Henry told her that her baby-boy wanted to leave; the poor boy might have backed down entirely then. Instead, she was understanding and even accepted his plea, although he imagined she thought it silly at best and crazy at worse. If this woman considered herself his Mommy, then he understood why there a fear for his safety out in this insane and deadly world. But she saw danger around the corner; Henry saw excitement and wonder. His future was uncertain, but that uncertainty filled him with courage all the same. As Henry waited, he returned to the nursery and spent some more time examining it. Like the cabin, this whole thing felt off, and he idly wondered what about this place was making him question everything. As Henry looked around, the baby-boy saw those same toys from earlier. He didn't have time to examine them, but upon further notice, they were quite detailed! Henry saw an Alliance Footsoldier, a Horde Grunt, an Elven Mage, and what looked to be a dragon of the Red Flight. He could even move their limbs and put weapons in their hands. When his Draenei caretaker returned about 30 minutes later, she found him playing with the toys, his diapered butt in the air as he rested on his elbows and knees. She smirked as he was so engrossed that he didn't hear her come up from behind and swiftly smacked his padded rear, which elicited a yelp of surprise from him and an amused bout of giggling. "Not funny!" Henry pouted as he got up. He did notice that she was carrying all his stuff, which itself was no small feat. Then again, Mommy was quite strong. "I disagree. What woman could resist spanking a diaper-boy?" She remarked as she started to put down all his items and also a curious-looking bag. His caretaker began to help him put on his clothes, which was another embarrassing affair altogether. She mentioned that if she had a little more time, she would have had a lot more age-appropriate clothes for him. He had a good idea of what that entailed but tried not to think about it. As she pulled his leather pants up, they felt quite snug around his diaper. He caught a glimpse of himself in the vanity mirror; he looked the part of a young adventurer until one saw a woman trying to force a pair of pants over his diapers. It was also when he noticed that there was, somehow, a pacifier clip attached to the front of his leather jerkin. Finally, Mommy finished with her labor, and Henry glimpsed at what little vestige of maturity he had left that was covering his diapered state. At least having his sword on hand made him feel a little bigger. Granted, he had a noticeable bulge around his crotch and butt. He was morbidly curious what his pants would look like once he started filling up his diapers. The Draenei woman finished with her work, gave a sad sigh as she looked at him. "The last couple of days, it's just been you in diapers. Now you are back to wearing this armor. It doesn't suit you, Henry." He frowned at the criticism, but he didn't argue the point. He felt confident again, and with that confidence, also felt the need to get back on track with his journey. Seeing the look on his face, she went to grab his hand, but she hesitated and gestured for him to follow. He felt some disappointment over not having the chance to touch her hand one last time. As they walked towards the cabin's entrance, they both stepped outside into a fresh, early morning breeze. It was good to be out again, even though it felt like only a few hours ago and not days since he was last outside. He turned towards his caretaker, his Mommy, over the previous few days. "I uh, I suppose this is good-bye." He started saying before he heard some sniffling and saw a few tears cascade down her cheeks. Light, he didn't want to believe that she was going to cry at this point. Again he wondered, why was she so concerned with him? Why did she seem so intent on keeping him here? Hell, he didn't even know her name! "I'm sorry!" She sniffed and daintily brushed away her tears, "I didn't think this would happen. I thought I did everything right by you." He was surprised to see her like this, and if this was some last-minute ploy to get him to stay, he had to admit it was quite convincing. But as he tried to think up the words to say, she brought up the strange bag she was carrying and held it out to Henry. "Please take this. I told you it would help you, and I promise it will do just that." He took the bag and found it made of sturdy, lightweight material. He could also hear things were already inside of it. "Keep the bag close to you, Henry." She advised the young adventurer, and she looked quite serious when speaking that. "If you ever feel alone or afraid, just think of me." He wanted to ask what she meant by that, but she once again caught him off guard with another hug. This time though, he didn't feel like ogling her breasts; he just hugged her back. So many questions ran through his mind, and he figured this might be one of the few times he could ask her something, to get perhaps a nugget of truth out of why she was here, why this had been so convenient from the start, and why she was interested in keeping him here. But as he pulled back and looked at her again, seeing her rather distraught and tragically sad face, he mustered up all the love and passion he had towards this strange woman, this Draenei who called herself his mommy and asked, "Can I get a kiss goodbye, mama?" He was rewarded with a shocked look on her face before it turned into a bittersweet smile. She leaned forward and kissed him on his forehead. In that brief moment, he felt as if there was a small blessing from the Light that graced his very being, and he felt confidence flow through him. It also caused him to start wetting his diaper, but he thought it just added to the moment. He gave her a confident smile, "I'll come back someday. I promise you; I'll come back and see you again." He didn't know if he could keep it, but he was going to damn well try to return here one day. She gave a small smile and nodded at him, though he felt like it was the action of a mother that knew such a thing would never come to pass. "I'd like that a lot. Just don't lose sight of what's in front of you, Henry." The young and invigorated padded adventurer nodded, "I won't. Just don't worry about me, okay. I'll be fine." His declaration didn't bring her any comfort as she shook her head, "A mother always worries about someone she loves." That final statement almost caused Henry to choke up; she loved him? However, seemingly a constant around Mommy, she stopped him from asking any more questions. She grabbed his pacifier and plopped it in his mouth with a small smile, "Okay, enough, talking, Henry. You have a job to do." She turned him around and gave him another hard spanking on his rear; he didn't feel anything but the act shocked him into moving. "Make sure to not stay in messy diapers for too long; ask someone nice for a diaper change!" She called out to him, and he felt his face get hot, "Don't forget you can make cummies in them too if you get backed up! And don't stare at other women's breasts so much; it's rude!" Henry felt himself move a little faster than he expected to get away from the rather humiliating exchange of advice. He never did turn around to see Mommy, and the cabin starts to glow a combination of green and gold. Nor did he hear the last words of her uttering, "Stay safe, baby-boy." It took him ten minutes to find the Elwynn Road again. Henry had made sure to find some landmark for the path he received from the cabin to the road but was getting caught frustrated when he saw nothing to indicate where the way even began. Another mystery about this strange but incredible encounter none less. In the end, he continued on his journey to Westfall. It was another two hours before he noticed how pronounced his waddle and how cold his diaper was now. As he reached into his backpack for his changing supplies, he discovered he had none. "Oh, no, no, no!" He was panicking slightly; how the hell was he going to change into a new diaper. That was when he felt the new bag around hanging from his back. He figured that Mommy would give him a couple of extra diapers. As he got a closer look at the bag, he found that it had many pouches and places to hold things in it. As he opened the bag up, he saw rows of thick, babyish diapers. There was a note on top of them; "Don't forget about Baby-Henry; he needs some love as well." The diapers were undoubtedly appealing, but as he opened up more and more of the pouches, he was greeting a host of baby paraphilia; powder, washcloths, baby bottles, jars of some food, pacifiers, bibs, a pair of rattles, and a blue changing mat. How exactly all this wasn't weighing him down or even all fit in here was a mystery, but all Henry could think of was that her parting gift was an actual diaper bag. Rather than clothes, gold, magic items, or weapons, she had given him a nursery worth of baby goods and plenty of diapers to spare. He sighed behind his pacifier, which he now realized he was still suckling on, and quickly grabbed some changing supplies. Henry had a long way to go before he'd even hit the outskirts of Westfall, and he figured he might as well get a fresh diaper on. His encounter along Elwynn Road was undoubtedly an exciting start to his travels. A part of him hoped that whatever happened was a one-off, while another part of him sincerely hoped there would be a repeat. He had no idea what lay ahead of him. --- So there is a lot more, but for now I hope people enjoy it.

Intro: Not long after I finished writing 'Seems Too Good,' I had an idea for a new story that's been percolating for the past six months or so. A few weeks ago, I was able to finally get some time to work on this new work, 'In-Between.' I currently am working on Chapter 18, and anticipate I'll hit about 37-40 chapters when it is completed. I've decided to go ahead and release it as a serial at this time, with the prologue I'm posting tonight, and then I'll post a chapter each Friday until I conclude my writing, when I might consider posting more frequently. I really appreciate all of my readers who have left so many great comments, voted on the chapters, and generally been very supportive! Please consider leaving a vote on each chapter and/or a comment to help this appear frequently in the suggestions on the main page! Special thanks to PrincessPottyPants for letting many of us write stories in the sandbox she created with the DiaperDimension! Please note that this story will feature diapers, bottles, and other adult baby content. If that's not something you're interested in I would advise you to take a pass on this work. I believe the story is more than that content, but it does feature that throughout the work as a main theme. There are references to my other works, but it's not required that you read them before hand to understand the story. If you do wish to read in order, I recommend this order: 1) Diamond Tours 2) Undercover Tour 3) Exchanged 4) Little Hope - Exchanged Book 2 5) Alterations - Exchanged Book 3 6) Seems Too Good I hope you all will enjoy this new work! Thank you so much for joining me on this new journey! Prologue: I LOOKED AT the mark my dad had made on my doorframe again and smiled with glee! Today was going to be the best day ever of high school! I might never have noticed if my friend Shawn hadn’t said something yesterday about it seemed like I’d grown. I’d given up hope that would likely happen anymore at eighteen, and stopped measuring, but here I was… finally!!! I was practically bouncing as I made my way to the kitchen and grabbed a breakfast bar and a bottle of water from the fridge. “Ready?” My dad asked while walking back in the room with a travel cup of coffee. “Yes!” I told him with a smile, “Can we leave now so I can go see the nurse before school?” He laughed, “I figured you’d want to do that. Grab your bag and we’ll head off.” I walked to the car ahead of him and opened the back door and looked at the seat there, or rather the lack of a car seat! I smiled as I buckled up and Dad drove me to school. He pulled up to the front where there was a little bit of activity already still a half-hour before school. “Have a good day Sport! I love you,” He told me with a good-natured smile. “Thanks Dad, love you too,” I told him as I closed my door. I walked up the steps to the school, dodging a few students who were definitely still taller than me! As I opened the main door, I saw one of the senior girls was dragging a boy not much smaller than me to the office with her hand grabbing tightly onto his wrist. The tell-tale wet spot on his front was not going to go over well for him inside the office... While I felt for him, the girl’s giggling and laughter over his misfortune spurred me to walk faster to the nurse to hopefully beat them there after a principal saw them. When I arrived, I found the woman I was looking for sitting at a desk that I could see over pretty well, except where a computer screen blocked my view. “Cameron! What brings you here so early baby boy?” I felt my gut wrench at that statement, but knew she used that tone with everyone who was too short to be a ‘Big’ to her. I forced myself to sound confident, “Hi Mrs. Giddings, I’m here to update my height records if you might have a chance to check?” Her eyes narrowed at me and I wondered if I had now offended her. “Well, you think you might have grown since the beginning of the year?” I nodded, “My dad and I checked last night.” “Well, step over to the scale over here. Take your shoes off first though!” I blushed, knowing that I did have shoes on that gave me an extra two inches, and stood bare-foot on the scale as she first read off my weight. “One-hundred-and-ten pounds… You are a scrawny boy, aren’t you?” She smirked at me. I shrugged, “I eat all of the time, just never gain anything,” I told her honestly. “Still, you might see about having some more fattening foods in your diet, add some more milk in your meals?” She suggested. I bit my tongue and groaned, knowing that she thought of me still at my old height… and what kind of milk she would have wanted me to have. “I’ll try,” I told her an easy lie. She reached behind me and pulled up an attachment from the scale that seemed anachronous in a way from the high-tech instruments that even a school nurse’s office had. I could see in the corner her automated changing table, an auto-feeder, and an older model of a machine that I knew would take off all of the body hair of a little with the press of a button once they were strapped inside… I shuddered as I thought about how many times that I had just barely avoided them! I felt a bar land on my head gently as she pushed it down. “Stand tall little one!” She told me. I did so, and she looked down to make sure my feet were flat on the scale’s surface. “Those feet are flat, right?” “Yes, Ma’am,” I told her calmly waiting her verdict. She stared at the digital readout above the scale for a moment and adjusted things before saying, “Well, I’ll be! I guess you’re going to grow up to be an adult here after all!” “How tall?” She smiled, “Seventy-three inches!” “So…?” I asked with a smile. “You’re officially no longer a Little, Cameron!” I smiled widely as she entered the information in the system and then looked at me, “I’m sad this is the last day I’ll see you in that uniform. If you brought anything else with you, you may go ahead and change?” I nodded and said, “Thanks!” before heading down the hallway into a bathroom that I found unoccupied. I quickly took the stupid clip-on tie off, followed by the slacks and button-down shirt. I was already wearing normal boxers, so I was able to quickly pull on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt with my favorite band on the front of it. I had risked a bit with already wearing regular tennis shoes, but those went back on with a smile that I wouldn’t have to wear the stupid Littles’ dress shoes I’d been forced to wear since elementary school. I looked in the mirror at my face and smiled, knowing once and for all I wasn’t in danger of being just adopted off of the street like my Little friends! Mom had been a ‘Big,’ but for some reason I had inherited short genes. I was never going to be as big of a ‘Betweener’ as my dad, but at least legally as a ‘Betweener’ like my dad was, I could have a future that didn’t involve a nursery and diapers for the rest of my life! I headed out of the bathroom, noting the now full hallways, and made it to my first class just before the tardy bell rang. “Mister Sylvester, why are you out of uniform?” The tall twelve-foot woman who taught English asked me. I forced myself not to be nervous as I craned to look up at her still towering at me even sitting at her desk. “I’ve just been to the nurse. Please check my records, you’ll see I’m no longer required to wear the Little’s uniform, Ma’am.” I was polite, knowing that she could still met out punishments that involved diapers and going back in my educational status. “Is that so?” She asked as a couple of large girls in the front row giggled. “Yes, Ma’am.” “No way, he’s still a Little. Can I take him to the nurse so you can get on with class, I’ll get him diapered, and send him off to a daycare?” Kristin, a total witch of a girl said. “Well, let’s just see what the records say,” she said. I watched her pull up the school’s student information system on her tablet and clicked through before tutting, “Well I’ll be, you did finally grow up, didn’t you?” She said to me. I nodded, “Yes ma’am.” “So, I guess this means you’re going to college next year after all…” “Yes, Ma’am,” I said to her. “Which one?” “Emerson?” I told her. It was a university a few hours from my hometown that would have accepted me as a little too. Fortunately, now that I had received a new official designation, I would be able to cancel my CARE exam that had been scheduled for next week! “My Alma Mater!” she said with a smile, “Too bad I guess that means you won’t be in Wenig. I was an RA for two years there.” She looked over at Kristin, “That’s of course where I met my little guy.” Fortunately, the school announcements started up then and I was able to avoid hearing any more discussion about the poor man’s fate. I’d seen him on several occasions in our class, dressed just in his onesie and a messy diaper. Kristin had especially seemed to enjoy getting a chance to dote on him. Whenever he was there she constantly cooed at him with baby talk, and worked to actively embarrassed him when he tried to hide behind his large stuffed puppy dog. ‘He certainly isn’t lacking milk in his diet,’ I thought while grimacing at the number of girls in the class who had nursed him while we would read as a class out loud. I made sure to pay attention as she gave us our final project we had to complete for the semester before our exams began in three weeks. I walked out alongside Beth; my best friend who was unfortunately only seventy-one inches tall. Her brown hair was braided into two pigtails on either side of her head like most of the littles. “So, no uniform, diapers during exams, or graduation now?” she said with a smile as she gave me a hug. “Congrats Cameron!” She said with a smile. “Thanks,” I told her returning the hug. Her plaid uniform dress with the required white blouse unfortunately labeled her as the ‘Little’ she would forever be. “I’m sorry this means we’ll be in a different dorm now…” She shrugged, “It’s not like you can’t come visit me?” I nodded, but felt my stomach be a bit queasy, “Maybe we can meet for lunch on campus each day?” “Already afraid to be around a little who can drag you down?” She teased me. There was a hint of truth in it that we both knew neither could escape. Now that I was officially a Mid, or a Betweener, it was risky to hang around Littles, lest I be labeled as one myself! Even ones like Beth who were nearly as tall as I was, and every bit as potty trained, could draw unwanted attention to me! I hoped her Betweener mother and Big father would be able to get her safely away from the graduation ceremony later that month. I was glad I wouldn’t have to worry about the gauntlet that the Littles usually faced as soon as the caps were thrown in the air! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Please let me know what you think so far! Thank you for reading! As always comments and likes are very much appreciated! (They help motivate me to keep going and get this completed quickly!)

Alterations Exchanged – Book 3 By BabySofia A couple of weeks back I began reposting my original work 'Exchanged' to the site in a revised trilogy format. I made some pretty significant revisions to the original to post to WattPad the past couple of months, and wanted to make sure there was a copy of this on this site that has been so kind to me! The ending of this book, in particular, features a revised Epilogue from the original. Please let me know what you think once you finish reading! ‘Alterations’ concludes the story of Stacy’s journey from ‘Exchanged’ and ‘Little Hope.’ Stacy is a young college student who chose to travel to a new dimension to study their advanced computing technology at a prestigious university as an exchange student. Stacy thought he knew what he was getting into when he traveled, but multiple events show that he didn’t plan for every problem he would encounter. Recently on a trip his adoptive parents adopted another Little, Bella, to help prevent her from being taken by unscrupulous Amazons. Stacy now begins orientation and classes at Emerson as the small family attempts to stay safe from the outside threat. Can Stacy manage to navigate college classes and everything the dimension can throw at him, and still make it back home with a degree? Credit to PrincessPottyPants for her original story that led to the creation of the Diaper Dimension Universe. THIS BOOK IS ALSO NOW AVAILABLE ON KINDLE: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09XLNSGKF Chapter 1: Code of Conduct A LINE OF students and parents formed at the entrance to the dining hall and I looked around hoping to see someone to make a friend with. No littles seemed to be nearby, but a shorter Amazon girl looked down at me, “Looking for your big sister?” I looked up at her and shook my head, “No?” She looked more intently at me and realized I was both in the uniform and wearing a student ID, “Wait… are you a student?” she asked in disbelief before bending down closer to my level. I smiled, “Yep! I’m Stacy,” I said and held my hand out to her like I’d always done. “Oh my god, you’re adorable!” she said, “I’m Mia,” she said taking my hand. “Nice to meet you,” I told her like I always had before realizing that may have been a bit of a male response too. ‘What should I be saying as a girl?’ I suddenly wondered. “You too!” she said and suddenly got the vibe that she was like a cheerleader back home who had always smiled and been peppy with everything she did. She looked up and realized Amanda was looking on, “Are you her Mom?” Amanda smiled at her and extended her own hand, “Amanda,” she said. Her own mother then extended her hand to Amanda, “I’m Janet, Mia’s mom.” “So, you’re really coming here as a student?” Mia asked before quickly saying, “That’s so awesome!” I smiled at her, “Thanks, what are you majoring in?” I asked her as the line moved forward and she stood up. “Biology and Childhood Studies,” she said with a smile, “I want to be a doctor. You?” “Computer science,” I said with a smile. Mia was the first Amazon besides Megan that I actually had a conversation with as an equal… well as much of an equal as you can with five feet of height difference… As we neared the buffet serving lines Mia handed me a tray and actually helped me fill a plate of food too. Nothing was little sized in the dining hall though, so a chicken sandwich and fries that I carried to a table in the corner with Amanda and our new friends was more like a whole chicken! I guesstimated the bun had to be eight inches in diameter, and with my new size… At the table Amanda said, “Let me see if there’s a booster nearby…” I stood next to the table patiently and Mia sat down. “That must suck?” I laughed, “You have no idea!” “I’m surprised Emerson admitted you?” Mia said in a kind voice. “I mean now that you have your student ID it’s a little bit more difficult to adopt you… but aren’t you worried about what will happen to you here?” I smiled up at her as Amanda returned with the booster in her hand a few feet away. “I’m already adopted,” and nodded my head towards Amanda. Mia’s mouth fell open as Amanda helped me into the booster and sat down across from her mom. “You’re adopted… but if that’s true…?” Amanda smiled at her as I tried to get situated with the plate and evaluated how I was ever going to attack the monster sandwich. “As adopted parents you’re allowed to send your child to school, right?” Janet said. Both of us watched them for their reactions. Mia smiled, “So you choose to send her to college instead of daycare! That’s so awesome of you!” Mia’s mom looked at Amanda, “That really is kind of you! We’re from Gaule, and while we have littles that are babied… most of them are treated that way by choice. I was a little worried about my little girl coming over here and being exposed to almost all of the littles being babied without any freedom…” “It’s their choice to be babied?” I asked tentatively. Mia nodded, “It’s the law – even more so than when you all had the law here stating permission had to be granted. With our littles it has to be their choice with a court appointed officer checking to make sure it’s really what they want. After they’re adopted, they have to be treated right, or the courts can step in and grant the little their freedom again.” I looked up at Amanda, “Can we visit there someday?” “Maybe sweetheart, we’ll see,” she said with a thoughtful look as she helpfully cut my chicken sandwich into six smaller sections. ‘If Bella was there, she could be free…?’ I thought to myself. I learned more about Mia during lunch, finding I really liked her, so with Amanda’s permission I traded phone numbers with her. The whole lunch was informal and absent of any speeches to drag on the meal. That meant about noon we made our departure after I promised Mia to talk soon! Amanda and I walked side-by-side to go to her car. “You need a change I’m guessing?” I blushed, but nodded as I walked hurried to keep up with her with my smaller legs. At the car she picked me up and felt my diaper, “Actually, I think it’ll hold until we get home?” I nodded, “I shouldn’t need to go anymore until then.” “Okay, let’s go check and see if your Daddy and sister are back home yet.” “Why not just call them?” I asked from my seat as she closed her door. “Just in case they’re busy doing stuff,” she told me. There was a nervous tremor to her voice, but I wasn’t sure which of the crazy events from the weekend were causing it! After the short drive home, she stopped in the driveway and picked me up out of my car seat. I could see a moving truck blocked our normal parking space. The truck was being unloaded by Grandpa, Fred, and a few other Amazon men I didn’t know. “Just take this stuff to the basement,” Fred was telling the men. “All except that box, take that one up to the nursery please,” he said. “Hi Mandy!” he said walking up to us pulling his work gloves off, “Hi Princess!” “Hi Daddy,” I said while taking in the moving of furniture and boxes. Amongst it all I noticed a number of sewing machines and things that I thought were embroidery machines? A ton of bolts of fabric were also carried in. To my surprise they looked about right for an Amazon to use – none of it looked little sized or amateur in any way! “You get everything from her apartment?” Amanda asked as we stepped inside the house. “Yes, most of it is going into the basement until we see if there’s anything we can use – or should let her use ever again. I can’t believe the sewing setup she had there Mandy – I think it was better equipped than your friends’ shop!” “Hmm…” Amanda said, “Did you separate out her personal mementos then?” “Yeah, there’s a couple boxes that I’m having sent up to the nursery. I don’t think we should make her give up any of it… it’ll just be a matter of figuring out how to find places for it and Stacy’s stuff.” “Maybe we should move your office downstairs and give them each their own nursery?” Amanda said as she carried me into the living room and I found myself settled down in the playpen in next to a dozing Bella. He nodded, “It’s an option, but I also thought maybe it was time for us to look for another place to live?” “This is so convenient though…” Amanda said as she followed him downstairs and I felt like the unwanted abandoned baby. I sighed and watched Bella sleep for a bit while looking at a toy doll that Bella must have brought in with her. It looked old and I wondered if it was from her childhood. I sat there for a while before Bella suddenly squirmed and rubbed her eyes, “Stacy?” she asked tentatively as she sat up. “I think I’m the only other diapered little sharing the house with you…” I told her with a smirk. “Sorry, it’s been a rough morning. Daddy gave me a bottle when we got home and I must have been out in seconds.” I nodded, “I’m sorry you had to deal with that,” I told her. “It seems like they brought a factory with them?” She blushed, “I was really good at making deals online for equipment…” “Looks like it,” I told her and crawled over to her and gave her a hug, “Sorry for everything Bella.” She gave me a light hug back, “Probably best this way… I would have lost it all for certain if you all hadn’t sat next to me on the plane.” “So, everything go… smoothly, at least?” I asked. A tear went down her face, “It was so embarrassing and tough to handle…” she told me honestly. “My landlord was pretty mean about it all. The downstairs neighbors weren’t much better…” “Why?” “Why else would someone be mean to a little Stacy?” I shrugged, “I’m sorry… the more I’m here the more I’m glad I’m not a native little.” “I hope you never really understand Stace,” she told me. I nodded. “So enough about my crappy morning, how was yours?” She asked me while wiping her face of tears and snot and forcing a smile. “Pretty good I guess?” I said, “Definitely better than yours I guess…” “Well tell me all about it! I want to know about my big sisters’ day at college!” I groaned, “Well we checked in this morning and I got my student ID.” I pointed where it was clipped to my dress, “Of course that meant waiting in lines… lines with Amazons for the most part. Definitely some awkward moments there, but I guess I only saw one poor little get kidnapped this morning at least.” “Outside before they got inside?” she asked. I nodded, “How did you know?” “There’s always a couple who think they’re too good for diapers and have an accident out there…” She shrugged, “Of course who am I to talk?” “You didn’t actually have an accident in your panties though,” I reminded her. “Details like that don’t matter when you still end up in the nursery Stacey.” I nodded, “Anyway… after that we went to Amanda’s office and I met her secretary. She seemed really nice! She has littles, but she lets them still do things as much as she can I think.” “So, three good amazons in the world?” she said. “More than that,” I told her, “you just don’t encounter the good ones most of the time. I also met a new friend, her name is Mia, who is also an Amazon – but she’s from another island?” “Oh, which one? I know some are supposed to be better than here… Is she not completely baby crazy?” “Not that I could see…” “Well I see you two are getting along at least,” Amanda suddenly said as she scooped Bella up in one arm and me in her other. “Of course, Mommy, she’s my sister!” I told her with smile. “You clearly haven’t had a sister very long,” Amanda said while shaking her head. “Trust me, they’re okay sometimes, but other times…” Bella and I laughed. “You haven’t met my other sisters yet,” Amanda said to Bella, “Of course I don’t have to worry about you two becoming nearly as crazy. I do however have to worry about some leaking diapers, huh?” She said while looking specifically at me. I looked down and went, “Oopsie…” with my skirt showing clear spots. “Yes, ‘oopsie,’ at school that might mean walking around without your skirt if you’re not careful Princess.” She told me. I turned red and put my head against her shoulder, “You were supposed to change me when we got home?” “Oh, blame it on Mommy,” she said in mock exasperation. “I give up…” I said as she shoved a pacifier in my mouth and laid me down on the changing table. The jumper was off in a flash and tossed in the dirty clothes hamper. My Pamper was then swapped out for another and with another jumper pulled over my head before she sat me on the ground, “There, that’s better…” I looked at my watch to distract myself as she changed Bella, “How are you doing now Bella?” She asked quietly. “Okay I guess…” she told her. “I’m sorry today was so rough, but at least it’s done?” She asked as she sat her up and placed her on her hip. Bella just nodded as she sucked on her pacifier. Amanda gave her a strong hug and asked, “You should go through these two boxes and find a place for your stuff. Stacey’s got her end of the room with the computer desk, but why don’t you make this end of the room yours?” She stood next to the window where the wall was mostly blank, “I’ll try and find you a desk if you want too?” Bella nodded and said, “Kay,” simply but nothing else and just seemed content to stay in Amanda’s arms. I looked at my watch again this time noticing the time and pulled my pacifier out so I could speak clearer, “Mommy?” “Yes Stacey?” “We need to get me to the university again?” I saw her look at the clock and nodded, “I can’t believe it’s already that time…” she said and squeezed Bella, “be a good girl for Daddy and we’ll be back for dinner, okay?” She nodded as she was sat down and Amanda came over to me and picked me up. “Let’s leave your paci here?” she said as she took it from my hand. I blushed and said, “Probably a good idea…” Since it was already almost two-thirty by the time we got into her car she didn’t say long goodbyes to anyone as we passed. At Emerson she pulled me out of my car seat and sat me down on the ground before reaching out with her hand towards me for a second and pulling back. “Sorry, probably not a good idea for all the littles to see you holding Mommy’s hand,” she said quietly to me as she patted my back and we walked as quick as my legs could carry me towards the building that contained Destiny Hall. At the building I could see a hundred or so littles walking through the doors into a large lecture hall. The thing that made my eyes pop open in disbelief though was everyone was grouped in tens, each hanging onto a rope with rings on it like preschoolers would use back home. An Amazon held onto the end of the rope and I could hear one saying, “Come on little chickee’s,” loudly, “let’s get to your first orientation session.” I looked on with a fascinated horror as Amanda said, “I’ll see you after this is over Stacy.” I looked up at her and gave her leg a hug before walking to join the others walking inside. “Where’s your nest group?” A tall Amazon woman leaned down to me as I walked inside. I looked up at her and decided politeness was definitely key with her. Something about her struck me as a proper Chloe like woman, “I don’t believe I have one Miss,” I told her politely. “Tisk, tisk, how did you get lost already?” she said like she was talking to a newborn. “Your dorm room number?” She asked as she grabbed her phone. “I don’t have one,” I told her, “I’m a commuter.” “Oh, you silly girl! You’re a little, you can’t be a commuter…” Her face began to look different and colder, “Are you lying because you already earned a demerit and a spanking from your Nest Hen?” “Pardon me Miss, but I live with my adopted Mommy and she has it okayed through the university? Please look up my information?” She narrowed her eyes, but took her phone and took a quick picture of me with it. “Stacy Westerfield?” I nodded, “Yes Ma’am.” “Well I’ll be… you were telling me the truth. This is…” she paused, “unusual…” “Yes Ma’am, I understand it is.” “Well then… I guess why don’t you go sit over here with Miss Madison’s group here,” she said as she led me down the lecture hall to a row with a girl who looked to have a queen bee personality. “Miss Madison, this is Stacy. She doesn’t have a nest group per se, but she’s going to join yours whenever she needs to get around little events.” I looked up at the well-dressed girl who could have been a teacher and instantly felt glad I had a diaper on. Something about her just didn’t scream pleasant, “Well Stacy, I’m glad to have you join our nest. Girls this is Stacy,” she said as she pushed me forward. I saw Laura was in her group and quickly noted that all of the members of her group seemed to be girls and shorter than average – even for littles. Laura waved at me and Madison noticed, “You already have a friend in our nest?” She said in a singsong voice, “Why don’t you go sit with little Laura over there in that empty seat,” she told me with a pat on my rear. “Yes Miss Madison,” I said nervously. As I passed, she patted my rear and seemed to ascertain I had a diaper on. “Let me know if you need a change by the way Stacy, even though you’re not one of my chicks I’ll be happy to change you.” “Umm… thanks,” I told her, “I’m good right now…” I walked quickly down the row and sat in the huge oversized fold down seat next to Laura. “Hi,” she said to me quietly. “Hi, how’s it going so far?” I asked. “Umm… embarrassing?” She said. I nodded, “I’m guessing the rope for the line wasn’t the worst thing yet?” She shook her head, “Not even close… at least I already had a diaper on. That girl over there,” she pointed to a girl right next to Madison, “didn’t come in one. Let’s just say it was a little exciting getting ready to come over here.” I noticed that the girl’s eyes were definitely red. It looked like there was a little bit of runny mascara she hadn’t cleaned off her face yet from coming over, and I felt bad for her. “You?” “Not bad so far… I’m going to be a bit sheltered from some of it,” I whispered to her. She nodded, “I kind of wish I was already adopted…” “Already?” I whispered back to her. “You know it’s inevitable…” I looked at her and nodded, “Hopefully it’ll be someone nice at least,” I breathed sadly. She reached for my hand and said, “I’m glad I met you, I hope we stay friends this year?” “Through college!” I told her with a smile. “Good afternoon boys and girls!” a lady suddenly said from the front of the lecture hall. I was glad the lecture hall descended into the front, or I wouldn’t have been able to see over the seat in front of me. As it was, I found myself moving to kneel on my knees like a number of others in my row just to see the speaker. “My name is Dean Sanders, and I am in charge of you adorable little boys and girls here at Emerson University.” Her smile made me think ‘Granny, what big teeth you have…’ and I felt a shiver of fear down my spine. “If you have any problems with any of the big kids at school, or you need anything at all, I want you to think of my door as always open. Please think of me as your mother away from home…” I really did shiver at that and noticed several other littles shift uncomfortably. “This afternoon and evening are a bit different for you from the big kids as we need to get you all used to the procedures of this university. I want to begin by making sure you know your rights and responsibilities here as our little Griffin Chickees.” A PowerPoint slide came up then with a stylized griffin in a diaper, and I couldn’t help but know she thought of the room as just a bunch of babies to be. I bit my tongue though as she continued and ‘Protection’ flashed on the next slide. “I want you all to know that protective undergarments such as diapers or pull-ups are strongly encouraged for littles here at Emerson, but they’re not required of any student during the daytime.” I heard someone whimper down the row and wondered why for a second before she continued, “Please know that we consider that wearing these garments is not a sign you need to be adopted by a surrogate family, but rather that it’s a sign of your maturity of dealing with your weaknesses. A simple fact of life for littles is that pee-pee accidents will happen! While some of our bathrooms have been upgraded to have little potties, many times you may have to travel a long distance to find one you may safely use. Having protection means that if you have an accident it’s contained in a sanitary manner.” She smiled, “We have no problems with a wet diapee or pull-up on a little student. Your fellow students, Nest Hens, Dorm Mother, or the medical facility will be happy to help you clean up into a new one if you need help. You’re always welcome to refuse help directly from a fellow student, but they will then take you to your Nest Hen, Dorm Mother, or the infirmary to make sure that you’re cleaned up properly.” She smiled, “After all, diaper rash doesn’t help you concentrate on your coursework!” As if to add insult to everyone a little boy was shown with his pants wet in the hallway. Clearly a college student in his blazer and pants, you could see the terror in his eyes as someone made him pose for the picture. “Unfortunately, we will have a few littles amongst you who are sure they can make it every time. Should you choose to not wear protection that’s your right! If you do have an accident though – anywhere on campus – you will have progressive consequences in the form of demerits and/or spankings.” I noticed a few littles nervously look around then and guessed they might have come without protection on. Her slide flashed to a new one with the words, ‘Ten Demerits’ in big bold words. Below the words it stated what she said, “If you have ten demerits in a year, you will be expelled from the university. Additionally, we will be legally obligated to hold you on campus until a responsible adult can take charge of you.” I could hear a few mutters of anger around, but I kept absolutely silent like Laura next to me. “Any questions boys and girls?” She asked in a demeaning voice. “None?” She smiled, “One other item to note is that while it’s okay for you to have a wet diaper or pull-up in class, if you should have an issue with poopy pants in class, you will receive eight demerits automatically.” One brave little boy raised his hands, “Miss, that’s in class? If we happen to defecate a diaper outside of class?” “Oh, sweetie you don’t have to use big words about the contents of your diapers! I know how hard it is for you all to make it to the potty!” She said in a sweet mom’s voice that made me want to vomit. “Outside of class if you have a poopy accident it’s okay and there’s no punitive consequences. We just don’t want to smell up professors’ classrooms! It’s a sanitary thing you understand?” “Thanks for the clarification Miss,” the little said as politely as he could. I couldn’t see much of him over the tall seats, but he seemed to be on the taller side for a little. ‘Probably just put a big target on his back…’ I thought to myself. The next slide that popped up said ‘Adoption – When Can I Be Adopted?’ with a picture of a smiling little girl with her ‘mommy’ tickling her stomach in what looked like a backyard. The thick diaper couldn’t be missed with the pink t-shirt being the only other thing she was wearing. ‘Mommy’s Princess’ her shirt read and I couldn’t help but wonder how much had been done to her. Just then I felt the need to nervously pee and decided to just get it over with. The warm pee made me wonder a moment later though why that picture made me feel a need to go so suddenly. I noticed a lot of shuffling right then and some whimpering. ‘Great, I hope there’s not some extra hypnosis going on here with subliminal messages…’ “This is an important topic that we must discuss with your rights, boys and girls. At Emerson you are in a place where you may not be adopted unwillingly by another student, staff member, or campus visitor. So long as you are wearing your name badge and uniform around campus – or town – you are protected legally from being forcibly adopted.” Something in her tone said she regretted that law existed. “If you are not wearing your badge and uniform outside your dorm though, you should be aware that bystanders may not know that you attend the university. You are welcome to ask for a university representative at any adoption center to verify your student status, but failure to be in compliance with the badge and uniform rule means you have no standing to contest an adoption.” She passed over to another slide with another smiling little in his ‘mommy’s’ arms. “Should you decide that the university coursework is too much for your little brain, you are more than welcome to come to my office to speak with me. We offer comprehensive adoption counseling to help you find a loving home to place you in.” The room was totally silent at that point as if everyone was shocked anyone would willingly dive into that. Her presentation continued along that vein throughout the rest of the meeting as rules about Nest Groups, profanity, getting around campus, information about free diapers, and other services was given out. One of the roughest things I thought was the requirement that all little freshmen in the dorms had a bedtime of 7:30pm. She added that you could not get out of bed except for emergencies until 7:00am the next day when Nest Hens would check their chicks and help them get dressed. “What about the orientation events that are later than that?” one girl asked, “Griffins Fly is supposed to be at 7:30pm?” The Dean laughed, “Silly girl, that’s an event for the big boys and girls! You’ll need to be in your jammies and night diapees by then. We certainly don’t want to have a cranky dorm of littles all day tomorrow!” I noted in my head that the wording was ‘in the dorms,’ and knew that meant I could probably get out of a lot of requirements that way. I was going to have to be careful to keep that to myself though unless I wanted her to give me some demerits, or find some other way to make my life miserable. “Well then, it’s about time for dinner. Your Nests will go back to the dorms and get ready for dinner. You’ll have a quick dorm meeting at 6:30pm before your Nest Mothers get you ready to roost in your beds for the night! Tomorrow morning there is an opening ceremony for the university that you’ll travel to with your nest group. After lunch if any of you have not taken your CARE exams yet you will need to do so at 1pm. Please let your Nest Hen know so they can get you to the appropriate testing room. Welcome to Emerson University!” As we stood up, I heard Madison shout, “Come on chicks, grab onto the rope so we can all stay in a nice line to the dorms.” I stood unsure what to do and Madison said, “You too Stacy.” “I think my mommy is supposed to meet me outside…?” “Well just grab on, and if we see her, I’m sure she’ll come get you from me.” I wanted to send a quick text message but as soon as I reached for my backpack for my phone, she chided me and said, “Here you go baby, just grab right on to this purple ring next to your BFF.” I turned red as I looked at Laura but grabbed on and followed them outside of the hall. From the row next to me I noted that another Nest Mother was scolding a little boy with wet pants, “That’ll be two demerits Grayson,” she said. “You know the rules now…” I shuddered and followed our rope line out the lecture hall feeling like I was truly in preschool. True to her word though Amanda was standing right outside and waved at me before coming up to Madison. “Hi, I’m here to pick up Stacy,” she told her with a smile. “I’m sorry, but parents aren’t allowed to take their students to dinner today.” Amanda frowned at that, “Since when?” “It’s a university regulation for littles…” “Where is that in the handbook?” Amanda asked with a smile, “As a professor I should know this one if it’s the case…?” Madison looked flushed then and I realized she was blushing. Dean Sanders came up to us the and said, “Oh Professor Westerfield! I didn’t expect to see you around orientation events for littles?” Amanda took her hand and laughed, “Normally no, but my little girl over there is starting out here and I needed to pick her up for dinner.” “Oh but of course, I’d almost forgotten about your unusual daughter! Miss Madison what’s the issue here?” She asked the girl. “Littles are supposed to have dinner on campus tonight with us!” she said with a bit of hiss to her voice. “Normally you are correct Madison, but Stacy here isn’t a resident. She lives with her mommy who’s one of our most distinguished professors. I know that she’ll take great care in making sure Stacy is fed and back for her nest meeting tonight at 6:30pm in the dorm?” “Of course, Jackie I will make sure she’s back. Is it going to be a long meeting? I know the littles on campus have a very early bedtime?” “Thirty minutes should be it,” the dean said. “Madison will make sure that she has your daughter out of there by seven so you can get her home and tucked in her crib for the night.” “Great!” Amanda said and held her hand out to me to grab on. It was only then that I let go of the rope and looked at the other littles looking at me jealously. Even Laura was envious, but I just smiled and said, “See you later!” “Oh, what room is your nest?” Amanda asked Madison as we had started to walk away. “Wenig, room two-ten,” Madison said obviously not happy. “Thanks! Have a good dinner!” She told her and the other girls. I held onto Amanda’s hand for the lifeline it was back to the car. As she lifted me into my car seat, she felt my diaper and said, “Need a change, huh?” “Back home please?” I asked nervously. She kissed my forehead and said, “Sure sweetie.” The drive home was of course again short and she wasted no time carrying me upstairs to the nursery and changing me into a dry Pamper. “So how was the meeting?” Amanda asked me as she carried me back downstairs. I thought for a moment, “Enlightening and scary…” “Scary?” She asked. “Dean Sanders has to be one of the scariest Amazons I’ve met…” “I thought maybe you would think that about Miss Madison there…” she told me with a squeeze. “She’s not exactly the friendly fun-loving RA,” I admitted, “but Dean Sanders basically laid out everything to us about accidents and adoption. When she showed one of the slides I went pee almost as soon as I looked at it... I had no real warning like I’ve been having. A lot of the other littles I think went too… I’m thinking she inserted some sort of subliminal message in the slide?” “It’s possible,” Amanda told me as she reached the bottom step and carried me to my highchair to join Fred and Bella who were already sitting down. “With as common as it is in TV and movies right now, I could see them easily doing that.” “Doing what?” Bella asked. “Subliminal messages,” I told her with a grimace. I looked and saw she was already bibbed and ready to eat with a baby bottle of apple juice on her tray. “All the time…” she griped. Chapter 2: Aerie “HOW DO YOU defend against that?” I asked curiously. She shrugged, “I don’t think there’s any sure way of doing it. I knew some people who swore by wearing contacts with a slight tint to them. It would at least let them notice the images some of the time if it was an embedded still image. Doesn’t help when it’s just an occasional frame every hundred frames or so though.” I nodded and watched as Amanda settled my tray in front of me onto my highchair, and brought me a sippy cup of juice. For a moment I felt a bit of jealousy over Bella’s bottle, but bit my tongue and asked, “What’s for dinner?” “Your daddy made shiskabobs,” Amanda said as she walked over to the stove and brought over two plates with food. Mine was cut somewhat smaller when she placed it in front of me. Bella’s though was practically mutilated into little minced pieces. Amanda left Bella’s plate just next to her own, but began putting a few pieces at a time on another small toddlers’ plate in front of Bella. While I was getting to use my tiny utensils, Bella was just using her fingers. I frowned at that, “Bella?” “What?” she asked me. “Umm…” “It’s okay Stacy,” Amanda told me, “remember what we talked about in my office…” I thought back to our conversation a couple hours before that Bella had asked to be treated like a baby to make things easier for her. With the constant pressure to avoid adoption and torture, she seemed to be mostly okay with having Amanda baby her, versus what she would have had with anyone else as her ‘mommy.’ Bella seemed to catch on to what I wanted to say, “It’s okay Stacy, I’m actually kind of enjoying everything today…” I looked at her and believed she was telling the truth, “If you’re sure…” I muttered and kept eating my food. “So how did your little orientation event go?” Fred asked. I retold, now in more detail, all that had gone on with that and then in the morning. “So, we knew everything about all of that though,” Fred said after I finished. I shrugged, “I guess?” “You have even less to worry about than anyone else Stacy,” Amanda told me reassuringly. “Except maybe from this Madison girl. I was really hoping you would be able to avoid having a Nest Hen assigned to you…” “Why do they call them Nest Hens?” Bella asked curiously. “Because the school mascot is the Griffins?” I told her. “What’s that?” “How…?” I paused, “How can you not know what a griffin is?” “I dunno? I never really paid attention in school?” “Harry Potter exist here?” I asked. “What’s that?” Amanda asked. I slapped my forehead, “I wonder if Mom and Dad can send me a shipment of cultural items…?” “Important back home?” Fred asked. “Probably one of the largest books and movie franchises to exist back there. This author…” I paused and realized it wouldn’t matter… “Anyway… this author created an epic long series about a kid in a magic school. His dorm that he’s a part of has a Griffin as their mascot.” They all stared at me like I was from another dimension or something... I sighed and looked at Bella, “It’s a half-eagle and half-lion creature.” With the continued blank stare, “eagles raise their young in nests, so I guess they decided that littles are grouped in nests too.” “You’re also chicks to them,” Amanda said with a nod. “Chick, huh?” Fred said. “That’s Princess Chick to you,” I huffed as all three of them laughed at me. When Bella was done with her solid dinner, Amanda released her from her high chair and carried her to the living room where she sat down in the rocker with Bella cradled on her lap. I sighed and looked at the small scoop of ice cream the Fred had given me while he munched on a larger bowl. “It’s smarter this way,” he reminded me. “I know, but if you’d told me a few weeks ago I’d be feeling withdrawals from not breastfeeding…” “I suppose you could always give in, and just give up?” He said softly. I shook my head, “No, my dream is worth more than that… You wouldn’t happen to know a way to cancel out the bad effects, would you?” He shook his head, “I wish I did, it would make it easier on you and Mandy both!” I quietly finished my scoop and felt a little rumbling in my stomach, “May I use my potty please?” “Sure chicklet,” he told me. I glared at him as he released me from my straps and I walked to the potty. With a little bit of effort, I pulled the tabs of the dry diaper off and sat down on the potty before pushing out a couple small chunks of poop and some pee. “Good girl,” Fred said, “can you hold your skirt up so I can wipe you clean?” I did as he asked and he wiped me clean. “Thank you,” I told him softly. “No problem,” he told me, “You want to try and put your diapee back on while I throw this out?” I nodded and picked up the discarded garment. I remembered it was easier standing and leaning so I pulled it up and leaned against the cabinet and was able to pull the tabs tight. He bent down and checked when he returned, “Why aren’t you just a big girl!” I stuck my tongue out at him and he picked me up to give me a hug. “You ready to head back Stacy?” Amanda asked after I’d sat in his arms for a few moments. I shrugged, “I guess. I have to imagine this is going to suck…” “It might,” Amanda said, “but from now on unless you’re talking about sucking on your pacifier or a bottle, I think it would be a good idea to skip using that word?” I nodded. “Sorry, Mommy,” I sighed. She carried me to the car and we were soon parked on a lot close to Wenig Hall. She wasted no time in getting me out of the car and walked me up front to the entrance where a couple Amazon girls and Mrs. Walters were talking. Amanda walked me inside and said, “Good evening, I was told Stacy needs to meet with her nest group for a little bit tonight?” “That’s right, Dean Sanders mentioned that. I guess she was assigned to Miss Madison?” “Room 210?” I added helpfully. “That’s the right one sweetie! What a smart wittle girl!” she said condescendingly. “Did you happen to bring your orientation shirt?” I nodded and patted my backpack, “It’s in my backpack?” “Great! I’m sure Madison will help you get it on really quick before we do our last activity before bedtime. Professor Westerfield, if you want, you can just hang out here in the lobby until seven? All of our residents are going to take a picture just before then and then you can take her from here?” “I think I’ll actually just run to my office for a bit,” she told her. “I’ll come out for the picture and pick her up then,” she added. “Melanie, would you please help Stacy here find her nest?” “Sure thing!” the larger of the girls said. I couldn’t help but notice she had a very plump body with large breasts compared to most. I squirmed internally as I thought of the fact that she probably would have a lot of littles feeding from them at some point… She held her hand out, and I nervously took it like it would bite me. She led me down a hallway, past the desk, and to a bank of elevators. “So why are you so special that you’re only here for the nest meeting?” She asked inquisitively. Her voice was friendly, but she seemed to have a wary tone to it. “I’m adopted,” I told her, “so I have to live with Mommy and Daddy instead of in the dorms,” I told her. Something inside of me told me that trying to behave maturely in these dorms wasn’t a bright idea. I kept my senses on high alert for details and noted that there were five floors in the dorm total when she pressed the second button. “Wow, and you’re still coming to school?” I nodded and said sweetly, “Mommy wants me to be smart like her and Daddy.” “Aren’t you worried your classes will be too much for your little brain?” I giggled, “I think I’ll be fine.” She shook her head but led me outside of the elevator as it opened. “Let’s see, here we go! Room 210, Miss Madison’s Nest.” I felt my mouth drop a bit as I came into the large open room that was more like a barracks in some ways than the modern dorms that I had seen at universities back home. Well… a daycare barracks! Parallel to the walls on three sides of the room were ten lofted beds over desks. Each bed had a small staircase leading up to it from one side, and then side rails made of mesh like a playpen ringed them about two feet above the mattress. ‘So that littles can’t fall out?’ I wondered. I noted that the height of the beds meant most of the Amazons could probably still reach in and pluck out a little if need be. The desks seemed to be decent sized, but all of the white furniture in the room just screamed ‘baby girl.’ I noticed that a sign in baby block letter font had been placed on each bed for the girls in the room. A small wardrobe and dresser adjoined the bed/desk units. The walls of the room were painted in the sickeningly sweet pink of a nursery a mother would use to hopefully have a girly girl for a baby. As I turned to the side, I noticed that Madison had Laura up on a large, well-stocked changing table, with her legs and naked rear held in the air to moon me. “Miss Madison, I found a visitor for you,” the girl said and with a pat on my head left me there alone. “Who?” She asked with a quick turn of her head, as she placed a fresh diaper under Laura, “Oh, cutie, it’s you! Come on in!” I noticed that all of the other girls had their orientation shirts on now with their uniform skirts. For most of the girls the shirts fit them fairly well. As Laura was sat upright, I could see the shirt was way too big for her. It hung like a knee length dress on her as Madison tutted, “One of these years they’re going to remember we have some tiny little girls!” I watched as she pulled the shirt back up and removed Laura’s skirt. She let the shirt hang down again and tied a white piece of ribbon around her waist in a large bow in the back. “That being said you look like the cutest little here now!” I heard her stage whisper to Laura. The other girls sat in their desk chairs nervously as Madison sat Laura down. “Go sit down at your desk Laura, I’m just going to help our guest get ready too.” “Thank you, Miss Madison,” Laura said while blushing deeply. I could tell that the whole situation mortified her – and I really felt terrible for her! As she moved away Madison looked down at me, “Where’s your shirt?” I took my backpack off and opened it to pull it out, “here,” I told her. “I can put it on myself really quick?” “Much faster if I do it,” she said while quickly reaching down, picking me up, and laying me down on the changing table. A moment later my blouse was off and my skirt was gone. “Aren’t you just adorable wearing regular baby Pampers?” she teased me. “I guess your mommy at least knows what you need to be wearing.” Her hand squeezed the padding before her finger went in the side and I gasped a bit as it brushed me in a way that was completely unnecessary. “Guess you must have had a change before you came?” I just nodded, “Yes, Miss Madison.” “Well let’s pull this shirt over your head,” she told me, “Arms up like a pretty ballerina!” I actually did giggle with as hard as she was trying to embarrass me. “Okay, let’s stand up and see just how bad this one is on you…” She tutted a moment later when she realized it came to my ankles, “Wow, as tiny as Laura is, you definitely take the cake, Sweetie! What size clothes do you normally wear?” “Three months,” I told her. “Good thing you’re already adopted! I don’t think you would last a week on your own otherwise!” She said that while grabbing another piece of ribbon, and then duplicated what she had done with Laura’s shirt to make a dress. She sat me down then and said, “Can you be a big girl and put your blouse and skirt in your backpack for me?” I nodded, “Yes, Miss Madison,” and completed the task just as I saw my watch said it was 6:30 on the dot. As I stood up, I noted that my shirt hung down to past my ankles like a floor length gown! “Okay chicks, come on over here to the carpet in the center of the room so we can all chat a bit as a nest before we go take our dorm picture.” She sat down on the carpet and added in a singsong voice, “Sit crisscross applesauce everyone!” I sat down next to Laura who reached out and squeezed my hand. As I looked at her face, I could tell she must have been crying a little in response to her embarrassing treatment. ‘I wonder what happened before I got here,’ but I had no time to ask Laura anything before Madison began. “Okay, so a few rules I need to make sure we go over. “You should have all see that you have your potty star charts over there on the wall,” she pointed to a row of ten charts. One of the girls raised her hand, “Yes, Brooke?” “Miss Madison, what about Stacy?” She asked, “She doesn’t have a chart? She’s a part of our nest too now, right?” Madison pursed her lips and asked me, “Do you need a potty chart Stacy?” I thought quickly before answering, “No Miss Madison, Mommy keeps me in diapers – it would be kind of pointless!” “Well there you have it, Brooke! Baby Stacy there doesn’t need one because she already knows she’s not a big girl like you all are.” She paused before smiling, “Unless you don’t need one either Brooke?” I looked at the girl as she gulped and said, “I guess I do need one since I use the potty Miss Madison.” “Good girl!” Madison said with praise. “Now there are spots on the chart for the morning. Each day I will check and mark whether you were a big girl and have a dry diapee still, or have a wet diapee. Most of you will have a wet diapee, but that’s okay because it’s totally normal in our dorm. No one gets out of bed until I come and do a diaper check on you each morning. If you’re dry, I’ll let you put on whatever underwear you want. If you’re wet, I’ll change you into a pull-up unless you really want to risk having an accident without protection. You are allowed to tell me you want your big girl panties at any time, except bedtime!” I grimaced - she probably hoped someone would choose that. “If you wet a pull-up or big girl panties that you’re not ready for, I’ll mark that on the second line each day. If you poopy them that’s another mark I’ll make on the chart.” Another girl raised her hand, “Miss Madison, Dean Sanders said as long as it wasn’t in class, it was okay if we had a poopy accident?” Madison laughed like the girl had just done the most mundane task, “of course Jasmine it’s okay silly girl! We just mark it down for the school’s records! One of the things that will be on your report card and transcript each semester is your potty progress. You can get a Gold Star for absolutely no potty accidents, a Silver star for up to five wetting accidents or one poopy accident, and a Bronze Star if you have no more than ten wetting accidents or two poopy diapers in a semester.” “Jasmine you had another question?” “What happens if we don’t have any stars on our report card?” “No harm, it just means when businesses look at you for jobs after college, they’ll know they are probably going to have to accommodate for some potty issues.” She paused and looked around the room, “Okay, so other things – you obviously know the potties are in the bathroom next door, along with the showers. If you need any help with showering or using the potty don’t be shy! We also have a bath tub on the floor that I can use to give you a bath if you would prefer a bath.” I noticed that there was a door marked ‘Bathroom’ on one side of the wall not far from the changing room. Another door was marked ‘Miss Madison – Nest Hen’ on the outside of it. If I hadn’t known any better, I would have been sure I walked into a daycare rather than a dorm room. I was honestly surprised there weren’t more toys sitting around. She looked at her watch, “Okay two other things really quick. I know many of you have your favorite stuffies here, but if you forgot one please feel free to grab one from the jungle over there,” she nodded her head towards a net of stuffed animals and dolls. “I insist everyone have a friend to sleep with!” She smiled, “I even have my favorite teddy bear that I sleep with each night too!” ‘I actually believe that…’ I thought to myself. ‘Gabby had a billion stuffed animals still…’ “Also, if you would like a binky or a night-night bottle that’s fine, but those have to stay in your bed.” “A binky? Seriously?” A blonde-haired girl asked. “We’re almost the same age! We’re not really babies you know…” “Oh Alyssa, you and I are going to have a lot of fun! It’s not mandatory at all, but I know some littles are very comforted by them. I just like to make sure everyone knows I don’t have a problem if you need one. I can always lend you a binky for the night to see if you would like one?” She smiled and I swore there was a cartoon like gleam off her white teeth just then. “No thank you Miss Madison,” she said, clearly remembering her precarious situation. “The offer is always on the table for anyone!” She said before looking around. “Real quick, I want to make sure everyone has at least heard everyone else introduce themselves! Let’s go around the circle and say who we are, what our major is, and what our favorite thing to do is.” She smiled at us and I noted that I was sitting to the left side of her and might be going first. “I’m going first,” she said and I felt a sigh of relief that I didn’t voice. “My name is Miss Madison Trestle, I’m in grad school working on my doctorate in Little Psychiatry, and my favorite thing is to hang out with all of my adorable little friends!” I wanted to gag at that and noticed another girl across the circle make a fitting face, but no one dared to say anything. “Okay, Stacy, you go next!” I sighed, “I’m Stacy Westerfield, I’m majoring in Computer Science, and I love to swim.” “I’m Laura Windsor, I’m majoring in accounting, and I love reading romance novels.” “I’m Brooke Kestler, I’m majoring in Business, and I love photography.” Brooke, at about four and a half feet tall, was one of the tallest littles in the room. Her brown hair was tied into twin pigtails tied with yellow bows. Only a head taller than me, the next shortest girl looked to be Asian, “I’m Annie Gao, I’m a math major, and I love calligraphy.” “I’m Jasmine Cook,” another of the taller of us who was African American started, “I’m a theater major, and I love making funny voices,” she said the last part in a voice that sounded eerily like Madison’s. “Cute,” Madison said verbally while I noted her eyes looked like she was thinking something entirely different. “Next?” “I’m Esther Medelsheim, I’m going to be studying Psychology, and I like painting.” Esther was a bit shorter than the girls around her, but still way taller than me. The next girl I noted had a nose piercing but looked to be of Indian heritage and I remembered that being a normal cultural tradition, “I’m Anaya Anand, and I’ll be studying Biology. I like to embroider scarves and other clothing,” she added. She looked to be just a bit taller than Laura, but shorter than most of the rest of the girls. “Chelsea Jackson, hi,” the next girl said nervously while playing with her brown hair. “I’m studying chemistry, and I like to draw.” “I am Natasha Annikova, I’ll be majoring in Art, and I like being the tallest person in the room other than Miss Madison for once!” Everyone else giggled and I figured she was still shy of four feet eight inches, but in a room of short girls she was indeed the tallest. “I’m Alyssa Drummond, I’m going to be a fashion designer, and I love makeup and all of the looks I can make with it.” The blonde-haired girl seemed to epitomize a Barbie Doll or Valley Girl personality… Somehow, I was pretty sure her makeup days were numbered with as cute as she was. “And last I’m Gemma Hamilton, I’m majoring in engineering, and I like computer games.” Gemma was short and a little stockier than the rest of the littles in the room. Placed into a family I had little doubt it would be baby fat before long for her. “Okay now that we all know who each other are; we need to come up with a name for the nest other than Miss Madison’s nest. Anyone have any ideas?” There was an awkward silence with no one speaking up, “How about Mice, Miss Madison?” Annie asked politely. I noted that she was wearing her shirt like Laura and I as a fake dress. “Hmm… What do you think about that girls?” Everyone shrugged, “It works because we’re probably the tiniest nest of littles?” Laura said. That had some giggles added to it. “Let me just check and see if anyone has claimed it yet?” She said as she got onto a tablet and smiled a moment later, “Okay my little mice, we need to go down and take our dorm picture. Everyone, grab onto the caterpillar!” I grabbed my backpack on my way to where she had the girls lining up on the rope and she asked, “Why are you taking your backpack Stacy?” “Mrs. Walters told my mommy that I would go home with her after the picture Miss Madison.” “Oh then… We’re going to have to find a way for you to spend some more time with the nest sometime this week Stacy,” she told me. “I’d like that,” I lied to her with what I hoped looked like a genuine smile. ‘Actually, I would like to hang out with some of the other girls… just not her! We were led downstairs and to the front of the building. A large set of steps led up to it and I could see many of the other nests were already lining the steps to prepare for the picture. Madison said, “Mice let’s go down there to the front since we’re the smallest!” I groaned but found myself sitting with my legs crisscrossed at the front of the picture next to Laura and Annie. “Say cheese!” a happy voice said a few minutes later and I noticed that Amanda was taking her own pictures of it with her phone too. Several minutes later Mrs. Walters called out loudly, “Okay nests, you need to get upstairs, get your jammies on, and it’s lights out at 7:30 for Freshmen, 8:00 for Sophomores and Juniors, and 8:30 for Seniors!” “Yes ma’am,” was a chorus of voices as Madison and the other Nest Mothers gathered their chicks and I reclaimed my backpack from the side where I had sat it and walked over to Amanda. “Well don’t you look cute!” she said to me as she picked me up and placed me on her side. I leaned my head onto her shoulder and said, “Always,” as I watched the other littles look at me in a mixture of horror, disgust, and… jealousy? I waived at my nest, which all waived at me and enjoyed my ride on Amanda’s side to the car. “I hope I didn’t embarrass you?” she said a little apologetically. “Mommy, with as horrible as the ‘nests’ are, I’m just glad I’m YOUR baby girl!” I told her. BACK HOME AMANDA carried me inside and I couldn’t help but feel a bit tired from the day. It was only seven-thirty though as we got home, and I certainly didn’t want to be like the other littles if I could help it! “Daddy was supposed to give Bella a bath already, if he did, I’m going to put her to bed and then I’ll give you your bath?” She asked. “I thought we had to take baths together?” I asked confused. “Since you’re our big college girl, you have a later bedtime than Bella. She’s going to be like a baby as far as potty, feeding, and bedtime is concerned.” “I really don’t get it… but maybe you can explain while I’m taking my bath?” She smiled at me and gave me a hug, “Sure sweetie. You have your tablet in your backpack? Why don’t you get on it and check tomorrow’s schedule?” “Okay,” I told her with a smile and walked over to the couch with my backpack. I scaled the mountain so to speak and sat down before pulling the backpack off my back and opening it up. My transparent tablet seemed to turn on magically as I looked at it. Even after a few days I couldn’t help but marvel again at how amazing the technology behind it really was! I glanced at the next day’s schedule quickly before pulling up the rest of my e-mails. I noted that there were e-mails from my parents, grandparents, Gabby, and several from the university including Dean Sanders and Mrs. Walters. I decided Dean Sanders was probably the most important to read first. Dear Stacy, It was a pleasure to meet you today with your mommy. I just wanted to welcome you to the university and invite you to come see me if you ever have any problems with anything. I know you’ll be missing out on some support without being on campus for help, but feel free to let me know if you ever feel the need to spend a night or two in the dorm as a sleep over for your study groups. I’m sure your mommy would go along with that and we could get a portable bed in your nest for the night. If you have any little friends, they can also go home with you overnight as long as Mrs. Walters gives her okay. Your mommy is one of our star professors and I know you will be one of our star students, Cordially, Jacqueline Sanders Dean of Little Students ‘Just who is Amanda that she gets this kind of deferential treatment?’ I wondered. I would have to look into that more, but just shrugged and opened Mrs. Walters e-mail. Stacy, It was a pleasure to meet you and your mommy today! I wanted to suggest that you meet your nest at around 4:30pm tomorrow (today if you’re reading this Tuesday like you should be!) to go to dinner and the orientation events until lights out. It’ll give you a chance to make some friends on campus. It’s not mandatory, but it would be a good thing to do so you can make some more friends! I know Miss Madison will keep a good eye on you for your mommy. She’s also more than welcome to attend with you if she would prefer to! See you soon, Mrs. Walters Wenig Hall House Mother I thought through the fact that according to the university I should be in bed, and decided to not reply to either message until the morning. As much as I didn’t want to spend any time with Madison, I guessed it wasn’t a terrible idea to go hang out with them either… As I opened my parents and grandparents’ emails, they were just quick ‘Good luck’ e-mails on the first day. Gabby’s was basically the same along with some stories about her own first day. While I was sitting there, I messed around with the tablets apps some more and remembered something I had wanted to try with it. Back home my iPad had been great for sketching on. I’d only taken one year of art in school, but I found that I loved how easy it was to sketch detailed charcoal and ink drawings on the iPad. It was something I found out I was pretty good at. I opened my backpack and found the little sized stylus that had been at the little store and then opened a drawing app on my new tablet to see if it would work. I smiled as I found it worked better than my Apple Pencil had! ‘What to draw?’ I thought for a moment before seeing a picture hanging up in the living room of Amanda and I from before the cake the other day. ‘When did they have that printed…?’ I had to wonder before deciding it was a good project. I had made pretty good progress on sketching it out when Amanda came downstairs then and asked, “Ready for your bath?” I nodded and slipped my tablet and stylus back into the backpack and held my hands out to her in the universal ‘pick me up please’ gesture. Apparently, Amanda didn’t need told twice and she scooped me up and gave me a hug. “Everything okay?” she asked as we went upstairs to the bathroom where the water was already running in the tub. I nodded while quickly letting go of a stream of urine in my diaper so I could be empty. “Just a strange day…” I told her. She nodded and helped me out of my shirt dress leaving my wet diaper exposed. “You need to get more liquids in you Stacy,” she said as she pulled it off. I looked down and noted it was pretty yellow inside. “I’ll try and remember to drink the bottle of water you have in there for me tomorrow,” I told her, “but I didn’t really have a lot of downtime to drink anything after dinner?” She squeezed me, “we’ll figure it out,” she told me as she lifted me and placed me in the fairly filled tub with lots of bubbles. “So, what’s the schedule for tomorrow?” “Well at nine in the morning they have some tours and buses to show everyone around the city… I figure that’s not really needed?” She shook her head, “No, you can skip that one. I doubt they let many littles even go on that one unless it’s to tour all of the daycare and adoption centers…” I tensed but nodded, “Sounds about right,” I said softly while thinking of the girls I had been with a while ago and imagining each of them with a mother like Cassie or Chloe. I shook my head and said, “There’s a university welcome ceremony at eleven that looks like it’s the last parent and student event. Then there’s the programming placement exam at two.” “You’ll be fine on that by the way sweetie,” she said as she moved a mitt up and down my back. I shrugged, “Even if I’m not, I’m okay with it, that’s why I came here!” “Anything else tomorrow?” “Well Mrs. Walters sent me an e-mail asking for me to go to the dorm about 4:30 to go hang out with my nest, go to dinner, and then do the orientation events until it’s bedtime for the littles?” “Do you want to?” She asked, “Lean forward a bit baby,” she said as she cleaned my rear. I blushed as I didn’t think that would ever feel normal… “I guess?” I said, “I’m a little worried about spending too much time around Madison though.” “Did she do anything to you earlier?” Amanda asked with some steel in her voice. “She insisted on helping me get dressed…” “Not surprised there…” “And checked my diaper by squeezing it like you do…” “Normal?” “Then she put her finger inside the diaper to make sure it was dry…” “That little bitch!” Amanda said then and as I turned, I saw the face of a really angry momma bear. “I know… What did she do to everyone else though?” I asked sadly. Amanda quietly washed my hair then before saying, “Unfortunately she’s now assigned as your Nest Hen and is one of the people you can’t refuse changing you… And I don’t think I’ll get anywhere with an abuse case this time. If she does it again, I want you to say these exact words, ‘My Mommy said she’s the only one who can touch me like that. Please just wipe me with a wipe and change my diapee.’” She paused and I let it sink in, “If she continues then you have a good case to file an abuse claim and she’ll know that.” I nodded, “Okay…” paused then said, “I guess I do want to go to that event just so I can make some friends. Maybe even after they’re adopted?” She nodded, “You do need friends dear.” “I wish I could go to the Casino night event at 8pm so I could maybe hang out with Mia or something…” “They’d find some way to give you some demerits if you did,” Amanda told me, “best to pretend I’m making you go to bed like every other freshman little at 7:30. In fact make sure you don’t send any e-mails or anything after that either?” I nodded, “I’d already thought about that and didn’t respond to either Mrs. Walters or Dean Sanders.” “Dean Sanders e-mailed you?” By then I was just sitting in the tub as she sat back and looked at me. I filled her in on what the e-mails had said. It was probably time for me to get out, but I said, “Mommy?” “Yes Princess?” “So, what’s going on with Bella? You said you would explain it to me in the bath…?” I looked up where Amanda knelt closer to the tub. Her face was definitely clouded with a mixture of concern and embarrassment as she sighed, “I did, didn’t I?” she pushed a hair out of her face with a wet hand and said, “I wish I understood what I was doing myself here.” She seemed to think for a moment before unplugging the tub and wrapping me in a towel, “Let’s get a diaper on you and we’ll go sit in the rocker downstairs and I’ll try and explain.” I was dried quickly, wrapped in a towel with my hair wrapped in what was probably a washcloth for her, before carrying me to the nursery where I could hear Bella softly snoring in our crib. Amanda just grabbed a diaper and a onesie really quick before leaving back downstairs. I was laid down on a changing pad she had downstairs and quickly diapered, dressed in the onesie, and then she grabbed a comb and a brush and sat down with me in rocker. “So, Bella?” I asked again as she began combing through my hair. “Daddy and Grandpa saw some more signs of that group we ran into when they were getting her stuff earlier. When my dad got to her apartment, he kept everyone out for a few minutes, and ran some scanning equipment. He found the whole place had been wired for video and sound. Once he disabled it all, they began loading her stuff up. Not long afterwards a lady claiming to be from Little Protective Services went up to Daddy flashed a badge. She claimed she was investigating a case of a neglected little and asked what they were doing…” Chapter 3: Lifestyles MY EYES GREW wide with the information that LPS was investigating already. “What happened?” “Fred had just sat Bella down in a playpen with a bottle of juice and a fresh diaper. I guess she pushed her way through the door to look around for a few minutes before coming back to talk to him. She had to admit it looked like they were doing a good job of cleaning up the littles mess and she seemed to be well cared for now. Some of her comments alluded that if she was discovered not being a good baby girl for her new parents, that maybe someone else could better help her …” “That’s horrible…” I breathed. “But… how far do they expect you to go?” I asked nervously. “Well that’s the thing… we’d already talked to Bella about something like this happening. That’s when she told us last night just to go ahead and treat her like a baby with most things. Height wise she’s a little shorter than a two-year-old, but she’s so skinny the younger infant clothes fit her better. She asked for us just to treat her like she’s about eighteen months old as far as the potty, eating, sleeping, and everything else.” “You’re not going to…” “We don’t have to do anything else Stacy. She’s old enough at that age that she can crawl, walk, or run. She can feed herself finger foods and eat solid foods, but she’s still young enough that nursing and using her baba and pacifier are considered normal.” “What about doing stuff like getting on the computer or playing with things other than dolls? Her sewing?” “With an adult supervising we’ll let her do some of those. The sewing is going to wait for a couple months until we’re sure LPS is going to leave well enough alone though.” “And me?” “What about you?” “What about LPS and me?” “Oh, silly girl, you’re fine. You’re a well-adjusted little who as far as they’re concerned knows her place is in her diapees, but is too smart not to go to school.” I nodded, “It’s not fair though that I get to do some things she can’t?” “Like?” “Like she’s already in bed by eight?” “Remember you have those nanites Stacy – Bella’s a normal little. Normal littles, even the ones who are independent, rarely stay up past nine! Remember we have our longer days here. Bella has gone to bed around eight for her whole life. It’s not like it’s a punishment.” I looked at the clock and saw it was nine-thirty, “So do I have a bed time?” “Well I’d definitely say before your Mommy and Daddy!” “Obviously… kind of hard to get into my crib by myself!” “Exactly! So probably no later than eleven on most weeknights?” I nodded, “Okay, I guess I can live with that.” Amanda kept stroking through my hair until it was dry enough that she could loosely braid it. “Umm Mommy? When am I going to be able to get my hair done?” “I have an appointment for you and your sister at nine tomorrow?” “That soon?” I asked suddenly a bit nervous. “I figured tomorrow was the best time with the tours going on?” I nodded, “What are we doing with it?” “I thought maybe you could just have the length evened up to just above your shoulders, and we’ll get it curled under?” She suggested, “Probably also have them cut bangs into your hair?” I nodded knowing that could be way worse, “So I can still have a ponytail or pigtails?” She smiled at me and hugged me, “Yep!” “What about Bella?” “We’re going to get hers done into a short bob,” she told me, “it’s a pretty normal looking cut for a little her size to have,” she added. “How long will you have to treat her like this?” I asked going back to our earlier conversation. She squeezed me in a hug and whispered, “only as long as we have to, and she wants to continue with it. If she decides she really wants to be done with it at some point, I’ll let you make contact with some people to get her free.” I smiled back at her and returned the hug. “Now, I spoke with a few colleagues about your placement test for tomorrow since I’ve never really paid much attention to it. They said you can choose which language you want to use as long as it’s something they have a compiler for.” “Okay… You know which ones I understand – which should I use?” “I think if you base your answers off what you called C#, that would be best?” She said and I nodded, “It’s not exactly the same with some of the higher order language functions of what’s current here, but it’s close enough that whatever you code should compile.” “Okay… what’s different about the newer version you all use?” I asked thinking back to our earlier conversation where it had been apparent that they seemed to have had all of our languages decades earlier than we did. “Most of the differences have to do with some of the AI Cognitive Mapping functions that we’re using in my studies…” We had a totally nerdy conversation as she told me about some of the things she was working on. It turns out that AI and the nanites were her primary focus. Her studies were based in the hopes of making it possible to remotely start civilizations on other planets with pre-built habitat domes. It was something straight out of science fiction, but sounded really cool! She’d also been involved at low levels with the coding foundations for Tessa, but wasn’t directly hands on with the project anymore so she didn’t know how far she had come along until last week. When all was said and done it was ten-thirty when Fred peaked his head in and said he was going to bed. As he left Amanda asked, “You want a bottle before bed?” “I’d rather nurse,” I said sadly. “Well you didn’t have any poopy accidents today? Let’s let your body clear until this weekend and we’ll try to go back to nights?” I nodded and sat comfortably on her hip as she filled a bottle with regular milk and some honey, heated it up, then sat down with me and fed the bottle to me while she hummed a lullaby to send me off to sleep. I WOKE UP the next morning to the flash of a camera. I blinked and came to the slow realization that I was being held. As I became more aware, I realized that I was serving as a teddy bear for Bella who hadn’t apparently become aware of the attention yet. I looked up at Amanda and said, “Do you have to take pictures all of the time?” “No, just when there’s an adorable moment,” Amanda said smiling down at me. “What…?” I heard behind me as Bella stirred. “Let me sleep in…” “I need you to let your sister go Bella, she has to get ready for her day and so do you!” Amanda said as she reached down and lightly tickled Bella’s side. “Stop it!” she whined while I made my escape. I noticed that I really needed to pee and let it go into the dry diaper while Amanda picked me up. She felt my diaper warming and asked, “needed to go huh?” “Wish I would just go in my sleep and not think about it,” I admitted to her. She squeezed me and said, “can you wait until after breakfast for a change?” I thought about it for a second, then nodded, “Yeah.” Fred came in right then and she passed me to him, “Would you get Stacy going with breakfast? I made some oatmeal and cut up some fruit for her that’s on the table.” “Sure sweetie,” he told her as he took me and gave me a gentle squeeze. As he carried me out the door, I watched Amanda pick Bella up and moved towards the rocking chair to nurse her. I sighed heavily as he carried me downstairs, “Are you sure you don’t want to just avoid her milk forever Stacy?” He asked as we made it to the bottom step, “I think you might never kick the habit if you start again?” I shook my head, “Pretty sure… but you’re right, it’s an addiction. Every time I see Bella nursing, see Aman… Mommy pumping, or another little feeding from their mommy… it causes this huge craving!” “Is it getting easier?” He asked as he gently sat me down in the highchair and began buckling the harness. I thought for a second and shook my head, “Not really…” “Hmm… I wonder if there’s something you missed with the nanites? Most littles who escape from their ‘parents’ seem to be able to move on with life without that problem?” he asked as he velcroed a bib onto my neck. I shrugged, “I don’t know?” and then added, “How active are the nanites still?” “That would be a Mommy question Stacy, but I think they are at least present still. Even if they are deactivated, I’m pretty sure they don’t leave your body completely.” He put the tray on the highchair, before placing the oatmeal, fruit, and coffee in front of me. The spoon sat in the oatmeal and I drank a large gulp of coffee before beginning to carefully eat. I could feel the cloth padding of the cover of the seat on my legs since the onesie I was wearing only covered my diaper. ‘Oatmeal with Amanda’s milk is a lot better than this…’ I whined in my mind as I took each bite, but kept eating it a spoonful at a time, alternating it with the fruit to help with the taste. Fred read something on a tablet as I ate, so it was quiet enough for me to just think. ‘The nanites… I wonder if they can be programmed still?’ The thought of being able to maybe do something about the side effects of her milk and who knows what else was intriguing. I thought back to the code from the lab and remembered I had managed to get a copy of it onto my own computer. ‘Maybe I can hack my own nanites?’ I thought with a bit of a grin. “All done?” Amanda interrupted my thoughts as she deposited a sleepy Bella into her highchair. She was dressed in a frilly pink bodysuit outfit with a skirt that hung well above the bottom of the crotch that was snaped shut. The result was that it easily showed off her pink princess diaper to the sides of the flap. Her long hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail that descended half-way down her back - which made sense with us getting a haircut. I gulped the last bit of coffee and nodded, “I guess so.” “Let’s get you changed then and dressed so we can get going,” she pronounced as she came over to me, pulled the tray off, unbuckled me, and picked me up. “Do you need to use your potty?” she asked. I thought for a second and shook my head, “not right now?” “You sure?” I nodded, “we’ll be able to come home before going to the university later?” “Yes, we’ll have to drop off your baby sister,” she told me. I just shook my head at the absurdity of having an older adult, over a foot and half taller than me, being called my baby sister! Upstairs she pulled my wet diaper off and wiped me before asking, “What kind of diaper do you want sweetie?” “Just a regular Pamper?” I asked, “I don’t need anything thicker… right?” She shook her head, “No, but I just wanted to make sure you didn’t want a thinner one?” I shrugged, “All the girls last night saw my diaper and I made no attempt to hide I’m not using the potty. Madison was talking about their Potty with them when one of the girls tried to pick on me.” “What did she do?” Amanda seemed more than a little bit upset about me being picked on. “It wasn’t anything big, she just wanted to know why I didn’t have a potty chart…” “You said?” “Well actually Madison did ask me then if I needed one… I told her my mommy keeps me in diapers so a potty chart would be kind of pointless…” Amanda laughed then, “Okay, you handled that well at least.” I nodded and Amanda and I chatted as she dressed me in my uniform. As she finished, she handed me a dark green leather lanyard wallet that my student ID was now in and visible. “When did you buy this?” “Yesterday while you were in your little seminar,” she said as she quickly pulled my hair out of the braid that she done night before. She let it just hang loose around my head. “I can’t wait to have this styled so I can do more with it!” she told me with a smile. I shrugged, “Just as long as it’s not too short!” “Don’t worry Stacy, I want to have at least one daughter that I can play with her hair!” ‘One daughter?’ I thought to myself before remembering the plans for shortening Bella’s hair to a short bob. It was sad given how pretty her long hair was! Soon enough both of us were strapped into our car seats with pacifiers in our mouths, and on the road to whatever salon she had chosen. Oddly to me the video screen she had strapped to the seat came to life and a cartoon began showing. “Umm… Mommy? Is this safe?” I asked nervously. “Yes Stacy, it’s a regular Amazon cartoon with no messages. I did a lot of digging to make sure it was safe…” “Okay…” I said and found myself watching a cartoon that was a cross between Dora the Explorer and a Disney Princess cartoon. I decided that it had some decent production value to it, almost like an anime back home. We were almost done with the episode just hitting a cliffhanger when Amanda stopped the car and the video turned off. “Mommy!” Bella whined, “It was just at the best part!” Amanda giggled as she came around and unbuckled me first, “It’s okay, it’ll be there when we leave. Let’s go get my two princesses pretty though!” To my surprise she pulled the pacifier I’d forgotten from my mouth, and left it in the car seat while she sat me down on the ground. I followed at a close distance behind her while she went to the other side to grab Bella. While she was gathering her up, I looked at the strip mall salon and saw it was named, ‘Little Styles for Big Lives.’ “Come on Princess,” Amanda called to me when she had our diaper bag over one shoulder and carried Bella on her other hip. ‘Why isn’t she carrying me?’ I wondered a little as I ran after her, taking four steps for every one of Amanda’s trying to keep up with her long legs! ‘I wonder what it’s going to be like to go for a girl’s haircut?’ As she pushed the door open a happy electronic chime sounded. “Welcome to Little Styles!” A plump amazon woman said as we walked in. “I have an appointment for my two little girls?” Amanda told her. “Absolutely, what’s the last name?” “Westerfield.” “Got you right here! We should have both of your stylists ready to go here in a couple minutes. Why don’t you wait over there and we’ll call you back in a sec? I’ll make sure they put your two princesses in adjoining chairs!” “Thanks!” Amanda said and carried us over to some chairs next to your typical waiting area where small children were involved. A lot of baby toys sat inside a fenced play area, while magazines covered a table in front of some chairs. Amanda sat down with Bella still in her arms and I climbed into the chair next to her. ‘This is weird…’ I thought to myself. ‘Why is she making me walk and basically ignoring babying me?’ There was no doubt I was feeling jealous of Bella getting to get carried. As we sat down Bella was given a bottle in exchange for her pacifier and I just had to sit there hoping I wouldn’t go stir crazy. Amanda surprised me by handing me my phone, which made me smile. I began looking around my apps and e-mail. ‘I should reply to Dean Sanders and Mrs. Walters,’ and began quick, but professional sounding, replies to both of them thanking Dean Sanders and letting Mrs. Walters know I would be coming as suggested. I had just hit send on my e-mail to Mrs. Walters when I heard, “Westerfield?” A tall Amazon woman and a much shorter in-betweener man stood by the desk waiting for us. I hopped down while Amanda pulled Bella’s bottle from her mouth, replaced it with her pacifier, and followed them back. “I’ll take care of your little one,” the Amazon woman said, and I expected her to take me, but instead she took Bella and sat her in a weird stylist chair that had a harness and spots to tie down your arms and legs. “And I’ll work on you sweetie,” the betweener said, “I’m Alex,” with a very effeminate voice. ‘Talk about living down to your stereotypes,’ I nearly giggled, but appreciated someone slightly closer to my size. He directed me to a chair that was next to the other booth. This one seemed to be more like a regular salon chair back home. It was probably sized for a little, but I was so small that I was still a bit small for it, but other than that it seemed to be a normal chair. “I’m Stacy,” I told him after a moment when I had climbed up. “And who’s this?” The woman asked in a sickly baby talk voice. “Bella,” she said softly around the pacifier. “You must have just found a new home, huh?” She asked. Bella nodded nervously. “Well mommy what are we doing with her hair today?” the Amazon woman asked Amanda. “I thought she would be adorable with a short bob? Maybe just a bit below her ears so it’s not so easy to get in her din-din?” “Easier to clean and take care of too?” The woman looked for a moment before nodding, “It’ll be a great look for her. Anything else you want? I can do a perm?” “Nah, the Shirley Temple days are long gone, I’m not a fan of curly hair.” “I can understand that, it’s a pain to maintain too,” the woman replied. “Now do we need the arm and leg straps? You just got her right?” “You can go without those; Bella is a pretty good girl and the harness should be enough.” “We’ll see, huh?” the lady said before getting to work. The betweener then asked, “Ma’am, what are we doing on your big girl today?” “She can tell you,” Amanda said. I must have looked like a deer in the headlights then, but I said softly, “Can you even it up to my shoulders to where I can curl it under? Then cut my bangs? I still want to be able to put it in a ponytail or pigtails?” “How about some layering?” He asked me as he studied my hair. I shrugged, “Sure.” “Okay, with you Mom?” He asked Amanda. “Sounds perfect to me,” she said in reply and settled down in a chair across from us. My first ever experience in a salon was definitely a new one for me. Alex washed my hair before beginning to snip with his scissors and I had to fight from crying at all of the hair that was falling everywhere. I tried to stay calm though because Bella certainly wasn’t so calm next to me. “Oww…” she cried at one point and I hoped she was okay. Sobs were definitely coming from around her pacifier from what I could tell. “It’s okay Baby,” Amanda cooed at one point. I eventually felt like I really needed to go pee and let it out into my diaper without even thinking much about it. After a while longer I really began to feel the need to go the other way too, but fought to hold it in. ‘Pooping in this chair seems more than slightly embarrassing…’ Just as Alex was finishing with my hair and turned me towards a mirror a small fart probably gave away my need to go to Amanda. “What do you think Princess?” I looked at my face and turned my head back and forth a bit. The haircut was really cute on the little girl in the mirror! The fact that I was that little girl was still a bit of a shock - but I definitely liked it! With the haircut and my uniform, I looked to actually be about eight to ten years old. Well… at least if size was taken out of the picture at least! I smiled, “Thank you, I love it!” “What do you think Mom?” he asked as I saw Amanda stand up now holding a Bella with shockingly shorter hair. Whereas my haircut added to my age, hers made her look like a young toddler. “She’s beautiful, just like my big princess!” she smiled and kissed my head. “We’ll have to get her nails done next time we come in…” “Our nail tech is great actually, and all of the nail polish is kid safe! We do that so if she sucks her thumb still there’s no worry about what she’s eating,” the Amazon that had cut Bella’s hair said. ‘Great…’ I mumbled to myself, knowing I had sucked my thumb on numerous occasions to deal with someone like that. “Let’s go pay, then we’ll go home and show Daddy!” I reached the ground with help from Alex who I turned around and said, “Thank you for treating me like a big girl today.” He smiled widely at me and leaned down to whisper, “That’s why I’m here honey, the big girls get me! Just make sure your mom asks for me in the future, kay?” I smiled and gave him a hug before following Amanda to the front. Just after she paid and I began waiting for her at the car to put me in my car seat the urge to poop came back stronger. ‘Come on, you can hold it…’ I screamed at myself as the car began moving again. I distracted myself with the video that came back on, but there wasn’t much else there to try and forget what was going on. As soon as she parked in the garage I asked, “Mommy, can you please hurry I need to go potty bad!” “Just a moment Stacy,” she told me calmly as she came around to my door, picked me up gently, opened the kitchen door and sat me down. I hurried to the potty and pulled my skirt up, let the wet diaper plop down beneath me, and hurriedly sat down on the potty just in time for a mess that I was glad hadn’t gone into my diaper! “What a big girl you are!” Amanda cooed at me as she came inside with Bella in her arms. She carried her straight to the playpen and sat her down. “Bella I’m going to be right back,” she told her and came over to where I was sitting with the wet diaper in front of me and still on the potty. “Lean forward baby so I can wipe you,” she told me. A moment later, “what did you eat yesterday? This is icky…” I thought back and said, “I had that bottle of regular milk last night?” She nodded, “Maybe…” Once I was cleaned up, she handed me another Pamper and said, “put this on while I go clean out your potty. I think Daddy’s upstairs in your nursery if you want to go show him your new haircut then?” “Can I wash my hands first?” “Sure sweetie, just let me go clean this out. This is worse than normal…” I peeked in as I stood up and agreed. The watery stool was particularly putrid for some reason, but I was proud to have held it for what must have been a solid hour! I leaned against the cabinets and put on the fresh diaper just as she collected the wet diaper in a ball and tossed it in a new diaper genie that I hadn’t seen before. “When did you get that?” I asked as she picked me up to wash my hands in the sink. “Yesterday your Daddy made a trip to the store with Bella to pick up a few more things. With two of you in diapers in the house it seemed like a good idea to have one downstairs too.” I nodded as she sat me down and asked, “Mommy may I have my phone back so I can take a selfie of my new hair?” She laughed, “Teenage girls are all alike!” She produced it and I ran upstairs to show Fred and find the mirror in my room. I just caught her picking up Bella and saying, “Let’s have a snack and then I want you to take a nap for your Daddy before lunch…” ‘This must be what it feels like to be a big sister normally… I hate how jealous I am that she’s getting all of the attention from Amanda… and all of her milk!’ Upstairs I found Fred assembling a pink bed in the nursery. It took me a second before my brain stopped and I said, “Daddy, why are you putting a big girl’s bed in here?” “Well Stacy, we needed to get another bed for Bella. But your mommy and I decided we’d surprise you with a big girls princess bed since you’re the older sister!” I felt my mouth drop a bit as I realized that a toddler’s bed had ironically become a big step up for me! Of course, the bed was ridiculously pink and cute. It was obviously meant to be a bed fit for a ‘princess,’ featuring tall bed posts topped with crowns and flowery painted details that were so sickeningly sweet I knew every mom in the world would awe over. I ran over to him and hugged him, “Thank you Daddy,” I told him. “You’re very welcome Stacy. Now Mommy will talk to you about the rules of a big girl’s bed later, but why don’t you try it out really quick?” He smiled at me. I kicked off my shoes and hopped onto the exposed mattress of my new bed with a smile on my face. No longer being contained by bars every night was something I could really appreciate! There was still a railing along half of the bed to keep a baby from rolling out of bed, but other than that it was pretty nice. The mattress even felt like it was nice and firm like I liked! Amanda came in then without Bella and said, “Do you like your new bed?” I jumped off the bed and ran over to her and said, “Thank you Mommy!” As she picked me up and hugged me, I asked, “Why Mommy?” “You’re a big college girl Stacy, you should be in a big girl’s bed…” She sounded sad about it. “As much as I want to baby you all of the time it’s not necessarily the smartest choice if you have to get by…” “We also want to offer you the option of pull-ups at home if you want them,” Fred added. I shook my head, “There are no potties small enough for me at school, so I’ll just keep my Pampers if that’s okay?” “Sure sweetheart,” Amanda said. “Don’t you two need to get to the luncheon?” “Oh, yes we do,” Amanda said and checked my diaper before saying, “Oh, Daddy what did you think about Princess Stacy’s new haircut?” “It’s very pretty, just like her,” he replied as he came and hugged us both and kissed me on the forehead and her on the lips. “Have a good time Stacy,” he said. “Thanks Daddy,” I told him. “Bella is taking a nap after her snack honey. She had a hard time dealing with the haircut earlier…” she added. Fred looked pained but said, “Okay, I’ll check on her in a bit. I just have a few more things to do in here for Stacy. We might go out shopping for a few more things later… Or, go to the park or something.” “Okay, Dear,” she told him before walking downstairs with me and setting me down so I could grab my backpack and see that Bella was indeed out like a light bulb. ‘Poor Bella,’ I couldn’t help but think while remaining supremely confused about my own status. Other than helping me into the car seat I didn’t feel like Amanda treated me at all like a baby as we traveled to the university. ‘Why does that bother me…?’ I wondered. ‘Do I like being babied?’ As much as I hated to admit it, I decided the answer was ‘yes, yes I do.’ I didn’t want to be one of Cassie or Chloe’s abused littles, but the loving treatment Amanda was giving Bella was making me completely jealous. ‘I know she talked about having to have me grow up… but I guess I wasn’t expecting her to really do that.’ Apparently, my thumb found my mouth on the way because Amanda said, “You want to lose that tasty thumb before others see you?” I blushed but pulled it out and let her wipe it off with a baby wipe she held in her hand. After discreetly tossing that into a trash bag hanging from the seat, she picked me up and sat me down on the ground. “So, this is supposed to be the last time we’re supposed to see you until Labor Day,” she teased me. “I guess I’m not going to get that lucky, huh?” I teased her back. I walked alongside her having left my backpack in the car since I didn’t need it yet. The luncheon was apparently in a location called Venture Commons. I discovered that it was a huge indoor athletic facility with plenty of space for tables of all of the new students and their parents. I could see as we walked in that each table was covered with an elegant place setting. “Professor Westerfield!” a voice greeted us as we approached the front of the line. “President Nitsche!” Amanda replied happily with a smile at the voice. I looked to see a very large man with graying hair and a nice suit on. Amanda stopped next to where he was standing by the ropes of the line. “What brings our distinguished professor to an opening undergrad event?” “My daughter, Stacy,” she said with a smile and patted my head. I decided to go for broke and try a curtsy, “Pleased to meet you sir.” “Aren’t you adorable?” He said with a smile, “Nice to meet you too!” He looked at Amanda, “I had totally forgot about your little exchange student. Surely this can’t be her?” he seemed surprised, “I thought she’d be larger?” “So, did I,” I said with a smirk. I became a bit self-conscious though when I realized a number of students and parents were staring at our conversation. “Something either about a second trip through the gate or something… we’re not really sure what happened to her,” Amanda told him, “but she’s every bit as intelligent as we hoped she’d be.” “That’s great! It’s definitely unusual to let a little live off campus… or even accept an adopted little to the university, but you do have an unconventional way about you my dear.” Amanda smiled at him before he said, “It’s nice to meet you Stacy, please let me know if you ever need anything ladies, I know you’ll want to eat something soon!” As we traveled down the remaining distance the stares continued and I wondered just what I didn’t know! At the front of the line attendants were seating the students and families as they came in. “One adult and a highchair?” ours asked. “No, two chairs please, but a booster seat would be helpful?” Amanda asked. “We can do that,” the lady said and directed us to follow her to a table. When we arrived, I couldn’t help but get a sinking feeling as out of the eight chairs, a family was taking up four of them. A mother, a tall amazon college daughter, and two highchair bound little girls sat across from Amanda and I. Their little girls were sandwiched between the mother and her daughter. Amanda possessively sat between their mother and I. A moment later we were joined by a geeky looking, but tall amazon boy and his mother. As I was helped by Amanda into the booster seat the ‘mother’ of the littles helpfully said, “They do have high chairs available if you ask for them.” “That’s okay, my daughter will be fine in a booster. It’s just a matter of helping her reach the table,” she said with a smile at the woman. “To each their own,” the woman said snippily. With that I had a moment to stare at the two little girls. She clearly had some treatments to them as they both had babyish smiles practically plastered on their faces. Drool dripped from their mouths to their bibs, and both alternated holding and gnawing on, teething toys that were pointless with their teeth removed. One started to fuss a little and the mother said, “Phoebe here’s a jar of food for Fifi, would you spoon feed it to her?” “Yes Mom, I’ll feed the rugrat.” She looked at the jar and said, “Mom, really, you’re making me feed her carrots again? I have things to go to later and I’m going to be a mess because she hates them...” “She loves carrots,” her mom said condescendingly. “Just do it.” “Rugrat you’d better not spit this up all over me,” the girl warned severely to her sister who began whimpering. “Be nice Phoebe, you won’t see your sisters for four months while you’re here at school…” “Hi, I’m Jackson,” the boy next to me said suddenly. I looked up at the tall boy and said, “I’m Stacy, nice to meet you!” “I see you have a uniform on? You’re a student?” “Yep!” I smiled, “I know I’m short, but I can’t wait to start classes here!” “What are you going to study? I’m studying Computer Science?” “Me too!” I said with a smile. “Hi, I’m her mother Doctor Westerfield,” Amanda said to him. I watched his eyes go like bug crazy for a moment and really began to wonder just who she was. “The professor of AI studies?” “That’s me,” Amanda said. “I’m Janice, his mother,” the lady next to him said. “You’re really bringing a little that cute to the university?” Phoebe’s mom asked suddenly interrupting after spooning a mouthful of peas to the little closest to her. “She’ll be adopted before she graduates and can use her degree.” I smiled at her and said, “Actually I’m already adopted ma’am, so while you’re right, you’re also incorrect.” The lady snarled at me, “Be quiet! Baby girls should be seen and not heard.” Chapter 4: Dangerous Enemies “THE WORLD VIEW of a dinosaur Mom,” Phoebe said, “Please shut up so you don’t embarrass us anymore?” “Young lady!” her mom said. “I don’t have to put up with this anymore Mom. Yes, I agree that littles are cute! But before you brainwashed, modified, and otherwise enslaved these two women they were fairly bright adults living just fine on their own. Some littles are more than capable of taking care of themselves and doing things. Leave it alone.” My opinion of Phoebe went way up then! “You…!” Thankfully before her mom could speak anymore, a man stood up at the podium and introduced himself. “I’m Doctor Donald Machnar, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and it’s my distinct pleasure to welcome all of our new students and their parents to this traditional event…” An exceptionally long, at least to me, procession of speakers came up to greet everyone. President Nitshce was the final speaker, and finally at the end of his speech he said, “And now for what you really came here for, lunch! From what I understand they want this side of the room to start and we’ll move towards the other direction…” For once in my life I was shocked to see I was sitting in the lucky side that got to start! I wasted little time in scrambling off the seat and joining Amanda in a line at a large buffet. I knew Emerson was an expensive private university, but I was truly shocked that they had huge crab legs, steak, and sides for everyone at the buffet! My expensive looking plastic fake china plate was heavy by the time I finished going through the line with Amanda and went back to the table. She sat the plate on the table for me and helped me back into my seat. The offensive mother was sitting there openly breastfeeding one of the littles then. I definitely wasn’t jealous this time though; her personality was terrible and I couldn’t imagine nursing milk from a witch like that! She glared at my plate of real food, and I saw the first signs of anything being left in ‘Fifi’s’ eyes as she looked enviously at the crab. I looked guiltily back down to the plate, even though there was nothing that I could do for her, I felt bad for eating real food in front of her. To my right Jackson soon rejoined us and in between bites he began asking me about myself. “Well… I’m actually from the other dimension?” I told him. “I came here so I could study here since Emerson is so far ahead of our dimension.” “That is awesome! I’ve heard that… Although I once got to try a video game from your dimension and it was so much better than ours…” “Which one?” “Grand Theft Auto…” he said quietly to me. I laughed, “Great game… I didn’t bring it with me. I did bring some other games and systems though.” “Seriously?” He asked excitedly. “Any chance I could come over and try them sometime?” Amanda made a noise and he looked sheepish, “With your mom’s permission of course…” She giggled then so he knew she wasn’t really upset. “Classes have to come first. If Stacy and you are both maintaining a 3.5 or better at midterms, I’ll let her have you over for a gaming session.” “You just don’t want to share,” I said to her with my tongue out. He laughed then as she nodded and agreed, “No, I don’t.” Phoebe looked pretty miserable when she returned with a plate of food for herself and her mom who had by then switched to Fifi on her other breast. “You know you could help out here,” her mom told her. “I know how many pads you go through a day.” “Mother…” poor Phoebe hissed as her face turned red. “I’m just saying, it’s a waste of good milk…” “That’s it, I’ll see you at Christmas!” Phoebe said to her mother as she stood up. She looked at us apologetically, “Sorry to disturb your lunch, hopefully we’ll have a more pleasant meeting sometime. Stacy?” She said, “Not all of us share my mother’s beliefs and I hope we get to have a class together sometime and talk!” She turned her back and walked away as her mother pulled the little girl from her breast, and began chasing her with both littles in her hands as best she could without really pulling her shirt up properly. “She was a piece of work…” Jackson’s mother said. Amanda just nodded and we sort of tried to ignore what had just happened! When all four of us had finished lunch, we excused ourselves and left the center. It was a bit after noon, and I had a while to kill before the exam. “I’m guessing you need a diaper change?” Amanda asked me softly when we were away. I realized I hadn’t gone yet and nodded as I released my bladder into my diaper. “Yeah… stop by a bathroom somewhere?” “Could go to the university bookstore and look around there?” Amanda suggested, “There’ll be a bathroom there you can change your diaper in.” “You’re not going to?” “You need to get used to it,” she told me with kind of a pained expression. I ended up nodding, “I guess. Let’s stop by the car and grab my backpack?” A plan made, we walked to the lot she had parked. Amanda took a moment to make sure I had a few spare diapers in the bag before we left the car. When she was done, I slung it on my shoulders and walked holding her hand to the student union. She led me to a downstairs bathroom just inside and pushed me to go into a stall while she went in another next to me. I was really weirded out with the change in her behavior, but shook it off and pulled a clean diaper and my wipes from the backpack. Holding my skirt up carefully I pulled the tapes off of the diaper and let it lay on the floor while I wiped myself quickly and methodically and dropped the used wipes in used diaper. Now clean, I grabbed the new diaper and used the stall wall to help me put the new one on, pulled my skirt back down over my new diaper, balled up the old diaper, and zipped up my backpack and put it on. As I walked out of the stall I thought, ‘that feels the most grown up thing I’ve done in weeks?’ As I tried to reach up to throw the used diaper away, I couldn’t help but think, ‘It’s so much easier to have Amanda change me though…’ I had just managed to toss it in when Amanda came out of her stall and pointed out a stepstool to help me wash my hands on a lower handicap accessible sink. I managed to get soap and wash my hands by myself on my own too… and it felt weird! “Good girl,” she said as she gave me a hug and led me out the door. “Shall we see if we can find sort of Emerson clothes for you here?” “Sure!” I said with a smile knowing that in my size everything would probably be as babyish as it could get. Sure enough, wandering the clothes it became apparent that not much was available in little sizes. What was available was expensive and awful! “Let’s look at the baby sizes,” Amanda whispered. I nodded as I figured that would be inevitable. In one corner we found several racks of onesies and a rack of dresses looked like they would fit me. A couple of the onesies looked cute and I pointed out a pink and purple set to Amanda, “Mommy, how about those?” She saw the ones I was looking at and looked at the sizes. “They only have them in your size, not your sisters…” “I was talking about for me…” I whined a little. “Oh…” she said and I wondered what switch had flipped in her brain that she wasn’t thinking of me for them! “I guess we could get one of these for you. You want one of these dresses too?” she held up a green polo t-shirt dress that had an E monogrammed on it. It looked about as mature as a dress for a three-month old could get, and I nodded. “Sure!” With that she walked around and grabbed a few more things including a couple sippy cups and bottles that were branded with Emerson. “I think your sister would like these,” she said to me with a smile about the bottles and a couple bibs. In another area I found a large yellow floppy hat that looked cute with my uniform. With a smile Amanda added it to the pile. As we checked out the Amazon at the checkout reminded her, “You know you can’t adopt her with her ID there, right?” “I know, the baby stuff is for her sister.” “Sister?” “Already adopted,” I said to the girl with a smile. She looked confused but just finished checking Amanda out. As we left the store she said, “Hopefully you can get a chance to wear a couple of those outfits on the weekends at least. You will look so adorable in them!” “Don’t I have to wear the uniform all of the time like the other littles?” I asked. “If you’re in a cute outfit with me, your dad, or other adults you’ll be fine,” she reminded me. “No one is going to try and take you directly from us…” Just as she finished that thought, time slowed to a crawl as I watched Amanda fall down! It took me a moment to realize it was because someone shoved her! I turned to look at what happened, but meanwhile a woman walking next to us with an empty stroller suddenly reached down to grab me! I noticed only at the last second, and jumped and tumbled away from the woman! At the same time I began screaming, “What are you doing?!?” I stared at the woman for a moment as she seemed confused that I had avoided her. “Get over here baby!” she hissed at me as she began walking towards where I stood. Just as her hand reached out to grab me again, I dodged around the other side of the stroller she had let go of. She snarled a moment before turning the handles of the stroller to try and knock me down with it! I quickly dodged back again, and just missed the wheels hitting me! As I jumped back my hair lagged behind me, and I felt her grab on to some strands. I felt the pluck of some pulled hairs, but luckily, she’d missed the majority of my hair and I kept moving away leaving a small amount of my hair in her hand. I ducked underneath a nearby table to try and get some distance between us. Turning for a just a moment I saw her accomplice was keeping an eye on us. It was a massive mistake on his part though, because Amanda swept his legs from underneath him and I heard him cry out in pain as she landed an elbow into him. My own diverted attention was just as big of a mistake for me though, as I nearly got caught again! The woman had closed the distance to the table I had just crawled under ridiculously quickly! I just managed to leap on top of a nearby table, and then did a backflip off of it as she again tried for me. As I flew through the air, I managed to kick the side of her hand with my foot. She yelped in pain and grasped it for a moment. As I lept away again I caught a glimpse of some sort of tattoo. For the next couple of moments, we played a vicious game of keep away. I jumped between, over, under, in and around tables and chairs that were set inside the courtyard trying to stay out of her reach. Bystanders weren’t sure if they should help her catch her unruly little, or stop her. Like most situations though absolutely all of them did nothing except watch! ‘If she gets her hands on me, I’m done for!’ Just as I began feeling cornered against a wall, and wondered how I could fend her off for much longer, I heard someone shout, “What’s going on here?” With that I watched as the lady and her accomplice abandoned the stroller, and their confrontation with Amanda and me, to flee the campus security guards who were pouring out from a doorway. “Mommy, are you okay?” I ran over to Amanda who seemed a bit dazed, but mostly angry. Her hair was a mess and the winces in her face gave away the level of pain she was feeling. She hugged me tightly and said, “I think so… It’s going to hurt in the morning, but are you okay?” I noticed that we both had tears coming out of our eyes as a large man in a police uniform approached us. “Are you and your daughter okay ma’am?” She nodded, “I’m pretty sure those two were trying to kidnap my baby girl here…” “Is this stroller yours?” he asked. I shook my head, “No, that woman was pushing it…” There wasn’t much to tell about what had happened, but we gave our statements anyway. As the officers went through the stroller one of them held something up, “Sir, look what was in here!” He held up a rattle of some sort and I felt Amanda’s arms stiffen and begin shaking with anger. I turned to look up at her, “What’s that?” “It’s an illegal mind control device for littles,” the man answered gently. “We’ll have to have it checked over and tested to be sure, but it would at least have temporarily made you go to La La Land so she could get you away without you alerting anyone you were being kidnapped.” “Doctor Westerfield do you have anyone who might have a grudge or something? This seems more planned than a simple campus snatch?” I looked at Amanda and wondered what her answer would be. She seemed to think for a moment before saying, “This weekend we took a trip to Selegnasol and we met a little on the plane next to us. After talking with her for a while on the plane we made a mutual decision for us to adopt the little girl as a sister to my Stacy here.” “Go on…?” The large man who seemed to be in charge said. “Over the weekend it became clear that we seem to have managed to get in the middle of a shady Little trafficking ring. We had issues in the park and at the airport, but hoped nothing would happen back here at home?” She sniffled a little. Both of our emotions were running high and tears were going down her face and mine. “That may very well have something to do with this then,” he said. “Let me check with my office and see if they got a good picture of them on our security cameras…” He was on his phone for several minutes and didn’t look happy while he was doing so. He finally looked down at his phone and shook his head before coming back over to us, “Look, my men will keep an eye out on you for the rest of the afternoon while you’re here on campus until we find this lady. She seems to have had a man helping her too, but the cameras didn’t record a good view of either of their faces.” “Damn,” Amanda swore. I thought for a second before suggesting, “I could sketch her face on my tablet if you give me a few minutes?” He looked at me a little dubiously and said, “Sweetie I appreciate you want to help, but your stick figures won’t help?” “Well darn, I was going to give you something more like a professional portrait from a sketch artist…?” “She’s serious?” The officer looked at Amanda. Amanda shrugged, “I’ve never known her not to be.” “Come on then, let’s go back to our office and give you a place to work…” the detective said begrudgingly. “Thanks,” I beamed up at him with my best little girl smile that I’d occasionally been practicing in the mirror. The effect worked as he blushed and muttered something. Amanda helped me up and I looked at the time. “You still have an hour until your test,” Amanda told me. I nodded, “Should be enough time I hope…” The officer led us through a door right from the area next to the attach that I learned led to the main security office. I was surprised to see an office like that in the student union, but with all of the signs and literature about reporting rape posted… I guessed it was probably to help victims report crimes easier. ‘Of course, they don’t allow the little victims to report…’ I thought darkly. What Madison had done last night wasn’t something I could report – but it should have been! He led us to a conference room and Amanda helped me get settled into a too large metal chair. She handed me my backpack, and I pulled out my tablet and stylus. I saved the other image I had been working on before she could look at it and began a new canvas. I closed my eyes for a second and brought up my memory of the woman. ‘Yep, the nanites gave me a perfect photographic memory…’ I thought with a smile. I locked into the moment I’d looked into the woman’s face and began drawing. I was quickly able to render her face and features using charcoal and ink options in the app. The dexterity settings in the nanites seemed to have translated into a lot of fine motor control for me as well because my hands worked better at this than they had ever done before! A memory of a mole on her face stuck out, along with another on her neck in a pretty obvious place. Thinking back to it there was also a tattoo on the underside of her wrist I’d seen. As I sketched on my tablet, the detective and Amanda would occasionally look over my shoulder. I couldn’t help but feel like a freak with some of the stares both of them gave me. Forty-five minutes later I had a pretty darn near photographic rendition of the woman. “This is her,” I told him while showing him the picture. “And she has this tattoo on the underside of her wrist,” I said pointing to a side drawing. He stared at both, but in particular the tattoo, which seemed to make him frown. “That’s not good, that means she’s a part of the Trelini crew.” “Trelini Crew?” I asked. Amanda’s face showed a combination of recognition and fury. “Think mafia kiddo,” he said with a sigh. “You’ve got some enemies that are probably not going to give up easily. Can you e-mail me that sketch? If it’s accurate, you’re a hell of a lot better than the sketch artist at my old police department.” “What’s your e-mail?” I asked and sent it off to him. He gave it to me and Amanda asked that I copy it to her too. Soon finished I said, “I have to get to a placement exam now…” “I’ll have a couple of my guys go over there with you,” he said, “in fact we’ll give you a ride.” I was glad to see they meant a ride on a golf cart like vehicle as opposed to a police car! I noted that all of the campus security officers seemed to be armed with guns, tasers, and clubs. ‘Definitely more police department than security,’ I admitted. They left Amanda and I outside the lobby of the Kilby center where I quickly waved my student ID at the entrance. Amanda waived hers as well, and we went upstairs to the third floor where the test was scheduled to be held. Outside the door she said, “Good luck! If I’m not outside when you finish just come upstairs to my office.” I nodded and walked into the room where a professor was overseeing a couple dozen Amazons signing in for the test. “Did you get lost sweetie?” the professor asked as I came up to the table that towered over my head. “No sir, I’m here for the placement exam?” “Umm… we don’t get many littles who take this test… No little sized computers in this lab… I don’t know if you’ll be able to manage it?” “I’ll be fine,” I smiled that same little girl smile at him and he took on the look of ‘oh sweetie you’re so cute. I’ll let you make a fool of yourself…’ “Your time to waste I suppose…” he said, “name?” “Stacy Westerfield,” I replied. “Are you related by chance to Professor Westerfield?” He asked, cluing in immediately. “Does it matter?” I asked back. “No, it shouldn’t. You’re just a little after all…” he said condescendingly. His interest seemed to deflate and I let him point me to a large computer system in the front row that was spaced away from the next giant student. The boy looked familiar and I realized it was Jackson. “Hi Jackson,” I said as I approached the seat. “Well hi again Stacy,” he said with a smile to me. “I should have known I’d see you here.” I smiled back, “Of course, have to entertain myself somehow, right?” “Your dollies aren’t fun enough?” One girl a row away snickered. “They said you were going to play with them today,” I said in that sweet voice. “You promised them you would wear a diaper just like them!” The girl looked at me like she was ready to leap over the desk and pound my butt, but a moment later her face cracked and she began laughing, “I like you kid!” Now free of the banter I looked at the gigantic chair and hoped I still had that plastic portable booster seat thing in my bag so I could reach the keyboard. Thankfully Amanda seemed to have thought about it and I found it inside next to my other spare diaper. Thinking about my diaper I realized I was about to leak! “How much time before we begin the test?” I asked tentatively. “Ten minutes?” Jackson said. “I need to head to the bathroom really quick,” I said as I ran out and waved at the professor – not giving him a chance to say anything. Luckily, I found a bathroom close by and quickly changed my Pamper for another, making it back to the room and into my portable booster before he began instructions. “Your skirt is tucked into your diaper,” Jackson whispered to me as he started. I blushed when I realized that the back of my skirt was indeed tucked into my diaper and everyone could see the characters and green backing of the back of the diaper. I sighed and just pulled my skirt back down ignoring the snickers of the girl behind me. ‘At least she didn’t follow me to change me…’ I thought. ‘Glad I caught it before I leaked all over my skirt.’ “Good afternoon,” the professor at the front said, “I’m Doctor Wernstrom, I teach the intro to computer programming classes here at Emerson. Please make sure your phones and other devices are turned off.” He paused while people did that. ‘Amanda has mine…’ I thought to myself and wondered about my watch. There was no way to airplane mode it from what I remembered, so I decided I’d play dumb if it came up. “I need you to go ahead and login now to the testing screen in front of you with your Network ID and Password.” I reached and managed to use the lever on the side of the chair to push me up as high as it would go. With the booster, I was able to reach the keyboard almost comfortably as long as I was kneeling on my knees. I heard a giggle behind me, but ignored it as I typed on the large keyboard. Even though it was huge compared to me, I was still able to type rapidly. I mostly was hunting and pecking, but I’d figured out a way to kind of do a three-finger system with my pinky, middle finger, and thumb on Fred’s that had let me speed up a bit. That technique had me logged in before one of the professors teaching assistants walked by to offer assistance. His face kind of amused me when he realized I wasn’t a total idiot! I just smiled at him and waited for the next instruction. “Okay, many of you may have some formal coursework in coding, others may have just had hobbyist experience,” Doctor Wernstrom said. “This test will let you test out of up to four semesters of computer programming fundamentals which are CS 110, CS 111, CS 131, and CS132. It is possible you will only receive credit for CS110 depending on your scores – or of course nothing at all.” He looked right at me when he said that, making me turn red and fume. “The test must be completed in two hours. Your code for each problem may be in any standard language that we have a compiler for. Do not use anything that’s an oddball proprietary language – it won’t earn you extra points and it won’t be graded!” He said that sternly as if someone had tried that many times to make brownie points. “The software is designed to recognize formatting in most of the major languages automatically for you to help you edit quickly. It will not however give you information on any functions or codes that you may have forgotten. All of your code must compile and meet the directions. If any code doesn’t operate correctly, end as noted, or give proper results it will not receive credit. The way the software works though you will not be able to compile it to test it – this test assumes that you have good fundamental understanding of how the code works.” I gulped and hoped everything would run since I frequently checked my code by compiling it! “Please understand that the most elegant solutions will receive the best scores! Less code is more! Due to the open nature of this test it may be Thursday before we have some of your results. Any questions?” He asked. “Seeing none, go ahead and click the start button and good luck!” He told us. I quickly followed his directions and read the first question. It was a simple problem of generating numbers based off the Fibonacci sequence and I quickly wrote a very minimal few lines of code that would do so. I’d done that in the first week of one of my classes in high school so I was sure it would work! The program then delved into ideas of ‘game of life’ sequences and other fairly simple problems before advancing onto using matrices and databases. The test kept me zoned out to the world as I worked. Only a brief feeling of needing to pee and releasing that into my diaper made me think at all about where I was at. The wet diaper though was quickly ignored and I went right back to coding. The final question was a much more advanced task that made me actually think. I reached it with an hour to spare and began carefully coding the project in the hopes of cracking it. It very much reminded me of the Lego Robot challenge I had done my senior year. This question did give some information on code that was available and essentially demanded you design a robot to autonomously navigate a field of obstacles and challenges. ‘This could be a DARPA award question…’ I grumbled to myself as I did my best to give a solution. “Thirty minutes left!” the professor called as I was half-way through coding my solution. I sighed heavily and found myself chewing on my tongue as I kept moving on. ‘I wonder what someone would say if I used a pacifier in class…?’ I shook my head and got back to work. The problem was you had to first code a set of responses for the obstacles… not terribly difficult, but very time consuming! I hoped I was on the right track as I then moved into an if/then statement that covered the first challenge when the robot reached it. I was stuck on how to recognize that it had reached it when I noted a hint they’d given in the question and information above and incorporated it. “Ten minutes remaining,” he called just as I attacked the final challenge on the course. It demanded an answer to a number problem query. It was a simple little code exercise once I came up with a way for the problem to call for the response. I had just clicked save and submit five seconds before he called, “Time!” I had just a moment to view ‘Congrats you finished the test,’ before the screen locked me and the other students out. All around me students grumbled, “I didn’t understand anything past question two!” Jackson looked at me as I stretched out and began considering jumping down, “I made it to the last question but that was too much for me, how’d you do?” I smiled, “I think I did pretty well.” “What question did you finish last?” He asked me as I slid down and began folding up my portable booster seat into my bag. “The last question?” “So, you were stumped there too?” “No,” I shook my head, “I finished the last question. Hopefully it compiles, I clicked submit a couple seconds before he called time.” “Wait, you finished?” A girl asked who had given me the hard time before the test asked. “You mean you just submitted a made-up answer for each question, right?” I laughed, “They should be right answers, we’ll have to see.” I walked towards the elevators and saw Amanda wasn’t there yet. I was shocked a moment later when the girl said, “You’re wet again little girl! You definitely need a diaper change, want me to do it?” “No thanks,” I said politely. “Well I’ll have to take you to your dorm or the infirmary then?” “I’m just going up to my mommy’s office, she’ll take care of it for me, but thanks,” I told her. “If you could push the up button for me and then the top floor, I would appreciate it.” “What?” The girl was confused. “Your mommy works here?” “Yes, she told me to meet her on the top floor. If you’re really that worried about me you can come meet her… but I am already adopted, so there’s no point in badgering me?” “She’s not making that up, I met her mom earlier,” Jackson told her with a smile. “By the way I’m Jackson?” “Hailey,” she told him. “I’m Stacy,” I told her as the door opened for the up elevator and Jackson pressed the button for me before stepping back out. “Nice to meet you Hailey, maybe some other time?” The doors closed on a thoroughly confused giant and I couldn’t help but laugh and breathe a sigh of relief at the same time! When the doors opened Kimberly greeted me with a smile, “Well hi Stacy! Did your mommy forget you downstairs?” I laughed, “You know her with her toys!” “I do indeed. The number of times your daddy has had to call me to go interrupt her so she would go home makes what I do a full-time job!” I giggled, “I’m going back to her office?” “Her doors probably shut, let me go back and open it for you,” she told me. Sure enough, the door handle, which would have been out of my reach without a serious jump, needed her to open it. “I found a lost little girl looking for you,” she told Amanda as she started from her computer and looked at a clock. “Oops… I guess I forgot about you, huh?” “Uh-huh,” I smiled at her. Kim laughed as she closed the door behind me and I walked over to Amanda. “How’d the test go?” I shrugged, “I think it went well? I finished it, and I think I did it right. Most everyone else looked overwhelmed at all but the first question or two.” “You finished it?” she asked with some surprise. “Completely? The autonomous section too?” “I think so… It should compile and work. I hated that I couldn’t run test runs of the programs to make sure they were bug free…” “Hmm…” she looked thoughtful as I walked up to her. “What were you doing that you forgot about me?” I kidded her. “Umm… using your sketch to try and find the woman who tried to snatch you?” “Oh…” I said, “any luck?” “Yeah, I think so. I used a processing software one of our faculty members has been testing on facial recognition through the local police departments online mugshot database…” “Wait… is that a public database…?” I asked. Her blush made me think it wasn’t, “well it’s not exactly heavily guarded?” “Mommy, Daddy is not going to be happy if he finds out…” I smiled at her. “Good thing he won’t, huh?” she smiled back and picked me up to set me on her lap in front of the computer screen. A picture of the woman that matched both my memory and my sketch exactly was displayed on the screen. Serena Ricci, Age 42 Convictions: Petty Theft, Assault, Drug Possession – May 2003 Known Affiliations: Trelini Mafia Suspected crimes went considerably longer on her ‘rap’ sheet. “She’s a piece of work?” I said. Amanda nodded, “Yeah she is. Dangerous one too… I’m going to send this to my dad and see what he can do to help us out.” I watched as she composed an e-mail before she felt my diaper under my skirt, “Feels like you need a change?” I nodded and shyly asked, “You do it?” She turned me around in her lap, “Stacy… You probably…” “Please?” I asked. “I thought you want to be a big college student?” “Well yeah… but that doesn’t mean I don’t want the most awesome mommy in this dimension to still take care of me?” She squeezed me tight, “I want you to be able to get by on your own during the days…” “I changed myself several times today, it’s mommy’s turn,” I tried a smile on her. “Oh, I see how this is,” she said as she began mercilessly tickling me and I found myself wetting the diaper some more. The tickling session ended with her standing up holding me upside down for a second before she grabbed my backpack and laid me down on her couch. She pulled a changing mat from somewhere that she moved underneath me before reaching into my backpack for a diaper and wipes. “Uh-oh,” she said. Chapter 5: Unprepared “UH-OH?” I asked. “Yes, uh-oh… This is your last Pamper in here…” “Oh… well hopefully it’ll get me through dinner and the events?” “I guess we’re going to have to hope for that. You might make sure you get any other pee-pee out into that diapee before I change you?” I nodded and tried to force my bladder to completely empty, but there wasn’t much left as far as I could tell. I guess I must have had a face that said I was done because she pulled the tapes loose on my diaper and began cleaning me up. She didn’t take a long time, but it was definitely different from my quick changes earlier. I smiled as she taped me into the new diaper and hugged her, “Thank you Mommy.” She hugged me back, “You’re very welcome Princess.” After a moment of holding me she pushed me away so she could throw the diaper in a disposal sack and then into her trashcan. “You ready to go meet with your nest?” I shrugged, “Not really… but I figure I should try and make some friends though. Never know when that can help!” She hugged me and said, “That’s a really smart attitude! Do you want me to come find you later with some more diapers?” I shrugged, “What’s the worst that will happen?” “A diaper change?” She tried to sound hopeful. “Hopefully that’s it… remember you are tiny though! They may not even have your size!” “I’ll risk it this time I guess,” I told her. “Remind me to stock my bag though with a lot more!” “I’ll bring a box of your diapers here to keep in my office tomorrow too.” “Kay,” I told her as she helped me up and used her fingers to straighten my hair. “Remind me to get you a hairbrush for your bag too,” she said grabbing my hand. “Here’s your phone, Sweetie,” she said as she helped me tuck it into the front pocket. We caught the elevator downstairs and checked out with the security desk where Amanda asked, “There’s supposed to be someone from security who can take us over to Wenig?” It was a different guard than normal who looked at her for a moment before his eyes registered some information. He quickly said, “Let me call them.” A few minutes later one of their team was pulling up with a cart and we hopped on for the ride across campus. “Can you wait here just a moment?” Amanda asked him when we pulled up. “I’ll need a ride to my car?” “Sure thing, Ma’am,” the polite man said. Amanda helped me hop off of her lap where she’d held me and walked me to the door where an amazon girl was watching. “Can I help you?” “Stacy is here to get together with her nest?” “You know where you’re going, hon?” She asked me in that condescending baby voice. “Yes ma’am, may I go ahead and go upstairs?” “Go ahead,” she told me and I walked to the elevator after waiving bye to Amanda. The elevator did actually feature a button that was low enough for me to press to call it! The elevator featured a double set of control panels inside to make it easier for littles to push their destination. I pressed ‘2’ quickly and watched the doors shut. I sighed and hoped this wasn’t something I would regret doing! When the elevator opened, I could see a hallway oddly empty of any littles. A few bigs, mostly girls, were wandering around and I assumed they had to be Nest Hens. I made a point not to make eye contact but just walk straight to the room and managed to get in without being challenged. The door was open so I walked in and saw all of the littles seemed to be doing their own thing in the room – almost seeming like normal college students! Madison was nowhere to be seen, but Laura seemed to be intently trying to do something with her computer so I walked over to her, “Hey,” I said. “Stacy!” She said with a smile and gave me a quick hug. “You came back today?” I shrugged, “Mrs. Walters sent me an e-mail last night asking if I would come ‘bond’ with my fellow students today now until the end of the evenings activities when you have to go to bed.” “When we have to go to bed?” Laura whispered with a smile. “You know what I mean… I have to go home.” “Somehow I think I do know what you mean, but I don’t blame you and I won’t accuse you.” She told me with a smile. “I didn’t see you earlier?” “Where?” “The city tours?” “Oh… well since it’s not like I’ll be getting around on my own anyway, and I sort of live in this city, I went to get my hair done instead.” “I thought something was different, but I haven’t seen you long enough to know if it was just a different way you styled it!” “What do you think?” “I like it!” she said as she looked at it and actually ran a hand through it, “It’s like elementary chic!” I stuck my tongue out at her, “Better than daycare chic?” “Definitely!” “Were you at the luncheon?” I asked her. She shook her head, “Only littles who still had their parents could go. Everyone else had bagged lunches on the lawn in front of the dorm.” “That sucks…” I said. “What was at the lunch?” “A feast of seafood… well and crazy bigs… but you know how it is,” I told her. She nodded sadly, “Yep.” “So that was hours ago, why are you just now showing up?” “Oh, I had to take the computer science placement test.” “How’d that go?” “Good I think… we’ll see how the test grade turns out though.” For the next twenty minutes we talked and were joined by Annie, Esther, and Gemma. Esther’s parents had still been there so she’d been at the luncheon, but everyone else seemed to have been just at the dorm hanging out and getting situated. Apparently, a couple of littles from other rooms had not taken the CARE exam yet. They’d watched them leave with nest mothers escorting them to the test that morning, but none of them returned to the dorms when their escorts came back from lunch later. That evolved into a question on how everyone else had made it through the test. Most of them had known about the change in rules in advance, but one girl was just lucky enough to have worn a diaper and not needed to go poop. “How did you make it through it?” Gemma asked me, “You’re so tiny…?” I laughed, “It helps when your adopted daddy is a surgeon? Let’s just say I was completely clear of everything and leave it at that…” She looked at me, “So you really are adopted?” I nodded, “I’m not from this dimension… I’m here more as an exchange student. I was scared to live here in the dorms… having heard some things in advance. I decided my best bet was to find foster parents so to speak.” “You’re going back to the other dimension when you graduate?” Laura asked. “That’s the goal at least…” I sighed, “Not sure if it’s going to work out easily with the tracker that they stuck inside of me. It starts going off the second I go through the doors at the portal.” “You’ve been back to the portal?” Annie asked with surprise. “Why would they take you back there?” “To talk to my parents?” “They let you do that?” Gemma asked. “It’s one of the things in the contract,” I told her. “Contract?” Esther asked. “This is my second trip to this dimension,” I told them, “on my first I saw how things are for littles. I’m actually betweener size back home, but here I’m like half my size this time… Anyway, my adoptive parents and I set some ground rules before I came on what was and wasn’t acceptable.” “Oh,” Laura said curiously. “Like wha…?” Before any of the girls could badger me for any more information, I heard Madison’s voice, “Oh Stacy! You decided to join us!” I looked up and forced a smile, “Hi Miss Madison, Mrs. Walters invited me to come over for the afternoon.” “I’m glad you did! You seem to all be making good little friendships now too, huh?” Her patronizing voice desperately made me want to strangle her, but I kept the smile on my face and just nodded. She asked, “Well are all my little mice ready for din-din?” “Yes, Miss Madison,” the other girls said together as a chorus. Thankfully she wasn’t looking at me so she didn’t notice that I missed the cue. “Why doesn’t everyone use the potty one more time before you go?” she suggested. She led everyone to the bathroom door and I watched her lift each girl’s skirt up as they passed. Everyone had dry pull-ups on until she got to Annie whose pull-up was sagging. “Something you need to tell me Annie?” “Sorry, Miss Madison I had an accident… Would you please help me change my pull-up?” “Why certainly,” she told her. She picked her up and sat her on her hip before looking at me, “Well Stacy, don’t you want to try and go use the potty like the other ‘big’ girls?” “Miss Madison you’re silly, I told you last night I’m not potty trained!” “Oh, that’s right, I forgot we had a baby little already, huh?” She said. “But I’m guessing Annie here’ll be joining you soon, huh?” She tickled the stomach of the little in her arms as she lay her down on the changing table. There was no pretense as she pulled her skirt up, ripped the pull-up, and began wiping her with a baby wipe. “Now Annie dear, do you want to try and be a big girl in a pull-up or use a diapee like Baby Stacy?” “Pull-up please,” Annie said in a shaking voice that I assumed meant she was in tears. “Okay Annie, but one more daytime accident today and you’ll be wearing diapees, just like your baby friend until you can show me for a week that you can stay dry during the daytime.” “Yes Miss Madison, I’ll do better!” Annie whimpered. “Good girl,” she said to her a moment later when she sat her down while flashing her new clean pull-up. The other girls were coming out of the bathroom as she ran in there to make sure she was empty and Madison rounded on me. “Now Baby Stacy, you said you aren’t potty trained so I need to at least make sure you’re all dry before din-din. Would you be a big girl and pull your skirt up so I can make sure you’re dry?” I blushed a little but did so, “See I’m all dry!” She turned me around and pulled my diaper back open, “And clean too! Maybe someday you’ll be ready for the big girl’s potty like everyone else, huh?” She said to the audience of girls who I noticed were a mixture of disgust, fear, relief, and embarrassment. Somehow, I was pretty sure every girl had all four of those emotions showing! A moment later she had the rope in her hand and said, “Come on Mice, let’s make our caterpillar line!” I grabbed onto the last purple ring again and noted that my name was now written in sharpie on it. I hung on as we were led to the elevator and then downstairs to a large lawn area with a big white tent setup with catering servers. As we walked in the line, a lot of the amazon students snickered and stared at us. Several we passed said, “Awe! She’s so cute!” referring to one of us. ‘Probably me,’ I admitted. “Okay now girls, you’re going to each get one plate of food and then come sit down on the grass here outside!” Madison said. “I’ll have blankets down for you when you get back for you to sit on so we don’t get grass stains all over your cute uniforms!” “Yes Miss Madison,” I joined everyone in saying this time. Joining the line with the other littles I found myself noticing the group already seemed smaller, even if it was only a few from the CARE exam… ‘Where did the others go…?’ I wondered. Apparently for dinner, they took our size into consideration, and we received pieces of chicken breasts that had to have been quartered from their original size. Even still they were big, but given the size of food I saw on the bigs plates I knew they had done the right thing! Once I had chicken and the sides I walked back to the blanket and sat down. “Oh, you didn’t get a drink?” Madison asked as I sat down. “I have one in my bag already Miss Madison,” I told her politely and pulled my backpack off my shoulders to grab the bottle of water Amanda had me put in there. “Are you sure?” she asked, “Everyone else is getting some really sweet punch that looks yummy?” I noted then that everyone was getting cups of punch in open cups, and groaned at their stupidity for taking them! Most walked with full cups that they seemed to quickly guzzle and chug. I had a gut feeling that it was just a matter of time before disaster in some form was going to strike. ‘Will it be immediate? Or, after she diapers everyone for bed?’ I wondered. “I’m sure Miss Madison, I’m following my mommy’s rules. You wouldn’t want me to get in trouble with her, would you?” I asked with that smile I was perfecting. Her face was adorably pissed off and I fought the urge to giggle. “No, we wouldn’t want that.” Laura and everyone from the nest came and sat down on the blankets Madison had setup before she went for her own food. I noted the bigs had picnic tables inside the pavilion to sit at, but we weren’t allowed to join them for some reason. “Why do we have to eat on the ground?” Annie asked my question for me. “Another way to demean us as future babies,” Brooke answered her. “We’ll probably all be pissing and shitting our diapers like Stacy there long before we have a chance to graduate.” “Well at least I have a head start,” I said as I stuck my tongue out at her. The other girls laughed at her. “Hey at least she’s been adopted to a better situation than any of us will get…” Gemma said. “So enough about adoptions…” Laura said, “it’s depressing. Anyone have any tips for tomorrow’s math test you’ve heard?” Welcoming the change of subject some of the girls said what they’d heard. “I know you can’t use a calculator,” Gemma said. “Like seriously?” Alyssa asked. “I’m just going to go in and take it and know I’ll be in the remedial classes. I still don’t know how my CARE score was enough to pass!” “What’d you get?” Annie asked. “Overall like a 1039,” she said, “but on the math it was like a 200? If it hadn’t been for the other subjects I’d have been screwed.” “Well, and you made it through without shitting yourself,” Chelsea said. Out from nowhere I watched as Madison had reappeared, pulled Chelsea up and over her kneeling knee, pulled her skirt up, panties down, and began pounding her butt with her hand. “You will not cuss little girl!” By the end she was a blubbering mess and Madison’s, “I won’t give you a demerit this time, but next time you’ll be seeing the Dean!” “Yes… Miss Madison… Tha... Thank you…” she stammered out while snot and tears covered her face. She walked away towards a tree to collect herself for a minute. After an awkward moment of silence, I asked Laura, “What did you get on your test?” “Oh… 1350?” she said. “That’s really good!” Jasmine said. “I only got a 1200.” I sat and tried to keep quiet as I knew my score was a bit out of the normal range. “Okay short stuff, everyone else has said what they got, you haven’t – what’d you get?” Madison asked when she figured out that I’d been quiet about my own score. “Oh… a pretty good score…” I said hoping not to make everyone feel like I was a genius. “Pretty good?” Laura prodded. “Like worse than Alyssa?” Annie asked tactlessly. “Umm… no, it was better.” “You are seriously not going to try and feel like you’re going to be embarrassed by a bad score, right?” Brooke said. “I mean obviously you’re here?” I sighed, “1929,” I said quietly. “You’re lying, right?” Madison said. “No Miss Madison, I guess it’s a pretty good score but I was just doing my best,” I told her. I watched her dig out her phone and go digging into something. “Let me see your ID Stacy,” she told me and I watched as her phone must have taken a picture and scanned it. “Well I’ll be, you’re telling the truth… probably the highest score anyone has in your class Stacy.” She seemed a little impressed as she scrolled through a screen, “Wait, you’re the little that almost got kidnapped earlier?” “Kidnapped?” Laura asked. “What?” another girl asked. I sighed, “Yeah, that’s me…” “What happened?” Annie asked. “Not really sure…” I kind of lied, but thought I would tell some of the truth too, “Mommy, Daddy, and I went to Selegnasol this weekend for a vacation and they ended up adopting another little as a sister for me on the plane.” “Big sis or little sis?” Someone asked. “She’s bigger than me but littler?” Everyone nodded as if that odd fact made perfect sense… and I just continued on, “Anyway, apparently someone else wanted her and they’re not happy with my parents.” “That’s scary!” Jasmine said. “I know… I’m just glad I saw the woman just in time to jump out of her way! Otherwise I’d be a mindless baby right now...” I sighed, “She had some sort of illegal hypnosis brain scrambler thingee in the stroller they were going to push me away in…” Several girls hugged me then and I knew that they understood how scary that was. Worse yet was that it was probably most of their fates to be stolen away like that… That depressing thought made some more tears go down my eyes before Madison said, “Okay girls, we need to go back to the dorm and freshen up before going to the stadium for the freshman class photo.” Funnily enough for some reason Madison seemed to give me a sympathetic look then too, and I wondered if she might have a heart after all? I doubted it. During the walk back I couldn’t help but note that even though I didn’t drink a ton of my water, I suddenly had to pee! ‘I really want to hold it until after the picture…’ I thought to myself. As we rode the elevator up to the second floor again, I couldn’t help but release it into my diaper though. While I felt relieved, I couldn’t help but worry about not having another diaper to change into. “Okay my little mice, why don’t you all go ahead and go potty and make sure you’re ready so we can go to the stadium and take our picture with the big kids.” “What are we wearing?” Alyssa asked, “Do we need our shirt from yesterday?” Madison giggled, “No, the big kids wear those tonight, but we just want to see all of you adorable boys and girls in your cute little uniforms tonight. So, make sure you straighten up, and those of you who spilled juice on your blouses switch them out quickly.” She paused and looked at Anaya, “I know that big glass was a bit much for you Anaya, so make sure you also get your uniform soaking so you don’t end up with any demerits for your uniform being dirty the next time you wear it.” I watched Anaya gulp and the other girls work on going to the bathroom. That was when she rounded on me, “You were doing the potty dance in the elevator so I’m guessing you have a wet diapee?” I sighed, “Yes Miss Madison, I wet my diapee.” “Do you have a spare with you in your backpack?” “I went through all of them today with the kidnapping incident…” I said with a sad look on my face. For whatever reason that must have been the right card to play, “Oh no sweetie! I can totally see that messing things up for you… Let me look at your diaper and see if it’ll hold on through the picture?” I stood still as she pulled my dress up and the girls who were still in the room got a view of my yellowed diaper that was beginning to droop. “Sweetie unfortunately this one’s about done. Let me see what I have in our changing supplies that might be small enough for you… What size do you wear?” “Newborn in little diapers or Size 1 in baby diapers,” I told her feeling tears nearing my eyes. “The smallest size I have in here is a Size 2 in Littles…” she said. “Stay right there, Sweetie! I’m going to go check our supply closet down the hall.” “Thank you, Miss Madison,” I said. I let my skirt fall back down and noticed the other littles were shying away from me right then and trying to look busy over by their desks. I sighed, ‘Well… that’ll teach me to not have enough diapers… I hope she’s not bad when she changes me…’ Madison came back a moment later with a large box of ‘Comfee Plus Overnight’ little diapers with a large N on the size. “We’re in luck sweetie, they had a box of these hidden away in the closet!” I forced a smile and said, “thank you for looking…” “You’re very welcome,” she said as she opened up the box, “I’ve never actually seen anyone use this brand before here. Usually they just use them in the daycare centers…” My eyebrows went up a bit then and as soon as she pulled out the diaper, I knew there was a reason for that comment. It was thick. REALLY thick! Before I had a chance to register my concerns though she picked me up and laid me down on the changing table, pushed my jumper out of the way, and pulled the tabs loose on my Pamper. “You know I’m so used to bratty littles fighting their diaper changes, that it’s weird changing a good baby girl like you,” she whispered in my ear. “I know you’ve been through a rough day so I’m not going to mess with you anymore.” I smiled in appreciation knowing that this time her messing with me wasn’t going to be in the form of anything but the humiliation of that diaper. She gently used a baby wipe to clean me up before laying me down on the thick pad that was more pillow than diaper. As she taped it shut, she said, “Oh my God you look so adorable!” I groaned internally but said, “Umm… Thank you Miss Madison.” She sat me down on the ground. That’s when I immediately lost my balance and fell on my rear! I heard a few giggles then but couldn’t tell who it was before Madison said, “Do you need help standing in your new diapee?” I soon found myself standing like an infant learning how to stand for the first time while holding onto her mommy’s hands. The diaper was comically thick, and I didn’t know how anyone could possibly walk in it ever! As she left me carefully balanced, I got a look at the side of the box and realized there was a reason for it. One of the sides proclaimed it to be ‘The perfect diaper to keep your little girl dry and on her back or belly right where you leave her!’ “I’ll keep these here in case you run out again Stacy. Let’s put a couple in your backpack too just in case!” I just kept standing nervously hoping I wouldn’t fall over as she reached into my backpack and left two of them in the bag. They singlehandedly made the front compartment so full she couldn’t zip it shut! ‘And this is dry…’ I groaned. My dress looked like it was bubbled out from a petticoat or something - but I knew everyone would recognize it as a ridiculously thick diaper the moment they saw it! “Let’s line up my little mice!” she said a moment later. As soon as I tried to take a step towards the rope I fell straight back onto my well-padded butt! Chapter 6: Alarmed RIGHT THEN I just wanted to cry for my mommy! Instead I reminded myself I was a big college student and forced myself to just grimace. A big college student in the biggest damn diaper ever invented! I heard lots of giggling but one girl, Natasha, took pity on me, “Piggyback ride?” she asked me with a smile. I nodded, “I think that would help…” She helped me stand up, then knelt in front of me to let me climb onto her shoulders. The sad thing was that I knew this was the littlest Nest of littles and she was easily able to handle me on her back! “Better?” She asked. “Other than my pride?” I whispered to her. She giggled and grabbed onto her loop, “We’re ready to go Miss Madison!” “Hmm… if you get tired Tasha let me know and I’ll take over for you.” “Thanks Miss Madison, but Stacy has to be the lightest little ever! She actually makes me feel big! I got this!” There were some giggles, and I watched as Laura looked at us further down the line rolled her eyes, but no one said anything else as Madison pulled our little caterpillar rope along. Thankfully for us it was only about two blocks to the football stadium on the other side of the big residential halls. “Right this way,” Madison said as we entered a gated area and were led onto the enormous football field. Some mass chaos ensued for the next several minutes while they organized the class of mostly Amazons, and the smaller number of littles, into a huge capital ‘E’ on the field. Of course, all of the littles were directed to go to the front in order to be seen. Natasha took a break from holding me and me down towards the middle. “Thanks,” I told her and gave her a hug. “Don’t mention it shrimp,” she said to me with a smile as she returned my hug. Most students seemed to be ignoring the photographer’s directions making things take longer than they should have. After a few minutes I saw Amanda show up along the front rails of the stadium seats, and I was relieved to know I would have a way out that wasn’t going to involve making some poor friend carry me! Just as the photographer said, “Now on the count of three, everyone say ‘Griffins,’” my bladder demanded immediate attention. Knowing it was useless to resist I let the urine run into the overgrown pillow that was the diaper. The results were almost instantaneous, and caused a photo I knew had to be comical as I fell down onto my butt just as the flash went off. There was no way I could stand as the padding expanded even further! It was beyond anything I could imagine! I just groaned and smiled for the next two pictures while looking up to the camera from my padded seat on the ground. “That’s it, ladies and gentlemen! Casino night starts at 8pm, hope to see all of you there! Well, all of you except the littles who need their sleepy time!” a loudmouth Amazon yelled. I decided he must be one of the orientation leaders as he shouted through a megaphone. “Asshole,” I heard from somewhere nearby. Almost immediately I heard a loud smack, and a little began screaming from a spanking. I tried to struggle back to my feet but quickly realized that effort was pointless. As I sighed and tried to figure out what I was going to do to get to Amanda, I was relieved to look up and see she was already almost there. Before she got to me Madison said, “Time to go Stacy.” “I know, my mommy’s right there,” I pointed at Amanda less than ten steps away. “Oh, well then, we’ll see you sometime tomorrow maybe?” She asked. “I don’t know actually. We may have other plans… I’ll try and let you know if I am coming though so I can find out where you are?” “Okay,” she said with a smile and ended up helping me stand for a second as Amanda walked up. “Sorry, she was all out of her cute diapees and I had to go dig into the storage closet. All I could find in her size were some infant diapers.” “That’s okay, we were both kind of worried about her running out, but decided to take a chance,” Amanda told her, “I appreciate that you found something dry to change my sweet baby girl into.” “No problem Professor, good night!” She said as Amanda scooped me up into her arms. I watched her pick up the end of the rope and begin pulling the girls along back towards the dorm. As they walked away, I saw Laura wave at me, then make a weird face. Right then even from a distance as I heard loud farts from multiple girls in the line. “Hmm…” Amanda distracted me from watching them then as she tickled my side and smiled, “I might have to get some of these to keep you out of trouble!” “Ugh… there’s already two in my backpack… and Madison put the rest in the changing table…” I groaned. “Don’t let me ever forget to have like a dozen extra diapers every day!” Amanda laughed a lot and said, “Did you have fun at least?” I shrugged, “I got to know the others a little better, I guess. We were talking about scores on the CARE exam and Madison didn’t believe me on mine… she ended up scanning my ID and verifying that I’m too smart. Unfortunately, she then noticed that I was the little that was nearly kidnapped today.” “What did she say about that?” “Well she was pretty shocked and just kind of blurted it out… I think everyone else was pretty terrified for me sort of too. On the other hand, every little basically expects to get kidnapped at some point… so it’s kind of normal… Madison was actually nice to me after that though.” “Except the diaper?” “She probably did enjoy that, but for her I think she was being downright sugary sweet.” As she came to the end of the fence with everyone else, I saw a security cart waiting for us again, and clung tightly to her as it drove us to her car. The officer watched us get into our car before he drove away. I couldn’t help but notice that Amanda locked the doors as soon as she got in too. “So… umm… did you hear anything else yet?” I asked. “About what?” she asked in an odd voice. “The thing?” “No, no one has any in-stock so we’re out of luck for a day or two.” “Oh,” I said. I guessed that meant the car was, or might be bugged, so I just sat quietly. Just then though I realized I needed to pee again. As I let loose into the padding, I couldn’t feel a single bit of dampness on my skin. There would be no chance of leaks with this monster diaper, since it almost seemed to laugh at all that I put in! As we pulled into the garage, I noticed that Amanda did something quickly with a keypad on the center console. I fidgeted in my seat as I waited for her to come get me. “Let’s go show your sissy and Daddy just how cute you look in that ridiculous diaper!” Amanda said with a smirk as she picked me up. She started to set me down on the ground next to the car, and I said, “Umm… Mommy… I literally can’t even stand in this… would you please carry me?” She laughed, “Only to the kitchen,” she said with a smirk. “What…?” I complained as she grabbed my backpack and held it in her other hand and walked through the door into the house. True to her word she sat me down on the ground and I lasted a second before I landed on my rear and stared at her departing figure. “You’re mean!” I called after her. I sat there for a moment before I figured out that I would have to crawl. I soon discovered that even crawling was difficult then! When I finally covered the distance to the living room, I saw Fred rapidly taking pictures with his camera. Bella just stood next to him in her pajamas giggling at my pain, and Amanda was obviously using her cell phone taking pictures or a video too. At the bottom of the stairs I just sat down and asked, “Would someone please get this pillow off of me?” When the laughter finally settled Amanda kindly picked me up and carried me upstairs to the nursery and laid me down on the changing table. I let out a huge sigh of relief as she sat me back down on the floor in a thin Pamper after giving me a hug. “Should I leave these in your backpack?” She asked me as she fought for a moment to open the front compartment and giggled at them. “How did they even get these in here?!?” I had no response so I just glared at her before wordlessly sitting down at my computer. As I started to login she said, “Actually sweetie, can we move you and your laptop down to Mommy’s work room for the moment?” “Sure… umm… why?” I asked curiously. “Baby Bella needs to go to bed here in a few minutes, and you can work in there without keeping her up?” I nodded, “I guess… Just out of curiosity… does she really need to go to bed this early?” Amanda knelt down and hugged me, “Remember the changes we did to you with the nanites? They really do let you get by with a lot less sleep than her. Remember also that you’re not from this dimension… The 7:30pm bedtime of the dorm is actually really smart as most littles tend to need fourteen hours of sleep a night.” “But that only leaves half the day to do anything?” I asked in confusion, even knowing that their days were thirty-two hours long that seemed crazy! “The only other way you can see that time expand is if they take an hour nap in the morning and in the afternoon. I’m going to try and get Bella onto a schedule like that, but we still have to sort out where she’s going, once I start working again…” I nodded knowing that was going to be tough to figure out without putting her in a crazy daycare. “You need a hand grabbing your power cord?” She asked me as I closed the lid and grabbed the laptop. I nodded and she grabbed the converter, strip, and power cord and led me down to her workshop. I saw she had that other highchair setup there and I asked, “Why didn’t you just have Bella use this one?” “I didn’t even think of it,” Amanda said, “but this one would be a bit small for her I’m afraid.” “The short jokes today are getting old!” I groaned. She laughed as she plugged everything in and then lifted me into the highchair, put the tray on, and helped me plug it in. “There, comfy?” She asked. “I could use a bottle…?” “A bottle? Not a big girl cup?” she raised her eyebrows. “Please?” “Okay, let me go get you one,” she told me and I opened up the computer as she left. I wasted no time in logging in and searching for keyloggers. To my amusement I found someone had in fact installed something – or rather tried. I had setup the system to totally sandbox anything that might try and get in, so it wouldn’t do anything like they wanted. I took a quick moment to activate a dupe program I’d designed for fun back home that made the spyware think I was doing various web surfing activities. Of course, if the person checked they would discover the websites didn’t work in this dimension… but messing with them would be fun! Especially since I was pretty sure in this case it was Amanda! ‘I’m guessing she’s curious…’ I thought, ‘I doubt she’s being malicious with it. It’s just a new toy to her!’ I logged in and opened my e-mail account to look for any new messages. To my surprise I had a lot of e-mails come in since I had last checked! I remembered I hadn’t e-mailed my parents much of an update so I figured that would have to happen tonight since I still had some time before bed. I noticed an e-mail from ‘Dr. Og Wernstrom’ who had proctored the test earlier. ‘Good evening Ms. Westerfield, I wish to inform you that I have graded your test and I have some concerns. I would like to meet with you, your mother, your advisor, and Dean Sanders tomorrow at 1pm. Dean Sanders and Dr. Butler have already indicated they will be able to attend, please let me know as soon as possible if you are unable to make the meeting, Dr. Og Wernstrom Associate Professor Computer Science Emerson University’ ‘Great…’ I thought, ‘either I completely bombed it, or blew it away and they’re sure I cheated…’ I figured Amanda was probably feeding Bella still, so I decided to wait until she came back in to panic any more about it. Another university wide e-mail informed me that my math placement test would be in different location based on a chart by last name. To my relief the letters ‘Q-Z’ were testing in the lecture hall in the Kilby building, so I’d be just downstairs from Amanda’s office again. The test was set to begin at 10am, so that would be plenty of time to get there and wake up. I looked through the other e-mails and saw a campus wide alert had gone out about our incident earlier. I clicked it and discovered they had attached my sketch and information to stay on the lookout for anyone suspicious on campus. If spotted we were to call the security extension immediately! I was curious then to see if there was anything on the local news about it, but was kind of disappointed that none of the local sites seemed to be carrying information on it. ‘Must be trying to avoid bad press for the university…’ I decided with a shake of my head. I clicked through a few other messages that really weren’t important before starting an e-mail response to my moms’ message from the other day. Hi Mom, I don’t know if I’ll have time to type up everything that’s happened since last Friday - but I’ll try. I know Amanda is probably coming to give me my bath soon, so sorry if this ends up short! The last two days have definitely not been dull - and neither was the weekend! I think I mentioned a little bit about it in my last e-mail, but Friday when we were on the plane to the city, Selegansol, a little sat down next to us. For the most part, if my hair is covered, my new appearance lets me blend in as a regular Amazonian infant. Amanda had kept me in a sling and hidden me as one most of the time going through the airport, since that way I don’t draw extra attention. The little just glanced at us, but otherwise kept to herself, when she sat down. About midway through the flight one of the stewardesses gave her a hard time about not drinking the sippy cup she had put in front of her. I watched as she forced her to drink it. I kind of guessed, and rightly, that it was spiked with something! I didn’t want to see her ambushed like that, so I quickly gave her an antidote that Fred has disguised into an easy to hide form for me. Amanda let her know I wasn’t a regular baby then and began talking to her in whispers. She made a quick decision to try and help the girl, and Bella decided to let her help her when she realized her other options were worse. In the end Bella verbally had to give Amanda permission to adopt her to protect herself. Amanda then made the stewardess give her a diaper that would fit her, before putting her into it in the bathroom. It was supposed to just be a ruse to get her off the plane and safe. Unfortunately, in the airport Bella saw the stewardess and another woman talking with the man that had been her contact for a clothing deal she’d been trying to make. She was completely devastated by that fact! It became apparent that she had been lured with a fake business deal to catch her. We quickly discovered there was a pretty significant group behind it, so we ended up going to an adoption center and making Bella my ‘sister’ officially to protect her. After all of that we ended up at a hotel that basically is the Disney World of this dimension. Apparently, Looney Tunes got the park here, and Disney’s just movies and toys. We had fun over the weekend going around the park, and I was actually able to get into a tank and go swimming with these massive dolphins! I’ll have to get a picture from Amanda to send you… It was a blast! Sunday, we ended up enjoying their waterpark and I was given permission to swim without the floaties and in the regular pool that most littles never see… Oh yeah… that’s because we kind of had a couple more run-ins with that group that tried to kidnap Bella. They’re not a good group of people and we had some more excitement with them. The park provided us security though to the airport and we hoped we left our problems there. We did run into them again there, but Amanda was amazing and took care of the problem and security took them away. On Monday Fred and Amanda’s dad moved Bella out of her apartment, while Amanda got me situated on campus with my student ID, and the first Little orientation event. I also got assigned a ‘Nest’ so that I’m sort of a part of the littles dorm even though I don’t live there. I’ve made a couple other friends that are sort of my size… actually even the shortest of them is still almost two heads taller than me… I wish I knew why I shrank so much! Today we went and got… I was typing still when Amanda came in, “Mommy?” “You about ready for your bath?” “Actually, before that can we talk and you maybe let me have some copies of some pictures before I send an e-mail to my mom?” She looked at her watch and shrugged, “Sure, what about?” “Well first did you see the e-mail from Doctor Wernstrom?” “No?” I minimized my current e-mail and pulled that one up. “What in the world?” she said squinting at the small font. “It sounds like he thinks you cheated?” “I know… do you think he thinks you coached me beforehand?” She shrugged, “It’s possible, but I didn’t do anything more than talk about coding languages with you. You’re just naturally one of the best student coders I’ve seen.” I blushed, “Thanks…” I timidly asked, “Do you think I’ll be in trouble?” “Well to manage to cheat on that test would be really tough! You’d have to be an amazing hacker and have gotten access to it in advance,” she glared at me, “which I know you actually are, but they don’t!” I giggled, “And a memory beyond even yours, I think! Also, I’ve never actually had much of a reason to be involved with them other than to suggest the AI problem.” “That one may be the problem though?” I asked. “Did you solve it?” I shrugged, “I think so?” “Hopefully he brings a printout of your test and I’ll be able to show him some reasons it’s your work. You have a couple quirks I’ve noticed in your code that still leave it functional, but just aren’t standard practices here. Really you’re like a dinosaur with most of your code!” I stuck my tongue out at her, “I know, that’s why I’m here!” “Okay, you said you wanted pictures?” “Me with the dolphin? Maybe one from earlier with our new haircuts so I can show her who I’m talking about with Bella?” She nodded, “Give me a few minutes and I’ll e-mail you those. It’ll be a bit quicker…” “Thanks!” I said and went back to my e-mail. Today we went to get Bella’s and my hair styled in the morning. I’m attaching a picture so you can see my new haircut and what Bella looks like. I really like my hair! I mean I know I still look like I’m in elementary school, but at least it is an improvement over daycare bound? That unfortunately I think describes Bella’s haircut… Unfortunately, things seem to be continuing with whoever we made mad, so Bella has volunteered to play baby more… I’m not sure how I feel about it – but I am sure it’s nothing Amanda is forcing her into at least… It’s weird that I’ve only been here a few weeks and already feel a bit jealous about someone else moving into my space! Guess being an only child couldn’t last in both dimensions! This afternoon after a university luncheon (you should see the size of crab legs here!!!!) I took my placement test for computer science. I felt like I did pretty well, and I think that I’m one of the very few who finished the test today. Not sure anyone else did actually… I just barely clicked submit before it ended, so hopefully it was okay. There was an email from the proctor though that wants to meet with Amanda, my advisor, little’s dean, and myself tomorrow. That part sounds odd and I just hope everything is okay. I’m personally guessing he’s going to have some bias that there’s no way a little could have completed the test without cheating… I’m REALLY glad I have Amanda in my court though! I know she’ll make things work out! “Check your e-mail sweetie,” Amanda said as she patted my head, “then wrap up your e-mail and let’s get you in the bath.” “Kay Mommy,” I told her. I minimized the window and found her e-mailed pictures. I hadn’t had a chance to see the pictures of me and Suzy swimming, but Fred had clearly outdone himself and gotten some amazing ones! I immediately decided that one with me holding onto Suzies fin leaping out of the water was my favorite! My face and smile were fully visible, and it would be my new profile picture if I ever did social media stuff in this dimension. I selected that one, one with Amanda and I and our dolphins, one with all of us plus the characters before dinner, and then one that Amanda had taken with both Bella and I that morning with our haircuts. I quickly compressed them a lot more for the trip through the dimensional link, before I attached them to the e-mail. Amanda just sent me those pictures and I’ve attached them. I think you’ll be aweing a bit. I need to go now; I’ll e-mail you again when I get a chance. Not sure what the next couple days will be like. Love you! Stacy I clicked send and saw Amanda waiting for me, “Ready?” I nodded, “Thanks for being patient.” “I know you had a lot to tell your mom,” she said as she took my closed laptop from me, my cord off the chair, and then released me from the highchair. As she picked me up, she gave me a squeeze, “I love you Princess, I want you to know that. You’ve only been here a short while but I can’t imagine what life will be like without you.” I smiled at her, “I love you too Mommy,” and returned the hug. She carried me to the bathroom and I chose to use the diaper for what little urine I had and realized she’d never brought a bottle to me and I was really thirsty. “I’m thirsty…” I told her. “Oops… I never brought you a bottle,” she said, “I’m so sorry…” “Any chance you could get me something before the bath? I really am thirsty…” She stood back up from where she’d been about to set me down and carried me downstairs to the kitchen. From the fridge she pulled out a juice bottle that had already been poured and handed it to me, “Here you go sweetie.” She began walking upstairs while I was drinking out of it still. I was so thirsty I had about three-quarters of it gone before we got back to the bathroom. “You really did need something, I’m so sorry I forgot about you baby,” she told me with a squeeze. I pulled it out of my mouth, “It’s okay, I know Bella distracted you.” She hugged me and sighed, “We’re both going to have to get used to me having two girls to care for.” I nodded and she grabbed the bottle from me and pulled my jumper over my head, top over my head, then pulled the tapes of my diaper open while I stood and she wiped me real quick with a wipe. “Can you take off your socks while I check the water?” She asked me. I nodded and pulled them off, leaving me completely naked. “Let’s put this shower cap on your hair today,” she told me, “it’ll make tomorrow a bit easier.” I nodded and after she placed it on my head, she plunked me into the bath. “Water okay?” She asked me. I nodded and let her begin to wash me. She was gentle and thorough as always and asked, “I’m trying to remember, what’s tomorrow’s schedule?” “It should have just been my math test and a visit with my advisor maybe? He hadn’t sent me an e-mail yet?” “But now we have the meeting with everyone…” “Yeah,” I sighed. “Do you think I’m in big trouble?” She shook her head, “You didn’t cheat. There are cameras running to make sure you weren’t looking around at other students. You turned your phone off, right?” I nodded, “I didn’t even have it – you had it,” and thought for a second, “I didn’t my watch though?” She shook her head, “You and I both know it can make video phone calls, but it’s something that would have been obvious to everyone. The video will show you weren’t looking at it either. It’s a protective measure for you as a little so I don’t think they’d have any ability to say anything.” I nodded, “Hope your right.” “The worst thing they could say is that I somehow pre-taught you the exam, but like I said – you do weird things with code that are uniquely Stacy. I read the e-mail and responded myself that we would be there. Doctor Butler being there too is a good thing. He knows my code and after ten seconds of looking at yours he’ll know it wasn’t mine.” “Anyway, it’s just the test tomorrow otherwise? There’s a movie night at 9pm, but of course that’s not for the littles.” “It’s so unfair that the littles get to miss all of the best parts of college orientation!” Amanda said sadly. “We could have our own movie night tomorrow night if you wanted?” “Really?” “Make it a pool party and invite Megan?” She suggested. “How about your parents too?” She shook her head, “If I invite them… it can’t just be them - it’s one of our family rules. I can’t only invite one sister along… So, I’d have to invite Cassie and Chloe.” “Yuck,” I said. “Just Megan then!” “You can show her your big girl bed then!” She smiled at me. “Why didn’t you just buy another crib?” I asked. “I told you earlier… as much as it goes against my instincts, I have to let you grow up some. The original plan was to turn your crib into the toddler bed last week.” “What happened?” I asked curiously. She flushed and looked embarrassed, “It was too easy to want to just keep you safe in a crib? Every instinct of my being wants to just keep you as a baby… This weekend reminded me more of the stakes.” “What about Bella?” I asked. “Once things cool off again, I’ll ask her if she would be happier in her own big girl bed too.” She shook her head, “I have a feeling though she’ll tell me she’d rather keep the crib though.” “That’s weird…” I told her. “Is she at least going to be able to play with her sewing stuff at all?” Amanda shook her head, “Not until things cool down a lot. Once it does maybe we can set her up to do it if your Daddy or I can watch her.” “I feel so bad for her,” I told her, “But I’m also jealous…” “I know, I read over your shoulder… I’m sorry.” “Do I have to be a big girl all of the time at home?” “For a while I think that’s a good idea Stacy… I’d put you in training panties at home if they made them small enough for you.” I laughed at her, “Apparently they barely make diapers small enough for me!” “You know I think Madison kind of did feel bad for you,” she told me. “Given she didn’t mess with me in any other way I think you’re right…” “Come on sweetheart, let’s get you out of the tub now before you shrivel up into a raisin.” “Not that!” I told her as she pulled the plug and wrapped me in a towel. She sat me down on the counter for a moment and handed me a toothbrush to use. As I brushed my teeth, she pulled the shower cap off of my head and pushed my hair behind my ears to keep me from getting toothpaste on it. I spit out the toothpaste and she handed me a cup to rinse out before I spit again. “Let’s get you dressed for bed then,” she told me with a smile. She quietly carried me into the nursery which was lit only by a couple nightlights. Bella’s snores surprisingly loud right then. Silently she dressed me in a thick princess diaper and pulled one of my pink nightgowns over my head before carrying me back out into the hallway and downstairs. I had a moment of hoping that maybe she would let me nurse from her, but that was quickly dashed as she picked up a warmed bottle that had to be plain old milk. I sighed and she squeezed me tight, “I promise I’ll let you nurse Friday night,” knowing the problem, “if you can make it through Saturday without a poopy accident, we’ll do it again Saturday night too.” “So, we can get back to bedtime?” I asked hopefully. “I hope so,” she told me with a smile, “but if it does anything with your control over your poopy, we have to stop. Hopefully it won’t be too late for you by the time we realize that.” That made me think of the littles departing earlier, “I think there will be some poopy littles in the dorms tonight…” “Why do you say that?” I sighed, “I’m pretty sure someone spiked the punch at dinner.” Amanda sighed, “Sounds about right… Well, as long as they have a pull-up or a diaper on tonight, they’re okay.” “Tomorrow during the test, they won’t be though? That counts as in class?” “Yes, it does… they won’t be safe there…” she said softly as she carried me to the rocking chair, and gathering me up in a blanket that she had draped on the chair. I felt calm and relaxed as she sat down and eased me into her arms and laid me back to hold the bottle to my lips. I made no motion to hold it myself and just suckled it gently as she began singing one of her sweet lullabies. ‘WHAT THE HELL is that!’ was my next thought as a loud siren klaxon rang through the air. I sat up in my new bed and saw Bella looking scared in the crib. I heard a car screech away and suddenly Amanda was in the room grabbing me into her arms, followed by Bella. “It’s okay,” she shushed us as she then hurried to their bedroom and shut that door, locking it behind her. “What’s going on?” I asked her. “That’s the intruder alarm.” Sirens filled the night as she took us into their walk-in closet and sat down. Bella began whimpering and having a full-blown panic attack then, while I just wondered why I hadn’t grabbed my switch. ‘What would a shrunken 9mm even do to an Amazon?’ I wondered darkly. ‘I need to do something else with it in case something like this happens again…’ As Bella cried fairly quietly, Amanda wrapped us into a protective hug and said, “shush, it’s okay…” As the door to the closet suddenly opened, I smelt something that told me Bella had another reason to cry now. I looked up, afraid of who was coming in… Chapter 7: Added Up I NERVOUSLY LOOKED up in the dark at the opening door and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that it was just Fred! He knelt down and wrapped us all in a hug. “It’s okay girls,” he said while wiping off tears from my face that I didn’t know I had, “the police are here. They’re looking around downstairs and want to speak with us.” “Okay,” Amanda said, her voice a little shaky, “you want to take Stacy? I’m going to need to change Bella before we go downstairs.” Bella was hiccoughing non-stop, and I wondered if there was any point into bringing her down at all. Fred took me and gave me a tight squeeze, “It’s okay,” he told me as he and Amanda split up at the staircase. Downstairs I could see that someone had smashed through the glass of the back door. It seemed clear to me that they had shattered the glass, tried to get in, and then were being frightened off by the alarm sounding. “I thought the backyard was supposed to be covered now…?” I whispered to him. He squeezed me tight, “It’s supposed to be! That is a good question we need to answer,” he told me. “I’m not sure how they got around that grid.” Several cops were walking around with flashlights looking everywhere. “Sir, you have a pretty sophisticated system here, do you have cameras hooked up by chance?” A young officer asked. Fred sat me down in the playpen and grabbed for his phone. ‘Gee thanks…’ I thought as I was penned away like some dumb baby then. Knowing there wasn’t anything else I could do I sat down with a sigh and rubbed my eyes. “Here you go officer,” he said as he played a video with sound that I could hear glass break on, then the alarm went off. “They’re all wearing masks…” the officer frowned. “And gloves it looks like too…” “I doubt we find much right now rookie,” an older officer said. “Go look around the other side of the fence. Maybe someone dropped something before they hopped over.” “Yes sir,” he said and walked away. Amanda came down about then with Bella swaddled tightly in a light blanket. She cuddled her in her arms like a small infant more my size. She’d thrown a robe on too before coming down. “Sir, I noticed as we looked at your address that there was an incident this afternoon with your wife and daughter?” Fred nodded, “Amanda was with Stacy at the university and someone shoved her down and tried to grab Stacy and run with her.” “The school gave us a sketch,” he said while opening up the tablet he had for notes, “was this her?” “Yes, that’s the drawing my daughter gave.” “Well it looks like she’s been identified but not picked up yet…” he said and walked over to me, “Is this her?” He leaned over the rail of the playpen and showed me a picture of the same woman that Amanda had identified earlier. “Yes sir,” I said, “who is she?” I asked to pretend I didn’t know yet. “Her name is Serena Ricci, and she’s a bad lady,” he told me like I was an idiot. “I got that part when she tried to kidnap me and scramble my brains officer.” I glared at him. Fred reached back over and picked me up from the playpen. I think he did so to keep me from jumping over the rail and decking the cop! “Sorry, I guess you would have, huh?” “Excuse me?” A woman detective asked towards Fred mainly, “Did you just have one security system or two?” “It’s actually three,” Amanda told her. “Three systems?” she asked in surprise, “Why?” “Just a hunch,” Fred told them. “When we adopted our baby girl over here this weekend, we seem to have gotten a group angry at us.” A knocking on the front door interrupted anything else they would have said. “Excuse me,” Fred said and I sat in his arms as he peeked through the peephole for a second and then opened up the door. “Hi Joe,” he told Grandpa who had shown up. “What the hell happened?” He asked. I watched the lead detective gulp before he reached his hand out and said, “Hey Joe, how are you doing?” “Pretty good Jake, except this crap happening to my daughter!” He looked at the back door and then at us, “Is everyone okay?” “Yes Daddy,” Amanda told him as he gave her and Bella a hug. He gave me a friendly wave before saying, “Your video cameras get anything?” “Not anything usable…” Amanda said. “I’m going to go back and look at the backyard myself. How did they get past that system?” “I think the detective here was about to tell us that Joe,” Fred said. He looked at the detective who had been asking questions and she seemed to gulp nervously before saying, “It looks like they managed to splice the power line and feed over on the system that was on the exterior. I think they believed they’d knocked down the whole system, but Ma’am you said you had two other systems?” “Yes, redundancies just in case…” Amanda looked nervous, “I never would have dreamed they’d be needed though. That first layer is not your average system…” “Let me go take a look at it,” Joe said and I watched as he left the room. “Joe’s your dad?” The older detective asked Amanda. “Yes sir, he is, how do you know him?” “He’s helped us out a number of times over the years. I also sparred with him during a training seminar he did one time when I was younger and dumber… Didn’t make that mistake again!” Amanda laughed, “He’s pretty intense.” Another thirty minutes of questions being asked, and re-asked, occurred before Joe signed a copy of the initial police report. They left at about 3am with not much more than a promise of extra patrols. In the end it was just a relief to get them out of the house! Fred and Amanda still held us. I was wide awake, but Bella had long since succumbed to her stress and went to sleep in Amanda’s arms. Joe came in it didn’t help calm me down when he said, “Mandy, I don’t know how we’re going to stop these guys… they’re not amateurs.” “What did you find Dad?” she asked. “Why don’t you put the girls back to bed first and then come to look with me?” “Can I come?” I asked. He looked at me oddly but nodded, “She might see something else we don’t.” Amanda whispered to Fred, “Here, can you put Bella back in her crib and I’ll take Stacy?” “Sure,” he said and they performed a baby swap maneuver that was more than a little awkward for me, but Bella never stirred. “I’ll stay upstairs with her until you get done.” “Thanks honey, I’m guessing she’ll be upset when she wakes up again.” Amanda stood and watched him go upstairs for a moment before readjusting me on her hip and saying, “What did you find?” “Over here,” he said as he led out the broken glass door. At the edge of the closes fence post to the house you could see they’d pulled a board away and accessed a cable running along it for one set of motion sensors. Some alligator clips were visibly still hanging onto the line. “I think this was their first point of entry,” he said. “Makes sense…” she said as she examined it, “Not bad actually… but that only got that side of the yard down…” “They hit the system control panel over here next,” he told her. A gray box concealed some of the guts of the new system. As she came up to it, I could see a little black cube hooked into it with some leads of some sort sticking out. “What is it?” I asked. “I don’t actually know Stacy… You recognize it Dad?” He nodded, “It’s military grade equipment – we give them to our special ops people for when they run into systems like this.” “Shit…” Amanda said. “How can they be this pissed off about one little?” “There’s got to be something more going on here that you don’t know,” Joe said. “Is this booby trapped?” She asked him as she pointed to the device. “They didn’t used to be,” he told her. “Be careful…” he warned. Amanda sat me down on the ground and used her fingers to pull the little device loose. When nothing happened except the alarm starting to beep, we all breathed a sigh of relief. “Come on, let’s get you both back inside. Do you want to come over to our house tonight to sleep?” “Daddy I have two babies…” “We still have a crib upstairs in the nursery they could use?” Amanda shook her head, “It’s not like we have a long time to sleep now anyway. I’m going to put this one back in her bed at least so she can at least try to get some sleep before her math exam.” I groaned, “Why couldn’t they have picked another night to do this stuff?” “Well Stacy, as soon as I figure out who’s behind this there’s going to be some hell to pay from me. No one messes with my family and gets away with it!” “Thanks Daddy,” Amanda said at the bottom of the stairs. “I’ll send Fred down so he can help you figure out the door in a moment.” “Sounds good,” he said. “Come on Princess,” she told me and carried me up the stairs. She walked down the hallway to her workshop first though and put the cube in a box that she had. “What’s that?” I asked her sleepily. “Souped up Faraday cage,” she told me. “Just in case it’s more than it obviously is. It’s also thick enough that if it’s an explosive the box should contain it…” “That’s a pleasant thought…” I said as she carried me into the nursery. Fred was watching over a sleeping Bella from the rocking chair as we came in. Amanda felt my diaper, decided it needed changed, and walked over to the changing table to quickly change me into another of the princess diapers. “Try and get some sleep if you can,” she whispered as she tucked me in my new toddler bed. Not having the rails actually made me more nervous about everything then. “Mommy?” I asked. “Yes sweetie?” “Paci?” She smiled and found one that she placed in my mouth before kissing me on the forehead and said, “Good night, we’ll keep you safe – I promise!” “Lub you,” I told her around the pacifier and watched as she and walked away. “Love you too baby,” she told me. I tossed and turned for a long while then. Between Bella’s occasional whimpers, other sounds in the house, and everything it took me a long while to fall asleep in my new bed. The last time I looked at the clock it said 5:30am. MORNING CAME WAY too early as Amanda had to tickle me to wake up. “Shh…” she said though and I could tell that Bella was probably still asleep. I sighed and asked, “What time is it?” as she carried me from the nursery. “Eight-thirty,” she said, “I figure you need to get some breakfast and coffee in you before you go for your test.” “Lots of coffee…” Fred must have heard me say that as she rounded the last step with me. He said, “Believe me, when we finish this pot, I’ll be brewing another! Glad I didn’t have any procedures scheduled for today.” He helped Amanda lift the tray out of the way on my high chair before she had me quickly buckled in, and sat a cup of coffee on my tray. I wasted no time guzzling half of it down in the hopes of waking up. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and tried to focus on the room around me. “Now that’s a proper little,” Grandpa Joe said as he walked over from the living room. I hadn’t noticed him. “Huh?” “Coffee drinker!” He laughed, “Good for your momma for letting you have it too!” I blushed, “More like addict…” I admitted. He went and poured another cup for himself too. By the time Amanda brought over a plate of eggs, bacon, and pancakes I had already finished the first cup. “This is the only time I’m not going to give you a hard time on drinking too much coffee… just be warned you will probably have a really soaked diaper,” she warned. I nodded, “As long as it’s not the one Madison put me in…” Amanda snorted out some of her coffee with that comment, “I do have those two spares if you really want them? You could probably last a full twenty-four hours in one!” I glared at her and took another long drink of coffee before working on the eggs. Half an hour or so later I felt the need to use my potty. “May I get down and use my potty?” I asked Amanda. I turned red as I asked, and even redder as Grandpa Joe half-watched while I grunted a large log into the potty. As soon as I was done, and wiped clean, Amanda carried me upstairs to get changed. “Do you want a princess diaper to be sure you can get through the test?” “I can barely walk when they’re wet…” “Better than having to change your uniform or being told to go without your uniform because you’re not mature enough for it?” I sighed and consented in the end, “You’ll be around when I’m done to change me, right? I can’t pull those tapes off…” “I should be, and if I’m not I’ll get Megan to swing by.” “Kay,” I told her and raised my bottom to let her put the offensive pink garment on me. She handed my skirt and blouse before helping with my shoes and my hair. When she was done, she gave me a hug and sat me on the ground, “I need to get your sister up. As soon as I’m done getting her ready, we’ll get going.” I just nodded and walked to my desk chair. As soon as she gently woke Bella up the poor girl began to sob hysterically. I sighed and opened my backpack up to see if it had enough spare diapers in it. Amanda must have restocked it at some point because six new pampers were stashed at the bottom of the bag. ‘I’m going to throw in two more to be safe…’ I thought. I also checked on wipes and was glad to see there were a lot left in the little pouch still. “It’s okay Bella, we’re not going to let anything happen to you,” Amanda told her as she changed her diaper and outfit. She was crying, “But… it’s all my fault – and I don’t even understand why they want me this bad! You should just call them and give me away…” “No chance silly girl,” Amanda said, “You are part of our family now, and I’m not about to let any two-bit crooks get you or Stacy!” She continued crying and I watched Amanda’s face cloud for a second before she moved her blouse out of the way and offered Bella a breast that she latched onto with some encouragement. I looked away so I wouldn’t be as jealous, “I’m going downstairs Mommy… we need to go in not too long.” I reminded her. “Let me just try and get Bella sorted here and we’ll go,” she told me. The princess diapers had at one point seemed like the thickest things I could possibly wear, but after last night’s diaper they felt thinner than the really thin diaper that I’d tried the first day! I had a bit of a waddle going downstairs, but it wasn’t too bad compared to the pillow. Downstairs Fred looked up from his paper and said, “Your mommy almost down?” I shook my head, “Bella was having a panic attack or something when she woke up, so she’s trying to get her calmed down.” I looked at my watch anxiously every couple of minutes. It was almost 9:30 when Amanda finally walked downstairs with Bella on her side, along with the bigger diaper bag. “You have your backpack Stacy?” I nodded and held it up, “Let’s go then.” “Dumb question but you have a stylus, right?” “Yes Mommy,” I said but double-checked and saw I had a plethora of pencils, pens, and my tablet stylus. “Come on then,” she said and she leaned down to pick me up. She stopped at Bella’s side of the car first and said, “I’ve got to put you down here sweetie, I promise we’ll be in the car too in just a second though.” As she carried me around to the other side I asked, “Is she okay?” Amanda seemed unsure, “She’s acting almost like we’d regressed her this morning – I’m not sure what’s going on. I’m hoping she’ll snap out of it this afternoon… There’s no way I can leave her with Daddy this morning though, so I’m going to have to take her to my office with me. I had your daddy put your playpen in the car to put in my office. No one will think it weird to have a newly adopted little there with me. We’ll have to pick up another one for home later though.” I nodded as she opened my door and laid me back in my carrier seat and buckled me in. Fortunately, she wasted no time getting going down the road. I lay in my seat and hoped that I would be able to focus on the stupid math test! I was exhausted from not sleeping, and was fighting my eyes closing even with all of the coffee I’d drank with breakfast! Bella kept sniffling in her seat and I could see tears still going down her face still as we pulled into Amanda’s parking spot. Just as she put the car into park, I heard a fart and smelled that Bella had definitely finished off her current diaper. A look at my watch showed it was quarter till nine and we still had a bit of quick walk to go! Setting me down on the ground she seemed to know we needed to hurry. I heard Amanda groan as she opened Bella’s door, “Sorry, Bella,” she told the whimpering girl, “you’ll have to wait until we get Stacy to the test and then we’ll get you cleaned up. She grabbed the diaper bag and quickly wrapped Bella up in the blanket before I had to follow along. On the ride up to the lecture hall level one of the Amazon girls on the elevator said, “Oh my, someone is stinky!” “This one?” another girl said and pulled my skirt up and checked my diaper without asking. “Aww… what a cute diapee!” I blushed and wanted to smack the girl. “No, it’s definitely this daughter. Next time leave my other baby girls skirt down. I’m more than capable of checking my daughter for a messy diaper myself.” “Sorry ma’am…” the girl that pulled my dress said. “Professor,” she told her tersely. “Umm… sorry Professor,” she said and blushed more herself as the elevator door opened. Amanda patted me on the head and walked with me as far as the sign-in table before saying, “I’m going to go change the stinker and head to my office. If Megan or I’m not here when you’re done, go upstairs. You can always stay with Kim until I get back if I’m not there.” “Kay, Mommy,” I told her as I nervously waited through the crowd signing in. Towards the front of the line I heard, “Stacy!” I turned and saw Laura, “Hi Laura,” I told her sleepily. “You don’t look so good,” she said. I looked at her and made the same observation, “Neither do you?” “You have the runs all night too?” I shook my head, “No, that would have been easier to deal with…” She looked embarrassed and shocked that I didn’t think that was bad, so I added, “of course I’m in diapers all the time and used to it, but you’re not…” “How come you didn’t get them then? The whole dorm had them,” she whispered to me. “Most every little is in a diaper today and we’ve been warned we’re not allowed to take them off ourselves to use the potty…” she blushed. “I’d guessed that they spiked the punch and didn’t drink any of it,” I told her. “It’s why I always have a sealed bottle of water in my backpack.” Her eyes opened as we got to the front and an Amazon leaned over the table. “Name?” He asked me “Stacy Westerfield,” I said with more confidence than I felt right then. He looked at something on the table before handing me a clear wrapped packet, “head on inside.” “Laura Windsor,” I heard Laura say and I waited for her to get hers and walk in together. An amazon girl who must have been a TA looked at us with disdain and said, “We have some little seats up front for you two.” “Thanks,” I said with a pleasant smile even though the comment was meant to be demeaning. It was a very large lecture hall that descended as you closed into the front. At the very front of the lecture room there was indeed a row of little sized seats that looked to be almost little highchairs. Something about them seemed ridiculous, but I wasted no time walking up to them and was surprised they didn’t have the little straps to hold us in. To my dismay, I was still a little small for them and reach the little side table, so I grabbed the booster from inside my backpack and put it on the chair. “You need a booster on a little sized seat?” a nearby little asked me. “Yeah, seems like it…” “How tiny are you?” “Thirty-six-and-a-half inches tall,” I told her with a smile. The girl in question actually seemed much larger than most of the littles I’d hung around so far. She seemed like she was probably closer to my old height. “Wow… That’s like newborn size when an Amazon gets ahold of you, ouch…” she whispered. “Yes, it is,” I told her. “Though actually three months for the clothing size,” I told her before grimacing, “Unless it’s a swimsuit…” “I’m Kristina,” she told me. “Like my adopted cousin…” I said, “I can remember that. Though you’re able to do a lot more than her…” “Adopted cousin…?” She asked. “On my adopted mommy’s side,” I told her. “Wait… you’re adopted?” I nodded. “But how are you here…” “Just go with it,” Laura said, “She’s got like the perfect setup where her adopted parents actually let her go to college…” “What do they get out of it then?” “Well I’m paying for room and board… but I’m also letting her get some of her… umm… maternal desires out… or at least I was…” “Was?” Laura asked. “My new adopted baby sister seems to be getting a lot more of that time now than I am.” “Well that’s got to be good, right?” Laura asked. I blushed and shrugged, “I’m not going to lie… I kind of liked the attention.” I dug out my several pencils, and got set with the table in front of me for the test. I remembered that Amanda asked about my stylus so I set it next to my pencils too. “How do you think you’re going to do on this?” Kristina asked. I shrugged, “I took a lot of calculus in high school, but this is a new dimension for me.” “Wait… what?” She asked just as a professor started speaking directly in front of us. “Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I am Professor Lieberman. I want to get this test started on time this morning so we have plenty of time to grade your tests and have results to your advisors. You should have each received a wrapped packet – please open it at this time.” I followed his direction and undid the plastic wrapping on the test. When done I expected it to separate out into a test booklet, scratch paper, and a scantron style document like my tests back home. ‘I’m surprised they have these still…’ I thought before I opened it and realized that what I thought was completely wrong. ‘I guess I see why Amanda asked me about the stylus,’ I thought to myself as I looked at the contents. There was only a fairly thin… electronic tablet? It looked more like an old-fashioned piece of transparency for those old projectors that math teachers liked to use. That was the only thing I could think of calling it though as it activated itself and the professor said, “Once you have your tests open you may begin. You have two hours for this test. We will be looking at your work for any questions we may have on how you arrived at your answers. If you’re borderline on passing into a regular math class that may sway us one way or another, so I recommend you show us that work. Any questions? No, good luck!” On the screen it asked for my name, network username, and password before it advanced to the first question. For question one I could clearly see that it gave a spot to select the answer like a bubble, but also space below to work out the problem. I grabbed the stylus and pressed on the screen and was rewarded with it drawing a line. I took that to mean I just used it to write directly on the screen, and began working through each problem and tuned out the world around me. Not even fifteen minutes into the test the coffee began calling out to me, and with a sigh I just let it go in the diaper, knowing it would hold anything I could throw at it. I paid neither my bladder, nor the diaper, any mind after that though and kept answering questions. I’d made it through forty questions when the professor said we had a half-hour remaining. His announcement made me notice the room again. I heard a whimper, a fart, and smelled something awful coming from beside me. One of the proctors came over and began smelling down the row. She looked at me, “Would you please lean forward?” “Why?” I asked stupidly as she pulled my dress up to show my diaper to the world and looked in the back of it. “Wet, but all clean! What a big girl you are with such a pretty baby diaper on!” She said to me eliciting some giggles from the auditorium. She moved down to the next chair where Kristina sat and I glanced over to realize this was a bad thing. The poor girl was shaking and sure enough when she was made to lean forward the girl said, “Uh-oh, someone made us a big pwesent in her diapee! Let’s press complete on this test since I’m sure it’s probably too hard for you anyway, and then we’ll get you to your Deans office so she can give you your spanking and eight demerits. You might set a new school record for getting kicked out of Emerson and going back to daycare to be with the other babies!” Around the room the giggles were everywhere, and I felt terrible for the girl as she was led waddling out with her things up the staircase. Everyone in the room seemed glued to her walk of shame. Just as she was almost to the top of the room, someone tripped her and she fell back on her butt. Instantly you could see that she had splattered the runny poop out of her diaper! The disgusting mess ran down her legs as she was helped up and continued to leave, obviously crying. ‘Poor baby,’ and ‘look at the poopy pants,’ were among the many comments I heard. The taunts from the Amazons continued until the professor said, “Enough! Back to work!” I gulped and wondered if I should take one of my charms just to be safe! I focused back in on the test though. The questions kept me on constant guard with the adjustment to Base 60 math. Why this dimension kept using that, instead of adjusting to Base 10 after the Babylonians faded from history, I still hadn’t found out! It wasn’t the most difficult thing, but it meant there were several times I had to slap myself and re-answer a question. A trick question almost got me midway through. I almost missed my mistake because they had given the right answer in Base 10 as an option too! I giggled quietly though when one of the last questions asked for students to treat the question as a Base 10 math question. I was pretty sure that one had an answer from me quicker than any of the others in the room. I pressed submit on the final question with fifteen minutes still left on the running clock. As I looked up the professor noticed I was done and came over, “Gave up?” “Gave up?” I asked confused, “No? Question fifty was the last question, right?” “Uhh… yeah it was.” “I just finished it. Do we turn this into you and leave?” I asked with a whisper since I had noted others had been turning them into him. “Yes, umm… go ahead and hand it to me,” he said. “Thanks Doctor Lieberman,” I told him while I awkwardly stood up in my excessively puffy diaper. The stupid diaper had done as advertised and made it a tough struggle to walk up the steps without crawling. I pushed on though even through the giggles of the Amazons I passed. I heard more than one, “Oh just crawl sweetie, you’re obviously not ready to walk,” before I got up to the top. I sighed as I waddled through the open door and realized I had Laura right behind me. “Why did you wear such a thick diaper?” she asked me. “I didn’t want to risk the wet dress after the gallon of coffee I drank earlier,” I told her quietly knowing some wouldn’t approve of a little having that beverage. “You get to drink coffee?” she hissed. I smiled, “I really do have an awesome mommy.” “I don’t want a mommy besides my real one, but yeah… I’m not going to lie – I’m jealous – I know I won’t get that lucky if it happens to me. Where are you going now?” “Upstairs to her office.” “Oh, that’s right, you said she’s a professor here?” “Yeah, what are you doing?” “Well today is the first day they haven’t insisted on us being led back to the dorms on those stupid ropes, so they said we could get lunch on our own?” I smiled at her, “That’s cool… I have a meeting in an hour I have to go to, but you want to go up and see if my mommy wants to go to lunch with us at the union?” “Umm…” “She’s really not one of those crazy Amazons… the only reason I have a new sister is because we were saving her from a nasty flight stewardess… who turned out to be connected to some crazy group that kind of has me angry right now…” She looked at me like I was nuts, but shrugged, “Sure!” I smiled at her and walked to the elevator with her. An amazon girl had called for a down elevator, “Would you please push the up button for us?” I asked nicely. She looked at me with a smile, “Why on earth are you going upstairs? You should know better than to play with the elevators…” “Mommy works up there,” I said with a smile. Her face contorted but she pressed it anyway. We ended up getting an elevator before her and Laura started giggling as soon as the door closed. “You do that way too well!” She kidded me. “Well, I am adopted… Trust me when I’ve been in baby mode, I’ve learned it’s a good idea to develop that skill!” “What do you mean?” She asked. The doors opened though, “I’ll tell you some other time. Let’s just say that there’s not much I haven’t done since getting here…” She had a horrified look on her face but I shrugged, “Hi Miss Kim,” I said to Kimberly as the door opened. “Well hi Stacy,” she said, “your mommy is back in her office. I’ll let her know you’re on your way back.” “Great!” We kept walking without her asking me anything about Laura to my surprise. As we came to her office, she opened the door holding Bella who seemed to actually be smiling. “Well there you are Stacy!” She said with a smile, “Who’s your friend?” “Mommy this is Laura, she’s in my nest.” “Nice… nice to meet you,” Laura said while noting Bella was in a very babyish sunsuit with a very wet diaper on display. “You too,” Amanda said. “I’m Bella,” Bella actually spoke to my surprise given the way she’d been acting when I saw her last. Amanda closed the office door and directed us towards the couch. “We have that meeting at one, so Daddy is supposed to come get Bella soon… but I don’t know how we’ll get lunch in time.” “Well… May I just go with Laura to lunch at the union and meet you at the administration building?” She looked at me like I was crazy, “after last night and yesterday you want me to let you go alone?” “They won’t expect me to be alone with another little after that. If I were them, I’d back off for a while…” She shook her head but shrugged, “I said you needed to be a big girl now, so I guess that’s this. You want your diaper changed really quick?” “Please?” I asked. She made no attempt to preserve my modesty to Laura as she quickly pulled a changing mat out and laid me down on it and grabbed a diaper from a box that now sat in a cabinet next to the couch. My naked crotch was wiped and sealed back in a normal Pamper when I heard a fart and smelled an accident. “Bella what did you eat?” I asked but then realized it was Laura that was looking red and embarrassed. “Oh no, you poor thing,” Amanda said guessing it too. “I can change you into one of Bella’s regular Pampers if you want? Or give you one to go change in the restroom?” “We’re not allowed to change ourselves after last night…” “My mommy can change you though, right?” I paused, “What exactly did they say?” “A ‘grown-up’ had to do it.” “Well, Mommy’s a grown-up professor, so no worries. How were they going to enforce it?” “My diaper is little proof,” she said with a shamed face. “Hop up Princess, and go to the diaper bag and get me one of Bella’s Pampers. She won’t need them since I’m keeping her in the princess diapers most of the time right now.” “You don’t have to…” Laura tried to say but Amanda just picked her up and put her down on the changing pad I had been laying on. “One of Stacy’s would definitely be too small, but other than being a little bit big I’m guessing Bella’s will fit you fine. She has some weird hip measurements that means a regular baby diaper has to be smaller.” “In other words, I have no hips,” Bella grumbled. “Neither do I,” I reminded her. I turned away for Laura’s sake as Amanda opened up the stinkiest diaper I’d smelled yet! From the sounds Amanda made, she thought it was bad too, “They spiked the punch last night?” She asked as she taped the new one on. “That’s what Stacy thinks…” “Tell you what, there’s a bottle of water in my fridge you can have that’s safe. Maybe we can get permission this weekend for you to sleepover at our house one night, and we’ll go on a supply run for you to get some drinks that you can be sure aren’t messed with.” “What about the coke machines? They wouldn’t be able to mess with those, would they?” Amanda shook her head, “I wouldn’t count on it right now. Especially when there are so many littles that can be caught with poopy diapers in class.” “I know… that poor girl,” Laura sniffed. “Poor girl?” Bella asked. I nodded as I grabbed my backpack, “A girl we just met… She was actually practically a betweener sized girl… Well, let’s just say what Laura just let out was practically the smell of roses compared to her mess. Some jerk tripped her going up the stairs on the walk of shame she was already taking to the dean’s office. She fell back straight back on her butt and smushed it.” “Eew…” Bella said. “Yeah, from experience I know that sucks.” “If you’re going to go to lunch girls, you’d better get going. Don’t be late to the meeting Stacy!” Amanda told me. “We’ll be quick,” I told her as she opened the door. “Miss Kim would you please call for the elevator to go to the first floor for us?” “Sure sweetie,” she told me. “Who’s your friend?” “Oh, this is Laura,” I told her. “Nice to meet you ma’am,” Laura said nervously. “Oh, don’t worry if you’re up on this floor sweetie, Doctor Westerfield and I only have littles because we were keeping them out of the hands of other people. You’re safe from me.” “Thank you, ma’am,” she said unsure of herself as the door opened. Kim stepped in briefly to press ‘1’ and said, “Have a good day girls!” “That was so embarrassing,” Laura said as the elevator went down. “Better than Kristina?” “Well definitely better than her…” Chapter 8: Verdicts WE BEGAN WALKING quickly down the path to the student union, which wasn’t too far. Inside there was a long line of littles at a sandwich restaurant that reminded me of Subway. Some sign said ‘Little’s Special Today! $1 Six-Inch sandwich and chips!’ and I said, “Split a pizza?” “But they said there’s a special…” “Special probably means ‘special’” I said while holding up my fingers in quotes. “Oh… really?” “Blondie you’re going to have to be a lot more careful if you want to actually make it through this week, let alone four years here…” She nodded in reply, but didn’t say anything else as we joined a small line of amazons waiting for some pre-made pizzas that reminded me of Pizza Hut. “One pepperoni,” I said to the guy at the counter. “We don’t have little sized ready…” “I don’t mind the big one, we’re sharing,” I told him. He looked at me oddly but nodded, “Well if you’re going to be cautious like that, I won’t keep you from having something smart.” I didn’t fully know if he meant that they were the safe ones or not, but I just handed him my card which I knew had money on it to swipe. “You’re all good sweetheart,” he told me as he handed me the personal pizza that might as well have been a very large size pizza to me back home. “Thanks!” I said and found our way over to a little sized table. “Why didn’t you get the little special?” Someone asked us as we sat down next to them, “Only one dollar today!” “Because it’s probably spiked with something?” I said casually. “Like the punch last night?” They looked at the half-eaten sandwich in horror and ran out to the bathroom while throwing their food away. “Was that mean?” I asked Laura as she took a piece and began cutting it in thirds to eat it. “No… Not nice, but not mean…” I kept a close eye on my watch for the time and ended up filling her in more on my life since I’d arrived in the dimension. “You’ve really breastfed?” She asked quietly. I nodded. “How do you still have control?” I sighed, “I haven’t nursed in a week… and I hate it.” “But…” “I think if I only do at night it won’t be a huge problem, but Amanda wants to wait until the weekend to test that.” “Why would you want that?” “It’s calming…” I started, “and I kind of like not knowing that I need to pee in the middle of the night. I lose bladder control for the full night, and usually don’t notice my bladder the next day.” “But if you poop…” “Yeah… so I’m restricted until we can figure it out… or I can find a way to counteract that part of it.” We talked about the test and some other things about Emerson while we both ate. I had a lot of fun talking to her – she reminded me of Gaby actually! I looked at my watch again as I was full, “I’ve got to go next door to the administration building, see you later?” “Sure! If nothing else, see you tomorrow at the little seminars?” “Sounds good – be careful what you eat or drink before then… and if you feel like it’s going to happen let me know and I’ll give you something to keep you from going… it’ll just have some side-effects you have to worry about.” She looked skeptically at me but nodded, “Okay.” I gathered my backpack and dodged the large amazons moving to and fro, out the door, and across the lawn to the large administration building. More than any of the other building I had seen, this one reminded me of a traditional Ivy League campus back home. “I’m looking for Dean Sanders office?” I told the lady on the front floor. “Already in trouble dear?” She said as she sniffed the air a bit to see if I had a poopy diaper. “No ma’am, at least I don’t think so… I think it’s about a test result?” “Well either way you’re going to go upstairs to the third floor, let me call the elevator for you,” she said with a smile. “Thanks,” I said and then “Have a great day,” when she left the elevator. On the third floor I quickly found Amanda waiting patiently in a chair next to Doctor Butler outside the office. They were having what seemed to be an amicable conversation. I walked up to her and she possessively picked me up onto her lap as the sounds of blood curdling screaming came from the office we were waiting to go into. “Bad baby!” was accompanied with more smacks and, “Is that what you want to be? A diaper pooping baby?!?” The sad sounds of a bawling girl came loudly for a long uncomfortable few minutes, before eventually a teary-eyed Kristina came out of the office. Earlier she had been dressed in the uniform like I had been, but now she just wore her blouse and a large diaper that had ‘Baby’ in blocks around it. “You have nine demerits young lady, one more and you’ll be in the nursery where I’m pretty sure you belong. This is your last chance! Don’t blow it!” “No ma’am,” she said and walked to the elevator with her head held down without ever noticing her audience. “Poor girl…” Amanda said so quietly only I could hear. “Sorry about that unpleasantness,” she said as she turned towards us. “Doctor Westerfield, Doctor Butler, nice to see you again.” “You too,” Amanda said as she stood and set me on my feet. “And Stacy, so good to see you again too! Sorry you had to see your classmate go through that, but sometimes some littles don’t quite have as exceptional of maturity as you do.” “I can see that…” I said with a hedged statement. “Oh, and Doctor Wernstrom!” she said as the man huffed up from the closing elevator. “Hi Dean Sanders, sorry I’m running late,” he said. “No worries Ogden,” she said, “come on in and let’s meet about whatever you wanted.” She had an office that was surprisingly smaller than Amanda’s, but had a glass conference table to one side that she led us to. Amanda sat me in the office chair before Dean Sanders said, “Oh, sweetie here hold up a second, I keep these chairs especially for my little visitors…” She pulled out a highchair that I immediately recognized as a genuine little high chair; complete with the awkward restraining straps and all! I gulped as Amanda lifted me into it and closed only the waist strap around me. “Aren’t you going to fasten the other straps?” Dean Sanders asked. “I don’t think she needs them,” Amanda said. “Well… I guess you are her mommy,” she said before looking at Dr. Wernstrom. “Just why are you making all of us come to a meeting today? This is one of my busiest days for little discipline problems…” “Sorry ma’am, but this may be one of them too,” he said with a dour look. He turned to me with an intimidating expression on his face, “Yesterday Stacy, you took our placement test for Computer Science.” “Yes sir,” I said. “I don’t know what the problem would be though that would be disciplinary. I didn’t cheat in any way if that’s what you’re implying.” “Young lady, watch your tone…” Dean Sanders said. “Actually ma’am, she’s right I am implying that! I don’t believe any little can take this test and do as well as she did without cheating. Her score makes it obvious that she somehow cheated! As soon as I saw that her code all compiled, and performed the tasks given properly, I knew we needed to meet.” “That’s a very serious accusation,” Amanda said coldly. “Where’s your proof? Did you review the security footage?” “Yes, I did… but she must have done something clever, because I don’t see her looking at any other person’s computer or any devices…” “Wouldn’t that just point to her not cheating?” Doctor Butler asked. “It sounds like the only reason you’re accusing her of cheating is that she scored better than you think she should. You know I’ve felt many times that you have too much bias here. I don’t know that you’ve let a single little pass your classes since you began teaching the intro courses…” “Well, I’m wondering if Doctor Westerfield may have taught her to regurgitate the correct answers?” “Of course, she didn’t,” I said with a sigh. “Do you have a copy of my code?” I asked. “Here,” he said handing over a thin tablet. “Good, Doctor Butler, would you please look at the code I wrote? I’m guessing the problem is that he can’t understand me answering the last question.” “Why should he look at it?” Dr. Wernstrom asked. “I’ve already given my assessment that there’s no way you could have achieved that test result without cheating? After all no other freshman student has ever completed the full exam!” “Just let him look please,” Amanda said. “If I truly gave her the answers, he’ll be able to tell just from the syntax. Do you have more copies? I would like to examine it too? Especially since you are essentially accusing me as a faculty member of academic misconduct.” Amanda’s tone on the last statement was colder than ice. “Sure… umm… here you go…” he said, his voice shaking with understanding of how far he had pushed. Amanda took the other offered tablet and scanned the code as quickly as Doctor Butler. He occasionally made some comments like ‘that’s interesting…’ and other sounds. When he reached the end of his reading, a good fifteen minutes later, I awaited his verdict. “Dean Sanders, I believe Doctor Wernstrom here is falsely accusing Ms. Westerfield.” “You sound certain?” “Have you ever looked a paper and known it was plagiarism just because the language didn’t make sense?” She nodded, “Frequently, it’s amazing how many of our students don’t get that we can tell in ten seconds…” “Okay, this is like the opposite case. Stacy, your code is brilliant, but full of some really weird quirks. You said you came from the other dimension because we’re further ahead of your technology?” I nodded, “Yes sir.” “Well it shows in your code. If I didn’t know any better, I would expect a seventy-year-old retired programmer wrote this, and clearly not someone in their thirties like Doctor Westerfield.” He shook his head and looked at Dr. Wernstrom, “Ogden, grow up and accept that she is a little that can code. But she’s more than that, she has potential to be the student that makes our university very rich as people look and say ‘she went here.’” “Doctor Westerfield?” Dean Sanders asked as Amanda finished the last page. “I know I’m going to be accused by Doctor Wernstrom of being biased, but truthfully her code is her code. Doctor Butler nailed the reasons. We could have a few other professors look at it, but you know Henry wouldn’t cover for either of us. We like arguing about budget amounts too much!” Dr. Butler laughed then, while Dr. Wernstrom fumed in his seat. “So, there are no issues that I’m needed for?” Dean Sanders asked as the wailing sounds of someone being beaten outside her door came through. “I guess not…” Dr. Wernstrom said. “So, if she scored perfectly on the test, she’s definitely going to need to schedule some different classes Amanda.” Dr. Butler said, “If you want to walk down to my office, we can get that done really quick so you don’t have to run her back here later?” “Probably should check her math scores first,” Dr. Wernstrom said, “Probably didn’t pass the test there.” “Why? Because I’m a little? Or because I’m a girl?” “That’s enough,” Dean Sanders said with a fatigued voice before looking at me. “Young lady you will you speak to faculty members with a more respectful tone! There will be demerits and spankings if I ever witness that again.” I gulped but said, “Yes ma’am, sorry sir,” towards him. “That being said Ogden, you might want to consider how this might be viewed by an outsider. Especially with her mother present, I would say consider your words…” With that he huffed out ahead of us through the door. “Thanks for your time,” Amanda said, “it sounds like you have another issue to deal with now,” as the wails became louder with the door open. “You’re welcome, I hope not to see you much this year young lady,” Dean Sanders said. “Yes ma’am,” I said contritely and stood as Amanda sat me down on the ground from the highchair. We walked to the door and as we opened the door, I saw the source of the sounds. I cringed as I saw a nearly naked little wearing only a pair of panties with poop dripping from them and smearing the down the girl’s legs. As we walked quickly past her, and the Nest Hen holding her ear, I heard her say, “This little girl thought she didn’t need to wear the diapers we made mandatory after last night’s oubtbreak…” “Well sweetie, I think we’ve got a few demerits to go over here…” I walked a little faster and was grateful when the elevator doors closed. I instinctively leaned against Amanda’s leg and she patted my head. Doctor Butler led us to his office on the first floor and closed the door, “Have a seat,” he said directing us to two chairs in front of his computer. “Amanda by the way I was crushed that you tried to slide her by me without letting me know she was yours,” he said as he sat down at the computer. “I wanted her to be able to stand on her own two legs so to speak,” Amanda said diplomatically. “Well that she’s doing well with… well excepting with Ogden. The only good thing about that meeting is that now you won’t ever have to take any of his classes Stacy.” “How many classes did the test count for?” “Well, if you answered the test correctly except the last question, it counted for four…” “And the last question?” “It’s another class in AI design, but given the professor is considered to be the most prominent expert in that field, I would probably recommend you take her class anyway.” I had a guess on who taught that class, so I looked over at Amanda who blushed a bit, “Yes I teach it, and yes you’d benefit still from taking it.” “Okay, so we’re going to switch out your Intro to computer programming class for Principles of Machine Learning… and let me check your math exam score…” He typed for a moment before laughing, “And we’ll have to change this too.” “How did I do?” I asked. “The test gives weight to certain questions, the test is scored out of a total of 200, with each question weighted differently. More points and weight are given to the more difficult questions…” “And I got?” “Well they noted in the computer that they graded your test manually twice, checked the cameras for cheating, in addition to the automatic grading completed by the software… before putting in the score of 190?” “Cool!” I said with a smile. “I have to say it’s unheard of for freshmen in general, but for a little it’s highly unusual…” He shrugged his shoulders, “Obviously you are an unusual little though given both test scores and your CARE scores. I’m looking forward to seeing how you do at Emerson.” “I am too, thanks!” I said with a smile, “So what am I taking for math?” “Well that score places you out of the first four semesters of Calculus, but if you’ll take some advice, I’d recommend taking Calc three this year.” “Why?” “Well, I just read an interesting paper recently that your dimension uses Base 10 math, correct?” “Yes, it is, I’ve been practicing a lot before I came here on using Base 60 instead.” “Obviously, or you would have failed the test massively!” he said, “You’ll probably find that calculus class to be review, but it’ll also let you get through a math class here while knowing the material. Sometimes different universities approach things a little differently too, so it would help you adjust to Emerson’s method. Just based on your test scores though you could be in the final fifth semester class if you want, but I just think it would be wise to not skip the entire sequence.” I nodded, “I’m okay with the third semester.” “Great, let me play around with this for a second…” Amanda reached over and gave me a hug while he worked and ended up bringing me over to her lap and sitting me on her knee that she lightly bounced nervously. “Here you go,” he said as he reached down to a printer and handed me a schedule, “I emailed it to you too.” I glanced down at it quickly and said, “Thanks! Is there anything else I need to do?” “Nope, good luck on your classes! Let me know if you need anything.” “Thank you, sir,” I said as Amanda sat me on the ground. “Thanks Henry,” Amanda said. “We’ll see you around Amanda…” he paused as we turned, “I think this is one of the crazier things you’ve done, but I suspect you’ve adopted the smartest little ever!” Amanda laughed, “Thanks Henry – see you at the faculty meeting tomorrow!” She looked at me and patted my head, “Come on kiddo, let’s go home if you don’t have anything else to do on campus. We have a couple projects to get done before tonight!” I nodded and followed her outside the building, when she stopped for just a second to put sunglasses on, I impulsively decided to put my arms up, “Up?” She laughed as she picked me up and tickled my belly, “You’re probably the most brilliant student of your year, and what do you want? To be carried around and waited on like a newborn?” I stuck my tongue out at her but leaned in towards her protective warm body. She readjusted my skirt to keep from flashing my diaper, but I honestly didn’t care at that point. I had survived a big test and serious accusations of cheating; I was lucky enough to have her! At the car she felt my diaper and said, “You really need to be drinking more sweetheart, this should be more wet…” “Sorry, I actually did drink a good bit out of that water bottle… The test kind of made it difficult though.” “Well I guess you were concentrating too much…” she laughed as she closed the door by my car seat and hopped inside, “I wonder if you’d gotten more sleep last night if you could have scored a perfect score?” I looked at her through the mirror in front of my car seat and shook my head, “That last question was something I hadn’t learned…” She drove us back home and pulled into the garage and unbuckled me. Once she had me clear she started to set me down but I just clung on, “Carry me in?” She sighed, “Clingy today?” I shrugged, “I just like being held sometimes?” She squeezed me tight, “After last night I guess I understand.” She grabbed my backpack and threw the small bag on her other shoulder, “Come on, let’s go see if Daddy got the window fixed and how Grandpa’s crew is doing on the alarm system.” A couple weeks ago being held on her hip was kind of scary, but now it was comforting. As we walked inside Fred called out, “Amanda?” “Yes Fred,” she said. He walked from the backdoor up to us and I could see he had been sweating and had working clothes on. He was going to hug Amanda but she said, “Not until you shower, you stink worse than one of our daughters’ diapers right now.” I stuck my tongue out at her. He smirked, “Okay, I guess if you two had been working hard all day you two would still smell like roses.” “Of course!” I said. “So, how’d your test go?” Fred asked. I smiled, “Pretty good.” Amanda looked down at me and shook her head, “I’m curious to see what good or amazing look like for this little girl…” “Aced it?” “Ten points from perfect,” Amanda said. “What Doctor Butler didn’t tell you Stacy, was that sixty points would have gotten you into your first calculus class. I don’t know of many of our students who have scored any better than you…” “So how did your meeting go before that?” “We were right that he was accusing her of cheating… But they had no case for her cheating any better than trying to say I had either coached her, or taught her all of the code she would need like some sort of parrot.” She shook her head, “Thankfully Henry was there and he could instantly see that the code couldn’t have been mine. It was still good working code, but Stacy has some quirky coding habits. Her comments are also more consistent in her code than mine have ever been… except maybe in college when I was getting graded on them.” “So how did Wernstrom take that?” “He didn’t like it one bit… A little being better at coding than anyone else? That doesn’t sit well with him. Really, you would think he was a baby crazed woman!” “So why exactly was he so concerned she cheated?” “Oh…” she squeezed me again, “this little girl likes to cause problems on tests. She’s going to have a class full of students who hate her if a professor grades on a bell curve… or likes to adjust from the highest score only.” “So, like her math test?” “Worse… one-hundred percent perfect.” He raised his eyebrows, “Your dad was right, you just wanted a nerd baby!” I smiled at him, “Well she lucked out.” “Anyway, how’s Bella doing?” “She’s napping upstairs in her crib. Your mom is keeping an eye on her for right now while your dad and I have been finishing up repairing the door and wiring a new system he wanted to put in. You’re probably more help with that than I am, but I can at least do the grunt work on it.” “Yes, you do make a nice grunt,” Amanda said to him with a smirk. “See what I put up with Stacy?” “I’m staying out of this…” I told them both. “How long has Bella been napping?” “Your mom gave her a bottle about twenty minutes ago? With as long of a night as we had last night, I figure she’s probably going to sleep for a while.” “Probably…” Amanda said. “What about you, kiddo?” She asked me, “You need to lay down and take a nap?” I shook my head, “I feel wide awake right now. Can I just get on my computer up in your workroom like I did yesterday?” She looked thoughtful for a second, “You’ve got a good battery on it, right?” I nodded. “Why don’t you just bring it outside and work on a blanket on the patio?” “No desk?” “Do you really need one?” “It’s easier to do stuff when I can set stuff down?” She sighed and thought for a moment, “Can you be absolutely quiet if I have just letyou go into your room, where my mom is watching Bella?” “As long as she doesn’t distract me?” Amanda looked doubtful, but said, “Okay I guess,” and started to carry me upstairs before feeling my diaper again and turning back to the kitchen. She opened the fridge, “Bottle or sippy?” I hesitated before saying, “Bottle please,” I told her while blushing a little. She shook her head, “You’re not helping my ability to think of you as a big girl?” “The sippy cup takes more work to drink out of,” I told her honestly. “Really?” I nodded, “Yeah…” “Who would have thought?” She asked as she handed me an uncapped bottle and carried me upstairs and stepped over the baby gate into my… our room. Granny was sitting in the rocking chair with her eyes closed and seemed to be dozing herself based off the sounds from her. Bella was snoring loudly in her crib, and I just hoped I’d be able to get anything done with them both sawing logs! Amanda sat me down and said quietly, “When I get back in a bit, I want that bottle of juice empty, or I’ll be mean and take your babas away – you’re much too big for them now.” She winked at me and gave me a hug before slipping out of the room. ‘By this point my head is so messed up I don’t know if I want to be a big girl or a baby…’ I groused to myself. My computer and the power cords were on my desk and I reattached everything so I could turn it on and keep it charged. I looked back at Granny sleeping soundly and decided it was time to check out a few things I’d been thinking about trying. ‘I should probably update my calendar with my new schedule though first…’ I checked my e-mail first and began closely looking over my new schedule. Day of Week Time Department Code Course Title Location Professor Credits MWF 9:15am-10:15am MATH225 Calculus III Destiny Hall Lieberman 3.0 MWF 11:00am-12:00pm ENGL140 Technical Writing Jennings 230 Benning 3.0 MWF 1:30pm-2:30pm EECS245 Principles of Machine Learning Wenig 630 Westerfield 3.0 MWF 3:30pm-4:30pm CHEM115 Principles of Chemistry Kendrick Hall Casio 3.0 TR 9:30am-11:00am HIST134 History of Amaz. Civ. Destiny Hall Evergreen 3.0 T 1:00pm-2:00pm SEMN001 Little Freshmen Seminar Destiny Hall Sanders 0.0 ‘I have a lot of free time on Tuesdays and Thursdays…’ I thought, ‘the other days are going to be busy though!’ I moved over to my calendar and moved my math and programming classes around in the schedule so that things were set. ‘At least my first class is later now!’ I thought as I took another look. ‘Stupid Little Seminar is only one day a week, but it’s for an hour and I don’t even get a credit for it???’ I looked back at Granny again to make sure she hadn’t stirred and then began working through some projects I wanted to do without too many eyes on me. I quickly nursed the bottle down so Amanda wouldn’t badger me more about being dehydrated when she came back. As soon as I was done, I thought, ‘First things first… where did I put that copy of the nanite code…?’ I ENJOYED A couple of hours of time alone digging through code before hearing Granny groan and stretch. I quickly used a shortcut key to save what I had been working on and switched to an e-mail I had open to my parents updating them on my test results. I had just clicked ‘send’ a few moments later when I was picked up. “Hi Granny,” I told her quietly since Bella hadn’t stirred. “Well ‘hi’ yourself,” she said to me. “How long was I out?” I looked at my watch, “Two hours since I came in? I think Daddy said you’d come up with Bella about twenty minutes before that with her bottle?” “Sounds about right,” she said. “Speaking of bottles, yours is empty, but this diaper doesn’t feel very wet. You need another one? Your mommy mentioned she didn’t think you were drinking enough yesterday.” I shrugged, “I would drink it…” She squeezed me, “I’ll let you keep working then while I go refill it. I’ll get Bella a fresh one too for when she wakes up. Last night really got to her,” she told me in an even quieter whisper. “Okay,” I said as she sat me back down by my chair and I retook my seat as she picked up my bottle, grabbed Bella’s from before her nap, and went downstairs. With no one in there now I dug through the open closet where my old backpack had ended up and found my Switch. I almost moved it to my new backpack, but thought better of it, and instead walked over to my new bed and pulled up the mattress by the headboard and placed it there. ‘I don’t think it’ll do much more than piss a giant off right now…’ I thought, ‘but maybe the idea will work when I get a chance.’ I returned to my seat and was looking at tomorrow’s schedule. Time: Location: Event: 9:00am-6:00pm Various Advisor Appointments for Scheduling 9:00am-6:00pm Fisher Hall Returning Students Check-In 9:30am-11:00am Destiny Lecture Hall Littles: Legal Rights and Responsibilities* 1:00pm-2:00pm Destiny Lecture Hall Littles: Planning for the Future* 6:00pm Sherwood Lawn Welcome Back Barbeque 7:00pm Fraternity Row IFC and Panhellenic Councils Sponsored Block Party Seeing the block party information, I remembered that the ΛΔΠ event was supposed to be tomorrow… I dug back through to Sarah’s e-mail and saw it was to begin at 4:30pm. ‘Of course, littles can’t be a part of the block party, their bedtime is much too close!’ I grumbled. No one had said I was bound by the rules of the dorms, but I wasn’t about to risk getting a demerit by showing up there! That thought brought up the sad memory of poor Kristina. The poor girl had fallen victim to whatever they had put in the food last night - I was sure of that! ‘It makes sense if you really just want littles to be babies instead…’ I thought, ‘just put some sort of laxative in the food one of the early nights and you can cull the herd pretty quickly.’ Since Kristina now had nine demerits out of her ten allowed for the year – I knew it was just a matter of time before she was dragged kicking and screaming to the daycare and a lifetime of forced babyhood. Granny came back in then and picked me up, asking, “What’s wrong Stacy?” She set one capped bottle of milk down on the changing table area, but kept my smaller one full of juice in her other hand. “I don’t think I’ve seen that expression on your face much.” I sighed as she sat down in the rocking chair holding me to where I was sideways on her lap, “something I saw earlier.” “Another little?” I nodded but didn’t say anything else. “I’m assuming you think I wouldn’t want to discuss that?” I looked at her, “You had your own little – so I’m not sure you’d agree with me?” “Your mommy has two now?” “Well I’m kind of an oddball case… and well with Bella… she was just being a decent person I think?” “It was the same with my Hannah at first…” she said sadly. I kind of perked up, now curious to hear more, “What do you mean?” “Stacy I’m not going to lie to you and say I didn’t enjoy babying the daylights out of our baby girl Hannah, but I didn’t kidnap her off the street like most of my friends.” She paused and I could sense some difficulty going forward. The nipple of the bottle she held was gently teased between my lips. She watched to see that I began nursing from the bottle before she started, “I met Hannah one day when I went to walk in the park. I was pushing Chloe in her stroller. She had just been born a couple months earlier and was the most beautiful baby then, and sometimes the only way I could get her to sleep was taking her for a walk. I walked and watched all of the littles, babies, and kids playing on the playground, and I was daydreaming of when my sweet Chloe would be old enough to play with them. Part way through my walk I was startled when I noticed a group of teenagers gathered around something like vultures and a lot of screaming happening…” I pictured the sight and nodded for her to go on as she let go of the bottle for me to hold, “I decided to check out what was going on and found that they were pushing this sweet little girl around back and forth lifting up her skirt and showing off her panties. The poor girl was in tears and didn’t have a chance against one of them, let alone eight big kids like they were. I couldn’t help myself, I yelled at them to get lost before I decided their parents needed to know how immature they were acting… I guess my voice must have been enough to scare them as they all scrambled away.” “That was a good thing…” I told her while pushing the bottle nipple out of my mouth. “It was, but when they were gone, she just stood there trembling, ‘Thank you ma’am,’ she told me in this sweet, but trembling voice. I stood there talking to her for a few minutes before hearing her stomach rumbling of hunger. Her clothes looked to be dirty, faded, and baggy. I guessed that they had already been torn even before the bullies. ‘Maybe you should get home?’ I suggested to her.” “She nodded, but grimaced as she said, ‘Home would be nice… but I think my parents were adopted a couple days ago and they changed the locks to the apartment by the time I came home from school…” “She was homeless then?!?” I asked. “That’s terrible!” “Yes, it was,” Granny said. “I asked her then how old she was and was surprised when she said she was twenty.” “She was still living with her parents though?” “She was going to school at the community college. Since they don’t have dorms to stay in, she didn’t have to live there.” “Oh,” I said, “So what happened next?” “I told her I was sorry to hear that… Did she have anywhere else to go? When she said she didn’t I told her I wouldn’t force her to come with me, but as soon as someone else found out she was homeless they would either take her for themselves or force her to go to an orphanage.” “Are those really the only two options?” I asked. “Stacy things are rough right now, but they were way worse back then for littles! I know she had to have been shocked that I was even willing to let her walk away from me. Hannah later told me she expected me just to immediately pick her up and start walking with her.” “She stared at me for a long while and Chloe began to whine a bit. Without a word to Hannah I unbuckled Chloe from the seat she was in and changed the messy diaper she was complaining about and gave her a pacifier to settle her down. I just rocked and hummed to her for a moment before she went right back to sleep. As I buckled her back into the stroller Hannah asked me, ‘How much will you treat me like her?’” “I thought for a long moment before answering, ‘Probably a lot? I don’t think I’ll be able to help myself?’ She nodded and asked, ‘Will you treat me with love and not beat me up or torture me like some mommy’s do?’” I noticed Amanda had snuck in at some point and was holding a Bella who was also now an attentive audience member but didn’t say anything. She stood quietly and bounced Bella up and down on her side gently. “I told her that her life would be that of one of the best taken care of babies ever, if she came with me. I couldn’t guarantee that everything would be roses, but I wouldn’t abuse her, I wouldn’t beat her needlessly, and most importantly I wouldn’t go out of my way to bully her.” She paused, “And so she said, ‘Okay, I’m yours.’” A part of me could actually feel like she wasn’t the evil queen witch that Amanda had made me feel like she was before I met her. “You never told me that story Momma,” Amanda said breaking the spell of the story. Granny looked at her, “To protect her and you.” “What do you mean Momma?” She sighed, “I learned more about Hannah when I got home with her. Her parents were actually betweeners and nearly Bigs in height. Hannah’s short height was caused by one of the weird mutations that seem to happen every now and then to betweener kids. Both of her betweener parents being adopted was really uncommon, especially with their size being seven feet tall! Even back then with less protections for everyone it was weird, so I wondered what had led to someone suddenly kidnapping and adopting them. Joe was on leave then, so I asked him to look into it through some of his contacts. It turned out they had been adopted because they were involved in an embezzlement scheme with the Trelini family. Something went wrong… and I guess the mafia took it out on her parents. He also discovered that there was an active hit out for Hannah too.” I looked up at Amanda who looked stunned as this was the first time that she’d ever heard this story. Amanda asked, “So you kept her as a baby and didn’t potty train her because…” “Because a baby isn’t a threat to anyone Amanda. A big-girl little isn’t considered much, but she’s way more likely to be seen as a target. Anyone who came and looked in on a little girl being fed at her adopted mommy’s breast, and being babied all of the time, would be seen as already having gotten what was coming to them. Especially with Joe being deployed overseas for a good chunk of time, it was the safest way to protect Hannah and the rest of you…” “So, what about when things got bad for Hannah?” “Well… that’s where they say the path to Hell is lined with good intentions…” Granny sighed, “sorry for my language girls… When Chloe and Cassie were both babies it wasn’t like they saw Hannah as anything different than them. She was just a fellow diapered baby playmate as much as anything. By the time Chloe and Amanda were getting a bit older, things started happening… and I’ll be honest I even lost perspective a couple times…” she paused, “Probably why your mommy was reluctant to tell me about you Stacy…” She grimaced, “But Amanda most of what happened to Hannah was at daycare or from Chloe and Cassie, wasn’t it?” I looked at Amanda and the scales of childhood were falling from her eyes. Realization dawned on her that her mom was telling the truth. I turned back to Granny, “So…” “Yes?” “I’m not trying to upset you or Mommy, Granny, but Mommy told me about what happened to Hannah a couple weeks before Hannah died… and then about how everything happened…” I took a breath, “Hannah didn’t really die? Did she?” “Stacy!” Amanda said reproachfully. Chapter 9: Truths TO MY SURPRISE Granny began to laugh, and I heard a deeper voice join in from just inside the room as well. “Amanda you weren’t kidding when you said she was smart,” Grandpa Joe said. “Wait, what?!?” Amanda practically screeched, and I noticed Bella became nervous and shook with her shout. “She’s right?!?!?!” I looked at Granny and she nodded, “Yes she is. Hannah is alive, safe, and free on one of the little islands.” “But… why… how…?” Amanda’s face was filled with tears. I felt bad that I had just upended a core belief of Amanda’s then and kind of wanted to switch places with Bella as she sat down on the ground in shock. I wriggled around and Granny got the message, letting me go down to the ground while she held my hands and my feet landed. Amanda had sat Bella on one knee and I climbed onto the other and hugged her, “You told me you were at summer camp, remember?” I told her. “You made me come home…? There was a casket… and a funeral?!?!?” Amanda asked her mom. Grandpa Joe sighed, “Honey, Chloe and Cassie were getting more and more violent towards Hannah. We… well, your mom hadn’t seen it because she’s always had a blind spot with those two, but after your mom had falsely punished you that weekend everything tumbled out of Hannah about how the two of them were ganging up on her, and how sometimes they were even picking on you too. Hannah was terrified of Chloe, but she didn’t want to see you getting punished anymore. When Chloe and Cassie were gone your mom went to nurse Hannah before her afternoon nap. Just as she was going to start nursing her, Hannah told your mom about what had really happened. I think you figured that out when we apologized to you and ended up punishing your sisters the same way the next weekend…” he grimaced, “I wish we could undo both of those actually…” Amanda shook her head, “I hated Mom for that… but even though I didn’t do it to Hannah you won’t catch me abusing Stacy or Bella with an enema ever after that!” Bella asked, “What?” “Tell you later,” I told her. “Or maybe Mommy will since it’s her story. So, I’m guessing something else happened and they retaliated again on that playground?” Granny nodded, “Hannah DID have a head injury. Chloe forced her into climbing a tall set of monkey bars. Once she had her up there, she hit her hard and shoved her off the top. She fell head first and suffered a bad head injury when she landed. I wasn’t there with them, but I got the call to come to the hospital just as Chloe and Cassie ran in to tell me that she fell off. I called Joe at work, since he was closer to the hospital, to meet them, and told him I would call as soon as I got to the bottom of what happened.” “Did they tell you what really happened?” Bella asked. Granny shook her head, “No, they had struck some sort of sisterly pact that neither would rat out the other… but I could tell they were lying because neither were doing a very good job at it. Joe called me and said they were working on Hannah, but I should hurry to the hospital as fast as I could because it didn’t look good…” Granny was crying then, “I knew those two had to be responsible, and told Chloe, ‘You stay here and do a better job of looking after Cassie than you did with Hannah.’ I got in the car and drove to the hospital.” Granny was beginning to have a hard time talking then and I could see tears streaming from her eyes. Grandpa took over, “By the time your mom got to the hospital the doctors had been out to tell me she was still being worked on, but warned me it was not looking good. They almost lost Hannah several more times during the six-hours of surgery, and she came out of the operating room without a clear answer of if she would make it. All they could tell us was that if she made it through the night her odds were good. We were allowed to sit with her in the NICU and watched her on life support in her crib with all of the tubes plugged into her… We could only just pray that she would make it.” He wiped a tear from his eye, “Well… let’s just say you can’t watch your baby girl in that kind of situation and not get angry. Your mom kept me from going home and tanning their hides right then because she didn’t want me to be abusive… Even though I so wanted to be then! Lord knows they deserved it! While we waited for her to regain consciousness a police detective came and investigated the incident. After we spoke with him, he said that they were writing it up as an accident, but ‘off the record’ the detective was pretty sure that Chloe had intentionally tried to kill her. If they had been certain they would have arrested her, but he warned me that if Hannah made it through her injuries we needed to be constantly on watch because he was sure she probably wasn’t done.” Granny had regained her breath, “As far as I could tell the only remorse Chloe showed was that she might get in trouble… I don’t think she really cared that she had hurt Hannah… she might have even enjoyed that.” “That’s sick Mom,” Amanda sobbed out. “I always thought she had to have done it… but to know for certain…” “The whole reason we had taken Hannah in was to protect her, and in the end, we had failed miserably,” Granny said morosely, “I knew we couldn’t trust your sisters to not hurt her more. But we couldn’t just release her on her own then since she was injured and would just be adopted by someone else. Besides, the Trelini family was still keeping an eye on her.” “Even after all of that time?” I asked. “Every month or so we would get a visitor who would watch us all for a day or two,” Grandpa said, “I discussed it with them more than once, but someone new from their crew would keep showing up. They knew that we knew, and were watching to see if at any point we let her grow-up and release her.” “So, while it’s more involved than I can remember now, your sister when she woke up… well we told her it was time to get her somewhere else that would be safer.” “She really did wake up?” Amanda both sobbed and sounded happy. “Oh yes, and surprisingly there was no lasting damage to her brain or anything. She lost a couple teeth that I had the doctors replace with implanted teeth… They wanted to just pull the rest since it made the most sense to them. It took me a lot to convince them to replace them and leave her teeth…” Granny shook her head, “We had a couple days that we waited before we came for you, during which we started moving pieces into place. I had a friend who created a death certificate for her. We bought a casket and had a funeral, never letting anyone know that it was a farce. All the while we had Hannah stay at a friend’s house that we had sworn to secrecy. I did the best I could to start re-teaching her how to use the potty as she healed. After she was better, we told you girls that your dad was redeploying for a short mission, but he really took Hannah to one of the islands. There he helped her get paperwork to show that she was a free little, an apartment, and enrolled in a program to help littles learn how to take care of themselves after being in captivity.” I looked up at Amanda whose face was streamed with tears and smeared makeup. “She’s alive after all these years? Have you ever talked to her again?” I looked at Grandpa Joe who had come to sit down next to us, “we secretly trade cards every Christmas, and we’ve visited her a couple times over the last couple years since Megan began college.” “Do… do… you think she’d…” “Like to talk to you?” Granny asked with a smile. “I’m sure of it. The time zones are kind of weird, so it’d be best to wait until about ten our time, but I’ll send her your number and let her know that we finally told you the truth.” “She… won’t mind?” Grandpa Joe wrapped his arms around Amanda’s shoulders above Bella and I, “She actually always wanted us to let you know. You were the one sister that loved her and cared for her. You had a couple mean moments just not thinking as a kid, but you were the only sister who she actually considered to be her sister.” I had tears in my own eyes with the story and felt Amanda’s arms around me tightly, “Thank you,” she whispered to me. “Now, no one else can ever know she’s alive though,” Grandpa Joe said to all of us. “I don’t know anyone to tell,” Bella said. “You won’t catch me talking to Cassie and Chloe if I don’t have to…” I said. Granny looked sad at that, but nodded, “I wish I could somehow go back and fix whatever went wrong with those two…” I nodded my affirmation there before thinking it was time for a subject change when my stomach grumbled, “So dinner?” “Stacy, is food the only thing you ever think about…?” Bella grumbled. I shrugged, “Computers?” She stuck her tongue out at me, while Amanda hugged me and whispered, “Thank you…” “Well I need to start the grill up. You want to change into your swimsuit before you go down there?” Fred asked me. I stood up quickly and said, “Swimming!” in an excited voice. “Clearly there is one other thing she values over food,” Amanda said tickling my side. Everyone else giggled at it and I hoped it had helped Amanda and her parents regain a little bit of composure. She walked over to the drawer she had put my swimsuits in and handed me one. “Can you reach one of your swim diapers over there on the shelf?” I looked and nodded, “I think so.” “Bella do you want to go swimming too?” Amanda asked as she stood up and settled her onto her hip. She shrugged, “I really don’t know how…” I could tell she was nervous of the water still. “We have your floaties and the ring you can sit in that we bought,” Fred told her. “You can just sit in the water with the shade up and just float?” I watched her face go through a few expressions before she nodded, “I guess… If nothing else I’ve got my heroine big sister who will save me?” I groaned and stuck my tongue out at her while everyone else giggled. Fred and Grandpa started walking out the door as Granny stood and asked, “Do you need a hand Stacy?” I held the swimsuit and had just grabbed the swim diaper then, “Maybe later Granny? These are just pull-ups basically.” She smiled and nodded, “I’ll hold you to that!” Granny decided to leave then, so it was just Amanda changing Bella on the changing table, and me standing on the ground next to it. I pulled the uniform I was wearing off and then pulled the tapes off of the pretty soaked Pamper. “Mommy, would you please hand me a wipe?” “Sure sweetie,” she said as she held a hand on Bella and grabbed a wipe to hand to me. I used it quickly and wrapped the used diaper and it to put into the diaper can. “Here, I’ll get it in there,” she told me since it was just a little too high for me to easily do it. “Thanks Mommy,” I told her with a smile and pulled up the swim diaper before donning the stretchy one-piece swimsuit over the top of it. I adjusted the straps then and pulled my socks off. “Make sure you put your clothes in the hamper over there,” she told me with a reminder. “Yes Mommy,” I told her with a sigh. ‘Somehow I don’t think she’ll ever let me get my room as messy as Mom did back home…’ She put Bella down on the floor next to me and said, “I’m going to go change into my swimsuit and then I’ll come get you both to go to the pool.” “Daddy’s the only one cooking tonight?” I asked in surprise. She smiled at me, “Grandpa and Granny are helping him too.” I nodded and watched as she closed the baby gate behind her, leaving the two of us alone. Bella walked over and sat down on the edge of my bed. Her pink swimsuit had several rows of ridiculous frills on her butt and chest. You could just see the swim diaper peeking out from the edge of the bottom. “You doing okay?” I asked her. “Okay?” She asked with a bit of bite to her voice. “Not really…” she sighed. “Which is the part that’s the worst?” I asked. “You mean the baby part, or the part where there’s people who want to both make me a baby and make me have babies for them?” “It’s not the freedom part?” She shook her head, “Stacy, so far I’ve gone out and done more things with our ‘parents’ in the last few days than I did in the last two years total…” “I guess you couldn’t risk going anywhere?” I asked. She shook her head, “No, I couldn’t. I’m not as helplessly cute as you are, but I’ve also known my whole life that if I grew taller than the average three-year old Amazon toddler, I would be lucky…” she shook her shorter hair, “I didn’t get lucky.” Before she could continue Amanda was back and held two small swim caps in her hands. She sat down on the ground next to me and tugged at my hair for several minutes to get it covered safely by the swim cap. “Come here Bella,” she smiled at her sitting on my bed. Bella stood patiently as Amanda had an easier time putting hers up with there being less of it. She kissed the top of her head and picked us both up, putting us each on a hip. “You two definitely are good for getting a workout!” Bella actually giggled at that and we went down the stairs in her arms. Outside Fred and Grandpa were gathered around the grill and Granny seemed to be working on some sort of salad. ‘Ick!’ I thought to myself about that. As we went through the outside door, I could see that the window had been replaced. The glass looked a little bit different and I had to ask, “Same material as the tablet?” Amanda looked down at me and shook her head, “you are too smart for your own good. Yes, it’s a new thing you can buy. Supposed to be indestructible, and the cool thing is it’s also possible to make it project a screen for a movie.” I looked at it closer and noticed the huge sliding door would make a sweet movie screen indeed to watch from the pool! “Which side does it show on?” “It’s like the tablet, it can display on either side.” “I am here too still you know,” Bella reminded us both as Amanda laughed and kept moving towards the pool. Inside the gate she sat us both down on a deck chair and sprayed us down liberally with sunscreen. I saw a weird pink baby flotation device thing sitting on the concrete next to the pool. It looked like you sat down in some sort of seat that let your feet get wet, but kept your upper body above water. On the top was a canopy that shaded the baby that was sitting in it. ‘That does not look comfortable to me…’ I thought since you wouldn’t have the freedom to swim. ‘Maybe for Bella it’s a good way to get her acclimated to the pool though…’ I admitted. As soon as she had finished spraying me down with sunscreen, she handed me a new pink pair of miniature goggles. “I thought you might like these for your laps?” I smiled, “Thanks! It’ll be nice to keep the chlorine out of my eyes!” She patted my head and kissed my forehead, gave me a light pat on the butt and I took that to mean I could get in the water. She didn’t need to tell me twice before I dove into the pool! I dove down into the water to touch the bottom before swimming to the surface and turning to see where Amanda was just finishing spraying Bella. As she began spraying herself, I decided to start swimming some laps and let her worry about Bella and herself. I swam through the water, making lap after lap thinking about everything that had happened in the last couple weeks. So much had gone on, and I wondered what was going to happen next. I couldn’t help but fear the group that was after Bella. ‘Wait a second, it was the Trelini family in both cases?’ I thought to myself. ‘So, they already had a reason to have a grudge against Amanda’s family?’ I still wanted to know why they were so interested in Bella though. She didn’t seem that special… I thought about that for a while before I found myself ambushed in the water by Amanda. “I caught a fish!” She giggled as she hugged me tightly, suspended out of the water by her side. “I was swimming…” I whined. “Time for din-din,” she told me, “your sister’s been out of the water for like twenty minutes now.” “How long was I swimming?” “A bit over an hour-and-a-half?” I looked up at her then and said, “I don’t feel tired…” “The nanites,” she reminded me with a whisper. I nodded and let her carry me out of the pool, wrap me in a towel, and took me over to where a picnic table was setup by the back door. “Your parents had joked they had a fish, but I didn’t believe them until I saw you swim,” Grandpa Joe said with a twinkle in his eye as he brought me with a smaller chunk of a huge sausage and a mini burger. “I keep telling them, I’m not a fish, I’m a dolphin…” I rolled my eyes. Bella for her part laughed at my response. I noticed then that Megan had shown up as planned and came to sit down next to me. As she sat down, I leaned over and gave her a hug, “Hi Megan!” “Eew… I have fish water all over me now!” she joked before tickling me a moment and hugging me back. I just stuck my tongue out at her, “I’m surprised you’re not at the movie night event tonight?” I asked. She shrugged, “I went my first couple years, they’re okay – not that great.” “You still live in the dorms though?” I asked. “Yeah, even with Mom and Dad being so close to the campus I prefer my space?” She said. “Besides, my full-ride covers it.” I nodded and talked with her for a few minutes before Granny waved at me from across the table. “So, with everything going on, I never had a chance to hear how you did on your test Stacy?” she asked. “It went well,” I said, “I tested out of four semesters of math, but I’m going to only skip two to be safe.” “You did well enough to skip four semesters?” Megan looked at me like I was an alien, “But littles don’t do well with math…” She paused, “Hell I had to take the remedial math before beginning Calculus…” I shrugged, “I’m sure some actually do Megan, you just don’t hear about them because their parents keep them too busy at daycare… Plus I’m from the other dimension and we don’t have bigs there – we are the bigs and littles.” “It must be a really nice place,” Bella told me, “I don’t understand why you would ever leave it. Your computer test scores?” “Umm… perfect?” “Perfect as in good?” Megan asked “Perfect as in the perfect score,” Amanda said, “almost ended up getting her into a lot of trouble by doing that well actually.” “You have to be careful Stacy; you’re going to have a lot of bigs who will feel threatened by you. They may not be able to adopt you, but they can find other ways to humiliate you…” Bella advised. I nodded as I took another bite of the ginormous sausage. Dinner shifted to other topics and I watched Amanda behaving quite nervously as I think she was waiting for a sign that her long lost baby sister would give her a call. ‘I can’t imagine the hurt she felt, and the new hurt she probably feels… I can’t imagine Hannah having lived through Chloe and Cassie much longer though if Chloe already almost killed her. She seems to have been a monster all of her life…’ “Earth to Stacy?” I heard along with a poked from Megan. “Huh?” “Grandpa was talking to you sweetie,” Amanda said to me. I looked up at him, “Sorry, what were you saying?” “Are you done eating?” I looked down at an empty plate of food and nodded, “Yes sir.” “Come on then, we need to talk about your schedule,” he said as he picked me up and put me on his side. Given the fact that I barely came up to his knee with the top of my head it was a long way up to his level. He put his elbow below my swimsuit covered rear and carried me inside to the nursery and sat me down on the floor. I dug through my bag and handed him my schedule, “Here it is.” He looked at it and seemed to think some before grabbing a phone from his pocket and comparing schedules. “Okay, I think I’ll have your Granny pick you up from your little seminar on Tuesdays, and your class on Thursdays to bring you to my studio. We’ll have a bit over an hour before my first class comes in after school lets out for us to train you by yourself. I’ll probably have you join that next class too since it’s one of my elementary classes…” “Is that a good idea?” I asked. “They’re all bigger than you, but you should be okay. It’ll also help you learn control to only do enough to stop, not permanently injure or kill someone.” I nodded, “Umm… I would normally probably not feel like I’m in a rush to fight, but given everything these last couple days… any hints on how to fight off someone your size?” He nodded, “Unfortunately your options at your height are limited. Normally most littles are at least a foot or more taller than you… Still you should be able to punch up at my knees?” He motioned for me to try. I slow motioned a fist forward and could just make contact there, “It’s a stretch though?” “Well it’s the first place you should probably attack because if you can knock the person hard enough then they can’t chase you. Until we get you fully trained, you’ll just have to aim to disable and then evade them… Kind of like you did with my daughters and that lady. Most of us are not going to like seeing a little kidnapped from their adopted family. Just managing to scream and keep out of reach for a limited amount of time should allow help to get here.” “Where else is vulnerable?” I asked. “I’ve known some of the little operators to go for ankles. If you can kick hard enough you can injure someone there. The other option is if you have a knife you can cut through calf muscles or maybe even bury the knife into the back of the knee…” I nodded, “I don’t have a knife though…” “I’m going to find one for you that we can conceal on your body somewhere. “With my diaper being a constant target to change… clothing that can be easily taken off… it there anywhere safe to hide something?” He shook his head, “It won’t be easy, but something where you would wear like a bra, a shoe, or maybe on your back is what I’m thinking. The shoe would be my first choice, but your feet are so tiny though it’s going to be tough. I’ve got a friend though who I’m hoping can help out.” “Thanks for all of your help,” I told him. “You’re welcome… if something happens to you or Bella, I’m pretty sure my daughter wouldn’t know what to do.” I nodded, “I’d hate that for her too…” “So, I’ll see you on Tuesday… we might try and see if your mommy can’t get you to me this weekend sometime too. Plus, there’s the Sunday lunch that you’ll be coming to again.” I tried not to make a face, but failed, “I know, my daughters are a pain in the rear. Hang out with Bella though, don’t abandon her just in case they try something on her…” I nodded, “thanks for the advice. I’ll do so.” Amanda came in then with Bella and an odor that I knew meant she had to have gone poopy in her diaper. Bella looked mortified about it, and tears were obviously streaming down her face… I couldn’t blame her. “You two get it figured out?” Amanda asked as she stripped the swimsuit off Bella. “I think so,” Grandpa told her, “Tuesdays and Thursdays I’ll have your mom pick her up and bring her to the studio. She can stay with us until you or Fred get off then to pick her up.” “That works I think,” Amanda said. “Still trying to figure out what to do with Bella…” “Could she stay with you?” I suggested. “In the classroom?” Amanda asked back. “Take a playpen and something for her to do? You could say she has to be close so you can nurse her? You hate bottle feeding?” I suggested. Bella looked at me as she was sat up from the changing table completely naked. “That might be worse than daycare…” Bella said. “Stacy, let’s talk more in the bathroom. Why don’t you come take your bath with your sister tonight?” I nodded and she added, “Go ahead and take your swimsuit, swim cap, and swim diaper off.” Before I did so I took a second to use the swim diaper since I hadn’t gone in a while. It started to leak a bit before absorbing most of the urine. I pulled everything off and looked for a robe… before admitting she probably expected me to take a naked stroll into the bathroom. I obliged her, feeling my body fully blushing by the time I hurried in through the doorway, and found her just lifting Bella into the tub of less water than she used with me. I sighed in disappointment at the shallow water as she lifted me in. As she sat me down next to Bella, I could see she blushed as brightly as I was. Amanda washed Bella first as I watched, “What do you have tomorrow Stacy?” Amanda asked. “Those two Little’s seminar sessions. The first is nine-thirty to eleven, and then one to two in the afternoon. There’s also that sorority event I was invited to at I think four-thirty?” “Are you sure it’s a good idea to go to that?” Amanda asked me. I shrugged, “As long as I can nearly get kidnapped while walking right next to you on campus, I’m pretty sure I can also run into trouble anywhere?” She nodded, “I guess you’re right…” Bella asked, “Aren’t you scared they’ll get you?” as Amanda moved on to wash me. I shrugged as the soapy mitt met my shoulder blades, “We’ve done everything we can to make it to where I can be found if I do get kidnapped.” I held up my watch, “Mommy when are you getting one for Bella?” “Tomorrow after we drop you off,” Amanda told me, “while you’re in class I figured we’d run and buy one of those for her. I also need to go buy some more diapers for both of you.” As she washed me, she asked Bella, “So you would rather go to daycare than be with me in the classroom?” I sighed as she massaged my body as well as washed it and I couldn’t deny that it felt nice while I was curious for her answer. “Could I stay with Granny?” Amanda looked thoughtfully on that, “Maybe… problem is she might want to go see the other grandkids and you might get stuck around Chloe or Cassie… and that’s risky.” Bella sighed, “Is daycare terrible?” she actually asked me. I shrugged, “I have no idea Bella, I’ve never been.” “Oh, right…” she said with a frown. “I guess maybe could I try daycare? And if it doesn’t work maybe you take me to work?” Amanda sighed, “It’s probably the best option… I’ll try and find a place where you won’t be bullied too much. The university has one for faculty… but since it’s geared towards getting college kids prepared for their new lives once they’ve flunked grown-up life, I’m not sure it would be pleasant.” “What about the hospital?” I asked just before she dumped a cup full of water to rinse my hair. I spat out a bit of soapy water that went into my mouth. Bella giggled at me and I stuck my tongue out at her before preparing for another cup to hit my head. “It might be better actually… Daddy does have free daycare as a perk with his job. We could try both I guess and see which one you’re more comfortable at. I’ll also research if there’s any others that are better to littles… You won’t need to go until at least next week though no matter what,” Amanda told her. “I might even take off more leave if I need to since my maternity leave allotment started anew Saturday with you.” She eventually had gotten us both cleaned up and said, “I’d love to have you both stay in the water all day, I know that’s what Stacy wants, but let’s get you dressed and we’ll watch a movie with your Aunt Madison.” “What about Granny and Grandpa?” Bella asked. “They had to go home already,” Amanda told her. “Oh…” “Granny said she might come back over if she can get ahold of Hannah…” Amanda’s world was still completely rocked by the new information so I leaned over and hugged her leg. She returned it as Bella said, “Good, I hope she does…” I got the feeling that Bella had started to bond to Granny that day, as she already seemed pretty attached to her. Learning she wasn’t a completely psychotic little kidnapping monster may have helped her feelings there too. Amanda picked Bella up first, and then me, while wrapping us in towels. She stood both of us on the countertop and handed us toothbrushes with toothpaste on them to brush. I brushed longer than Bella before spitting it out into the sink and rinsing with the cup Amanda offered. She pulled the swim caps off of our heads then and kissed both of us and ran her fingers through our hair. “Let’s go get you girls in your diapees and jammies and we’ll go watch that movie!” Amanda lifted us both by our rears onto either side of her and carried us to our nursery. She sat me down on the ground and went to diaper Bella first. “Silly girl, couldn’t wait until I could get your diapee on?” She said a moment later. Bella started sniffling, “I’m sorry… I didn’t even feel it…” “Shh… it’s okay, it’s what we expect to happen, remember?” Amanda must have slid a pacifier into her mouth as she pulled out the wet towel from under her and replaced it with a diaper. A moment later she was dressed in a pink footed-sleeper with white polka dots and a cute little monkey in a dress peeking out from the side. The monkey had a tiara on and I almost ‘awwed’ out loud myself, but was afraid I’d end up in a matching outfit! Amanda sat her down on the ground and picked me up to put me on the changing table. The towel I had wrapped around my body was quickly removed and my ankles were in the air as she slid one of the pink princess diapers under my bottom. “Why not my regular Pampers?” I asked her. “We’re sitting and watching a movie anyway, it’s not like you’re moving around?” She countered, “Besides you did fine earlier?” I sighed, “I guess…” She left me buckled on the table for a second and returned with a purple version of Bella’s footed-sleeper. I started to frown, but she tickled me, “I saw that smile when you saw what Bella was wearing. You thought it was just as cute as I do!” I giggled uncontrollably until she stopped, I sighed, “Okay, yes, it is cute…” Dressed, she brushed out both of our hair before she gathered us in her arms to go back downstairs and to where some blankets had been placed facing the TV in the living room. “I thought maybe we’d watch a movie in the backyard on the new glass?” She shook her head, “Not until things calm back down…” I nodded and smiled as Megan walked in holding a massive bowl of popcorn and two bottles of juice. Soon I found myself in Megan’s lap watching some bizarre version of Mean Girls where a four-foot tall little is somehow made popular at school. She somehow ended up with a bunch of huge Amazonian cheerleaders as her ‘friends.’ Occasionally Megan would bite off the edges of the popcorn kernel and feed me the middle puffy part while we watched… I could remember my mom doing that with me when I was little too… I tried not to think of the germs she was sharing! In the end there was a lot of laughter from Amanda, Megan, Bella, and I… at least until the end of the movie when I felt my blood turn into ice. Instead of being some sort of learning moment of morals at prom, the little is seen jumping into the sweet nerdy girls’ arms, and asks her to be her mommy… Someone gave the nerdy girl a diaper and a moment later the dress was gone and a naked little in only a diaper was shown smiling happily as she was bounced in her new teenage mothers arms as they danced around the prom. “That was…” I had just said when the TV paused in the credits and showed that someone from Grandpa Joes house was video calling. Amanda did something and Granny showed up on the screen, “Hi Mandy, what are the girls doing up still?” “Movie night Mom, remember? We just finished it and I was going to be putting the girls to bed…” “Oh, that’s right… I guess Bella did have a nap today, Stacy should be exhausted though by now?” I shrugged, “I’m fine actually…” She shook her head, “Anyway, I called to let you know I got ahold of Hannah just now. Do you want to video conference with me too, or just with her?” I looked up at Amanda who was kind of shaking, “With you?” “I thought so… here, let me get her on too then.” As she began pushing buttons on her side I stood up and sat down on her lap next to Bella. She trembled as she wrapped us both in a large hug and the face of an older woman came onto the screen. She had gray hair and looked to be in her late forties or fifties, but I knew she had to be around sixty since she was twenty years older than Chloe. She looked surprised for a moment before smiling, “Mandy?” Chapter 10: Hard Truths “HANNAH?” AMANDA ASKED still obviously shocked to learn that her ‘sister’ was still alive! “Yes, it’s me… You grew up!” Amanda laughed, “You didn’t I’m guessing.” “No, but I’m on an island of people our size, so it’s normal… You… umm…” she looked with her eyes at Bella and I. “This is Stacy,” she said putting her hand on my head and brushing her fingers through my hair, “and this is Bella.” “Hi girls,” Hannah said with a bit of a sour look on her face. “Hi Aunt Hannah, it’s nice to meet you,” I said. “I’m here willingly, Amanda didn’t kidnap me… she’s just my temporary Mommy while I go to school at Emerson.” Hannah looked a little startled then, “She’s able to go to school?” Then she shook her head, “Preschool doesn’t count…” “No, she’s going as a college student Hannah. Since she’s my adopted little I can decide to let her go to school wherever I want.” “But…” “I’m from the other dimension,” I told her. “I was scared to stay in the dorms since I know they’re practically little mills. I managed to find Amanda and her husband to take me in as an exchange student. I’m going through orientation week right now,” I told her. Fred popped by just then, “I’m Fred, her husband,” he told her, “I’ve heard a lot about you over the years and am glad to know you are alive for her sake.” He hugged Amanda, “I’m going to bed,” he told her and gave her a kiss. “Can you take Bella up with you?” She suggested. “Grab a bottle and warm it up on your way.” “Sure!” He said and took her while Hannah watched on. “Hi, I’m your baby sister I guess,” Megan said a moment later with a wave reminding us she was there. “Baby sister?” Hannah asked, “Oh, right… you must be Megan.” “Yes, I know we never met… but I’m glad to hear you’re alive too.” She paused, “and don’t worry about us telling Chloe or Cassie!” She leaned over and gave Amanda a hug where she held me and said, “Why don’t I take Stacy upstairs now too and you two can catch up. I need to go back to the university and keep unpacking into my dorm anyway.” I looked at Amanda’s eyes streaming tears as she hugged us both and handed me to Megan. Upstairs she whispered, “I always wondered too… but I never had the guts to ask Mom and Dad about it.” She hugged me, “Thanks for doing that for Mandy, she was always heartbroken about Hannah as I grew up.” I smiled at her, “It was just a mystery to me that needed solved…” She laughed and we saw Fred was sitting down with Bella in the rocker and placing the nipple of a bottle he held into her mouth. “So, you have a brand-new big girl bed I see,” she kidded me quietly. “Now if only we could just get you to not be afraid of the potty monster!” she had squeezed my padded bottom through the pajamas and could tell I needed a change. “But everyone keeps telling me the potties are scary? One person told me they just flush littles down the drain…” I told her with smile. “I do use my potty though for poopies!” I reminded her. She hugged me and then laid me down on the changing table and unzipped the sleeper from the shoulder to my right foot. After pulling my legs free she pushed the sleeper underneath my back and ripped the tapes from my diaper. The fluids I’d drank during the movie had really only made a small dent in the padding, as such it was still mostly dry. I was glad she still changed it though, since it had begun cooling and not felt as comfy. When she was done taping the new one on, she gently zipped me back up, and laid me down on my bed. I noticed as she stood up that Megan’s shirt was spotting like Amanda and watched her grimace. “Guess I’ll have to go borrow one of Mandy’s pumps before I leave…” knowing I knew what it meant. “You could nurse Bella?” I told her quietly. ‘Or me…’ I whined in my head. “Not this time,” she told me with a peck on my forehead as she pulled the covers up and handed me my dolphin to cuddle. “Night Stacy,” she said and left the room. I lay in bed then as Fred gently rocked back and forth with Bella until she finished the bottle that he held for her. I was tired enough that I actually was drifting away as he laid her down in the crib, turned off our light, and gave me a quick kiss goodnight. SOMETIME LATER IN the night I heard screaming and jumped up quickly out of bed! It sounded like someone was being physically tortured then! I frantically searched for the source of the threat, before I realized it was Bella crying. I looked over at where she was standing at the bars of the crib and felt bad for her. I was just about to get up to walk over to the crib when Amanda came in bleary eyed and turned the light in the room up slightly. She looked at me briefly and then walked over to Bella and picked her up out of the crib. “Oh, did you wake up messy?” She asked her as she hugged her and cuddled her for a moment before walking over to the changing table. “Ni…” she struggled, “night…” she hiccoughed, “nightmare…” “It’s okay, you’re safe baby,” she told her as I decided to roll over and try and sleep. I heard the ripping of tapes as she changed her diaper and then moved to the rocking chair to try and calm her down. “I think…” she paused and sniffled, “I lied about some stuff… I think I know why they might be after me?” I sat up at that statement and stared in curiosity at the rocking chair where Amanda asked, “What do you mean?” “My parents’ story is almost the same as what Hannah went through… they were both scientists, barely betweeners, and one day were just gone… I kept calling and finally guessed they were adopted when their house was repossessed… I’ve never seen them again. I would even have preferred to have seen them in someone’s stroller and at least know they’re okay… like I’ve seen some of my friends who were taken…” “What were they working on?” Amanda asked her as I grabbed my bear and squeezed it tightly while I sat still, quietly eavesdropping. She sighed, “I don’t honestly know… just that it involved nanites. The only thing I know is that Dad said one time that there would be a way to make me grow out of being a little at least…” “What were your parents’ names?” “Jacob and Samantha Drexler,” Bella replied. “I think I met them once…” Amanda said with some surprise, “They were both really smart but constantly looked nervous…” “Sounds about right… Mom and Dad had both just barely kept themselves free most of their lives. Mom had actually been stuck back in diapers by her own parents for a couple years in middle school…” she giggled, “I used to laugh when my grandparents would give her a hard time about it.” “Are they still alive?” Amanda asked. “No, they passed away while I was in high school. They were Bigs, while Dad’s parents were also betweeners who passed away while I was little.” “Sorry,” Amanda said sincerely. “That’s life,” she said sadly. “At least I can hope my parents are still alive out there somewhere…” “So why do you think the Trelini’s would be after you?” “A few years before they disappeared, they started getting really jumpy about something. Mom was the computer programming side of their team – you and she would get along really well – and I guess she was worried about Dad’s research on the actual nanites getting into the wrong hands. Two years ago, she convinced me to let her put a chip in my arm that would unlock their system once every other week when I came to visit them. Without that visit the system would lock up and be impossible to decrypt.” “How long had it been since you visited them when you discovered they were gone?” Amanda asked gently. “I had just talked to them the night before I was supposed to visit… and found the front door ajar when I came home. As soon as I saw stuff looked like it had been ransacked, I backed out and left… “ “Why didn’t you stay and call the cops?” Amanda asked gently. She laughed, “I was an orphaned little at that point?” She wheezed, “I would have been taken to an orphanage right then and there.” Her words became strained and devolved into sobs then. The last thing I really understood was, “They must know I’m the key to whatever they were researching… you have to let me go…” I heard Amanda pat her back and gently soothe her for a long time, while I thought through the implications of what she said. ‘It sounds like her parents were into similar research as Amanda…’ I thought for a long while about what she had said and wanted to get my computer out to see if I could figure out if her parents were well known. After a long while the sobs transformed into slow breathing, and Amanda stood up laid her on the changing table for a minute. I heard rips of tapes and then the zipper of her sleeper getting zipped back up. Her eyes fell on me then and asked, “Need a change?” I nodded and she quietly sat Bella in her crib before picking me up, changing me, and sitting down with me in the rocker. She rocked me back and forth and said, “You probably want to know about their research as much as I do…” I nodded as she continued to rock me and put a pacifier in my mouth. “We’ll figure it out,” she said and began humming softly to me. I wouldn’t believe that my brain could shut down after all of that, but I quickly found my eyes fighting to close and let myself drift into sleep. THE NEXT MORNING was there before I knew what hit me. Amanda prodded me awake, “Morning Princess, you had asked about starting your day with swimming… Do you want to do that today?” The fog in my brain made me take a moment while the words rolled around a bit inside my head before I sleepily nodded. I stretched out on my bed and then sat up and held my hands out to her. She carried me to the changing table, stripped my pajamas off of me, took off the dry diaper, and dressed me in a swim diaper and my swimsuit. “Daddy will watch you swim. You’ll have about half an hour,” she told me as she padded down the stairs. Fred waited downstairs and I was passed over to him while the two of them kissed over the top of me. “Icky,” I kidded them. Fred just tickled me briefly though and grabbed a cup of coffee, his tablet, and carried me out to the pool. He sat his stuff down before quickly spraying me with sunscreen and then just tossed me into the pool. I swam to the surface, stuck my tongue out at him, and then began swimming laps. The repetitive motion of my arms and legs was a good way to wake up as I pushed myself to swim faster to see how many laps I could do. Over and over I tumbled at the sides and thought over what Bella had told us last night. ‘She’s like a living cipher…’ I mused. ‘I wonder if Amanda will beat me to figuring out how it works… She definitely has more free time to work on it!’ Now it made perfect sense why the mafia wanted her. The news that she didn’t really know what happened to her parents, and had lied about knowing the reasons before, made me kind of nervous though that maybe she was still lying. ‘She really didn’t know us then, so I guess I don’t blame her…’ I thought. Being able to get inside and program nano-technology, specifically the ones inside of me seemed like a good thing to be working on. I sighed as I turned over and went to the other side of the pool on a new lap again. ‘Little Legal Rights’ I scoffed to myself as I continued swimming remembering that was the first of the seminars I had to go to today. From what I could gather it seemed like there really weren’t many legal rights for littles. All of the laws seemed to only lead to a life of diapers and abuse for most littles. While I didn’t mind the diapers and the babying, I at least knew I had ‘parents’ that didn’t see me as a pet to abuse. Not to mention a future if I could get back to my home dimension after this crazy adventure! After a while I noticed a shadow over my touch spot on the wall and drifted to a stop looking at Amanda now fully dressed for the day. “Come on my little fish, you need to take a quick shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, and get to the school.” I nodded and crawled to the edge of the pool and pulled myself over the edge. She was prepared with a blanket and practically swaddled me in it. A quick kiss to my forehead and she squeezed me tight to her. “I really do love you Stacy,” she told me. “Love you too, Mommy,” I told her with a smile. She carried me up to the bathroom and quickly stripped the swimsuit from my body. The diaper quickly followed and I was shaking at the cool air from the air conditioning. I watched as she started the shower and made sure it was a good temperature before setting me inside and grabbing the shower nozzle. Amanda handed me the nozzle, “Hold this for a second,” she said as she reopened the shower curtain and took it back from me. She handed me a loofa with some soap on it, “Here…” For the next ten minutes I showered as she held the shower head for me or occasionally used it herself to get into some spots like my rear. My hair was washed with shampoo and conditioner before she shut everything off and wrapped me in a towel. “Brush your teeth, then let’s get you dressed, breakfast, and head to school…” she said. “What time is it?” I asked a little concerned. “Just after eight, so we have about forty-five minutes and we need to be out the door…” she told me. In the end I barely had time to gulp a cup of coffee, eat the toast and oatmeal she gave me, before it she was carrying me with my backpack out to the car. As she buckled me in, she smiled and said, “We might need to wake you up earlier if you want to keep swimming in the mornings.” I sighed, but nodded as the clock said nine on the dot as we pulled away from our house. I absentmindedly poked at my diaper that was exposed under the summer dress. Somehow Amanda had convinced me that I wanted to wear the pale green checked dress because it was going to be so hot today. It was a near thing with diaper exposure when I was standing… but it was even worse when the straps of the car seat connected between my legs. I was grateful at least that Amanda thought a regular Pamper would suffice for the day instead of one of the thick pink princess diapers! Before long she pulled into her spot in the faculty lot and we walked hand-in-hand to a large brick building that looked more like a castle than a modern school building. The building was topped with a parapet wall that was outlined in white stone that contrasted the red brick below that made up the majority of the wall. Around windows and doors, the white stone was used again as a border, and I decided it was one of the most beautiful buildings on campus. I could just make out stained glass windows as we approached the entrance. From what I knew of the campus it was probably one of the oldest buildings at Emerson. I knew we were arriving at the right place because littles on ropes were behind and in front of us. “Good luck sweetie,” Amanda told me as she hugged me and then kissed me on the head. “I’ll see you at lunch,” she said reassuringly before I turned from her and followed the littles into a large lecture hall labeled ‘Destiny Hall.’ “Where’s your nest sweetie?” A kind looking girl asked me as I approached the doors. “Not sure, my mommy just dropped me off.” I groaned a bit at having used the babyish name for her. I watched the girls brain turn that over before she looked oddly at me and shrugged. “Who’s your nest mother?” “Miss Madison,” I told her. “There she is,” the girl said pointing behind me at the line of littles she tugged along. “Thanks,” I told her and waited for them to come over to where we stood. “Hi Stacy!” Madison said in a sing-song voice, “Ooh, you decided to wear the summer uniform today! I tried to get your nest mates to do that but none of them wanted to be as cute as you I guess…” she said. I groaned, “It was my mommy’s idea Miss Madison,” I told her truthfully. “Well it was a good idea!” She said bending over and patting my butt as she gave me a hug. “You’re so cute I could eat you up!” Another group passed us then though and it seemed to make her realize she needed to keep the group moving, “grab onto the end ring there Stacy,” she told me. I groaned and joined the human caterpillar of my nest and let myself be led into the large lecture hall. I looked around and saw the front of the room was covered from floor to the very tall ceiling with video screens that seemed to be some sort of electronic dry-erase boards. With all of them together it would make for an exceptionally large video screen, but seemed to currently be made up with separate panels that could be windowed with specific information. A slide showed in the middle section stating, ‘Welcome to Emerson - Little’s Legal Rights and Responsibilities.’ I was surprised to see a step stool being brought in and placed behind the lectern at the front of the room as we reached a set of seats in the second row of the large room. I opened my backpack and pulled out my booster seat. I caught several littles and Madison staring at me. “What?” I asked self-consciously, “I’m short…” Madison laughed and several of my nest mates giggled nervously. I climbed onto the boosted seat which let me just barely see over the top of the seat in front of us. In that chair a short littles head just showed their high ponytail sticking out above it like some sort of periscope. Laura leaned over, “Normally we avoid showing weakness of being a baby,” she explained to me. Her unboosted seat, still had her an inch above me since she was a bit taller. I shrugged, “For most of you that matters… I’m adopted, so what’s the point?” She started to say something and then thought better of it, “I don’t actually know,” she sighed. “At least I’m in panties today…” she whispered to me. I giggled, “Are you sure that’s a good idea after yesterday?” She looked nervous but nodded, “I’m being really careful what I eat and drink now,” she whispered in my ear like it was some sort of secret. I nodded and looked up as a video camera began showing the lectern up on one of the top parts of the massive screen. To my surprise a well-dressed, gray bearded little, in a suit walked up to the podium. “Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen,” he said as his voice came through an amplified system, “I am Professor Marshall, and it’s my pleasure to welcome you to our fine university!” The dichotomy of a little leading this lecture after I had watched so many horrific acts holding littles back the last few weeks was jolting to me. He reminded me of any older distinguished professor back home though, or even of the Amazon adults. There was no doubt in my mind that he was the oldest looking free little I had seen. There was a definite hint of padding on his rear as the camera switched views from overhead to side automatically. He seemed to have no fear of anything though as he confidently spoke. “I am a professor in the law school here at Emerson. My specialty is in law regarding Little’s Rights and advocacy for abused Little’s.” I heard a couple gasps and down the row heard I heard Esther kind of squeal in excitement and got the feeling she was excited to meet him. I thought the idea of a little lawyer was kind of cool, and figured if anyone knew how to avoid being adopted it was probably the lawyer. “At this time, I would please ask that Nest mothers and anyone who is not a freshman little please leave. There is a break room with doughnuts, coffee, and juice down the hall for you all to wait in.” I heard a mixture of grumbling and cheers from the Amazons as they made their way out the door. “Okay, now that you’ll feel more comfortable without them… Today my goal of speaking to you is to be blunt and honest about your futures. Each year at Emerson about three-hundred Littles attend the university’s first day of school across all of the classes. Your class has over a hundred-and-fifty that were signed up to begin. You’re already down to a hundred-and-twenty… To say that your likelihood of graduation is low, is a massive understatement.” Murmurs were made around the room at this and I nervously shifted on the boosted seat. “In recent years the biggest class Emerson graduated was twenty-eight littles. That was two years ago at the height of the new laws to protect us from unwanted adoptions. I say this not to scare you, but to make sure you are informed as you navigate your future. I want to help increase that number of graduating littles by you knowing about your rights.” A slide changed and listed a law, ‘Little’s who have enrolled themselves in a higher education institution are deemed to have turned over their power of attorney to the institution. The institution must give consent to any adoption, and must engage in well-regulated due process before consenting to the arrangement.’ I wondered suddenly if given the way the law was written, did the university still have that power over me? “This law is the first law that you need to be aware of and know by heart. It’s the only thing stopping a random Amazon from adopting you on the street, walking across campus, or in the dorms. So long as you have your student ID on you, the individual must go through the university in order to adopt you. The law states that in order for the university to give consent there must be a process to evaluate the need and demonstrate a clear case of maturosis. This comes back to your student handbook and the code of conduct you were informed of on the first day of orientation.” “Should you be forcibly removed from your surroundings without that process, your best bet is to go along with the situation until you reach the mandatory adoption clinic visit. At that time, you should present the ID as proof that you are a student and that the university should be contacted. By law even if you don’t have the ID, and tell them that you are a student, they should still contact the university. Given carrying the ID is within the student code of conduct though, you would be in violation of the code of conduct and the university will generally sign off on the adoption if you don’t have it.” A hand flew up in the front row, “But what if we have our ID and it’s thrown away by the Amazon kidnapping us?” He nodded sagely, “That’s an excellent question and a very valid worry. It’s another reason why wearing your uniform at all times is a good idea since the chip inside the crest has some information there for your defense. The only thing I can suggest at that point of being taken, is try and conceal it somewhere.” I sat there for a moment and knew that nothing would stop it if a giant just picked you up, stripped you, put you in a diaper, and carried you away. It was too easy to remove both the uniform and the ID. “There is also another option available,” he continued, “that is currently recognized in the courts, clinics, and hospitals. The bookstore sells these,” he held up his wrist and showed off a forest green wristband. “They’re only removable with special cutting tools that are illegal for most to own. They are the only way to remove them without damaging you and cutting off a limb. They contain your ID information and are considered legally the same as your student ID both by law and by the university.” I couldn’t help but wonder if the wristbands weren’t an Amazonian version of a star right then, as I knew every little, probably including myself, would be going to the bookstore to immediately buy one. “They’re not cheap, but they are well worth having for insurance purposes,” he said with a sigh. The next slide came up and talked about due process from the university with the handbook regulation that had been explained to us the other day. “As long as you’re a student, you should be okay then with the wristbands preventing you from being adopted unexpectedly. That just leaves the student code of conduct with the many ways to gain demerits to worry about…” He sighed, “There’s a limit to how much you’ll be able to avoid demerits. Truthfully only about three littles a year avoid any demerits at all, and half of you will have your ten and be done by December.” There was so much murmuring, that I wondered if he could get control of the room again, but I wasn’t surprised to hear that. He held his hand up and everyone got quiet again, “Your best bet is to follow the rules and be as agreeable with your professors as you can. If you can get cases of water, soda, and such off campus you’re better off. There are a lot of students who will take advantage of you if you leave a drink unattended. From what I understand it sounds like most of you already encountered some issues the other day after the barbecue outside. Being paranoid is your best friend here and elsewhere in life.” A hand went up in the air, “Yes sir,” he said pointing towards a boy I couldn’t see, but heard ask loudly. “If we’ve had a demerit is there any appeals process?” The professor shook his head, “Dean Sanders is the one who deals with discipline of littles and she is the final authority on any disciplinary action as well.” I heard him sigh, “Thanks.” “Sorry, any other questions on the code of conduct? I know they covered it pretty thoroughly your first day.” There were a couple others asked, but nothing that mattered or really were worth asking. He eventually nodded, “Okay, so… like I said earlier, the blunt truth of the matter is that most of you will not be graduating from here. Let’s talk about those of you who will not make it. The majority of you are going to find yourselves at odds with the demerit system. What happens then?” There was dead silence in the room. He had basically told everyone that there was little chance of escape, and that at least ninety of the littles in the room wouldn’t get past Emerson. He showed a picture of a daycare on the next slide… only there wasn’t a single real baby in the picture from what I could tell. “The university has a boarding daycare that such students are immediately taken to. Your belongings are placed into a storage area pending adoption down the road. Once your new ‘parents’ are selected they can decide what to do with it all. If you’re lucky those parents will keep any keepsakes you have from your family. Many will not though, and unfortunately the day you are placed in the daycare you are no longer allowed to make any of your own decisions.” He showed a slide with bullet points then ‘Your Process,’ it stated. “First thing you can expect to happen is you’ll be taken from the Dean’s office downstairs to be processed. You will most likely be in a diaper at this point…” he paused, “and maybe only that…” “Why are you supporting…?” One little shouted angrily. “I don’t,” he said quietly as someone shushed the little, “but don’t you think information is helpful here?” He drank some water out of a water bottle he pulled from his jacket. “Truthfully most of you only know rumors of what happens, right?” Everyone including me nodded, “so let’s get rid of rumors and give you some facts.” “Yes sir…” the girl who had objected said quietly “Once you’re taken from the office it’ll be a short walk to the campus daycare. Depending on your behavior going to the daycare, and whatever offense they punished you for, you will be treated differently when they take you in. If you want to have any chance of freedom someday, your best bet during this trip is to keep your mouth shut and not scream. Cussing, screaming your head off, biting, or making threats will only result in them putting a lockable pacifier in your mouth… and those get painful in a hurry.” I rubbed my jaw sympathetically thinking about it right then, “Yes they do,” I whispered. Laura gave me a glance but I looked forward as he kept speaking, “By being a good compliant little, they usually won’t feel the need to treat your ‘maturosis’ as excessively. The more offensive you are during this time… well more than likely they will decide to remove your teeth, the ability to speak, walk, or even crawl.” There were a ton of gasps then as people pictured that happening. I pictured my ‘cousins’ in my mind and felt a bit of urine escape into my diaper. “How is that legal…?” One person asked. “Good question,” he responded. “Unfortunately, it is fully endorsed by the psychiatric and medical communities currently,” the professor answered. “It should be seen as completely wrong and inhumane, but the simple fact is that it is completely legal at the present time. Once you’ve been labeled as having a case of ‘maturosis’ and needing re-raised, you have to know any of those things can happen.” “So just shut up and be a good baby?” Natasha fairly spat. He nodded, “I know that sounds stupid, but during that time that’s your safest bet. The more you fight the younger you’ll be treated. It’s not like you’re going to manage to fight off an Amazon for long… Understand that the university makes money off the adoptions for their endowment. Littles are mostly directly adopted from the daycare to rich donors. They will only adopt out the compliant ones though. Those that fight and behave poorly are going to be sent to a couple etiquette centers that support the university endowment in exchange for having you to sell themselves.” “It’s slavery,” one boy spat somewhere behind me. “Yes, it is, and I hope that someday we find a way to end it,” Professor Marshall said with a sigh as he pulled his glasses off his face to rub his eyes. “The eventual goal of both places is that you end up in the hands of a new set of parents. Those parents for the most part will be fairly wealthy. This is because many believe that university students make much better littles. If you didn’t fight, and didn’t end up in an etiquette center, make sure you do your best to form a bond with the new parents as soon as you can. Don’t fight them at all as it will make your life much less painful. Most that adopt won’t abuse you for the sake of abusing you. They’ll mostly only engage in that behavior in retaliation so that they get a ‘good baby’ and properly treat your maturosis.” He sighed, “I’ll come back to that in a moment. For those that end up in an etiquette center there’s not much you’re going to be able to do to fight anything. You most likely will at least be hypnotized. It’s also likely other physical modifications will also be made to you, but again the less you struggle the better off you’ll be. Understand that there is no realistic escape from an etiquette center. Between the Amazons who will have no problem containing you, and the many robotic nannies they use, escape is all but impossible. When you get adopted if you still have anything left upstairs do your best to again behave.” “But if you behave all of this time, you’re still stuck being a baby doll for some crazy person?!?” One little asked with alarm. “You’re still being treated like a baby, but hopefully you can avoid the mental and physical modifications then. If you can form a bond with a parent then you are more likely to convince them that maybe you can grow up and be on your own someday.” “Is there any line that’s too far? Can they just do whatever they want to us?” I heard a worried Laura ask next to me. “Yes. The Little Protection Services exists theoretically to watch out for abuse. Many times, if they find out a little is left alone frequently without a caregiver, not being fed, being neglected, etc. then they will pull the little from the home. Sometimes that ends up meaning foster care or another etiquette center. Usually if LPS gets involved you have to know it’s bad though, and you’re probably better off even in the etiquette center.” “Umm… how long… how long are we stuck like that?” One girl nervously asked. Several littles snickered rudely which she calmly added, “I’m not from the mainland… we don’t have Amazons where I’m from…” “Possibly for the rest of your life,” the professor answered honestly. “Assuming you are given all of the hypnotic triggers, you probably won’t even notice… Especially if you fight it right away the answer is a very long time. Often times though if you’re good you’ll find your new family is at least willing to consider you might be worthy of growing up as they eventually tire of diapers and feedings. Unfortunately, throughout any time that you are adopted, or taken as a ward of the state, you are essentially given the legal standing of a baby less than a year old. The court doesn’t recognize your right to speak for yourself in any way.” He looked at his watch and said, “I don’t have much more time. I do want to let you know that if you are in a situation and you are legitimately being abused your best bet is to tell an adult at your daycare, or a doctor or a nurse. They may be your only hope of help due to the requirements that they report suspected abuse. Any other questions?” A hand nearby went up, “How did you stay free?” the girl asked from out of sight. He laughed, “I didn’t. I survived college, got my law degree, and a client kidnapped me two months later. Fortunately, I followed the advice I gave you and was eventually able to reason with them that I was mature enough to be potty trained, and eventually was freed… I spent eight years as their little baby boy before being free now for the past twenty.” He sighed, “Even now I follow a strict policy of making sure I wear protection just in case someone gets handsy with me. Remember the way the law is written once you’re out of school, is that you’re mature if you chose to wear protection - even if it’s not dry or clean. If you aren’t wearing that protection and you’re busted with even a little bit of a skid mark in your underwear, or a few drops of urine in your panties… You won’t be free anymore.” The room was somber and silent until a loud bang happened in the back as the doors opened and the nest mothers strolled back down. I looked at my watch and realized it was already eleven. I stood up and put my portable booster seat back into my backpack. “At least you don’t have to worry about all of that,” Laura said to me quietly. There was a deep sadness to her voice. I shrugged, “who knows what can happen in this crazy town… Maybe you won’t need to worry about it either,” I told her. I didn’t believe that though, she’d already had a close call with the dirty diaper yesterday. I was a little surprised she would take a risk like not wearing one so soon after that disaster… Chapter 11: ‘Options’ I GRABBED AHOLD of the rope as Madison led us out, but was relieved to see Amanda waiting for me. She stood next to Fred who was holding Bella and lightly bouncing her up and down. Bella was dressed in a very babyish yellow dress with a ruffled scoop neck. I could see there was a set of attached bloomers covering her diaper. The frilly bloomers showed around Fred’s hands where he supported her by her bottom. Amanda asked, “Ready for lunch?” I followed her as I could hear growing murmurs of shock from my fellow littles. I ignored them and nodded, “Where are we going?” “There’s a restaurant nearby that a lot of doctors go to for lunch with good sandwiches?” Fred said tentatively. I smiled, “Sounds good!” I walked with them a little way until we were out of sight of the littles heading to the cafeteria. Amanda must have been waiting for that, because she picked me up and sat me on her hip, and began walking faster than I would have been able to. I leaned into her and squeezed in the best hug I could manage then knowing how fortunate I was right then. She squeezed me back gently. I think she knew I was upset about something as she patted my back gently. When we’d made it a block down the road away from campus she asked, “Everything okay?” I shrugged, “Nothing new, just a really depressing session,” I told her honestly. “Who ran it anyway?” “Professor Marshall?” I said. “Oh… That’s really cool,” Bella said from Fred’s arms having heard me. “Why?” “He’s the biggest advocate for littles civil rights out there. I can’t imagine a session with him being depressing?” She said confused. “Well he was being pretty blunt about what the majority of littles in the room should expect in their futures,” I told her. Her eyes opened, frowned, and then she nodded, “You’re right, that would be depressing…” Neither Amanda, nor Fred really tried to pry anything else out then. Instead I sat and listened as Amanda and Fred talked over lunch about what they were doing when they went back to work with Bella. I sat in a booster seat while Bella was in a highchair with a bib on. It was a novelty to eat outside of the highchair, and be without a bib. “Just in case another student comes in…” Amanda had whispered. I wasn’t sure what the point of avoiding babying me was, but I just went with the flow and was careful with my food. It was nice to be treated like a big kid at least! Apparently, they had toured the university daycare that morning with Bella. “It was awful,” Bella said quietly before taking another bite of an enormous pickle sliver she was holding. “I didn’t see a lot, but what I did see makes me agree,” Amanda said with a sigh. “It’s really just another etiquette school…” I nodded, “Sounds about like we heard earlier…” “What did he say about it?” Amanda asked curiously. I made eyes around the room, “I’ll tell you more later… but basically he walked everyone through the process if they get their demerits. The way he talked made me think the daycare here was more about breaking littles than taking care of them…” Bella shuddered and nodded as she took a bite of the pickle. “Well, we’ll go check out the hospital next I guess…” Fred said, “It’d be better if we could use one of the two because they’d be convenient for us.” “Yeah, but you don’t want her to be picked on all the time, right?” I said softly. “No, we don’t,” Amanda said. “You sure you don’t want to just come to class with me?” She shook her head, “Especially with my ‘big sis’ being in your class, it would probably make things worse for her.” I opened my eyes at that, but couldn’t help but think she’d be right. Just having other littles see her when I met up with them caused some stares and grumbling… “You may be right…” Fred spoke after a moment. I looked at my watch and said, “We need to start walking back if we’re going to get me back in time…” Amanda stood up then and picked me up out of the booster seat and sat me on her hip while Fred gathered the diaper bag and Bella. They set off at a pretty brisk walk back towards campus. Just as we came to the building Amanda sat me down on the ground and grabbed my hand to lead me back into Destiny Hall. “Destiny seems like a really terribly ironically named place to hold these seminars,” I told her as we approached the room. “It was renamed fifty years ago and supposed to be about the destiny of making it to the stars,” she told me in response. “But I agree… there are other halls.” She felt my diaper and said, “You need changed…” She looked at her watch quickly and pulled me along to the bathroom. “Let’s get you up on the table,” she said clearly a little stressed as she picked me up and put me on the changing table. I turned red as she reached for my backpack, grabbed wipes and a diaper, before pushing the skirt of my dress out of the way as I blushed. She had just pulled the tapes loose from my diaper when Madison and a couple littles from my nest walked in the door. “Go use the potties over there, let me know if you need help using the potty!” Madison said in a condescending voice before turning and making eye contact with me just as Amanda pulled the front of the diaper down. “Oh, hi Stacy!” She said with a squeal, “You’re such a cutie!” I grunted a ‘thanks’ as Amanda picked my ankles up in her hand and slid the wet diaper out and used a wipe on my bottom before setting me on a new diaper. If I thought I couldn’t get any redder, I was wrong as Natasha came out the door of the stall and made eye contact with me too. I turned my head in embarrassment and looked at the wall wishing I had a pacifier right then. “Oh Natasha, out already?” Madison said, “Let’s just check your panties and make sure you’re all clean!” I couldn’t help but look as Natasha had her skirt pulled up to her chest and panties exposed. Madison had her turn around and looked down the back of her panties before pulling her skirt down and saying, “Just a couple of drops that you missed, huh?” Natasha flushed red but didn’t answer. “Maybe training panties would be a good idea tomorrow?” Madison said, “Just a suggestion. It’s not like you need actual baby diapers like Stacy over there,” she reassured her. I bit my tongue then and as Amanda sat me down on the ground, I pulled my skirt back down. She washed her hands and then held me up to do so as well. We left before Madison and the two littles and she bent down and gave me a hug, “I’m sorry Stacy.” I shrugged, “I don’t know why it feels like such a big deal since I know every little is getting diapered at night and was yesterday…” She kissed me on the head, “Go into your lecture, I’ll be waiting when you get done.” “Don’t forget there’s that Lambda Delta Pi event this afternoon?” “You still want to go?” “If I may…?” “Hmm… Maybe I’ll see if Megan can actually pick you up from here and take you? You could hang out with her in her dorm… You have plenty of diapers?” She whispered the last part. I nodded, “I’m not making that mistake again…” “Okay, I’ll text you when I figure it out.” I looked around for Fred but Amanda said, “They waited outside, I’ll see you later,” she hugged me and left me to walk into the lecture hall where I found my nest sitting in the same spot. I had just managed to sit down on my booster when Natasha caught my eye and mouthed a ‘sorry’ to me. ‘Don’t worry about it,’ I mouthed to her with a shrug. At that point a large Amazon lady with the beginning of gray in her hair began speaking at the lectern. “Quiet down now boys and girls…” ‘She sounds like a kindergarten teacher…’ I thought to myself and found myself instantly annoyed and wondering what kind of future she wanted us to plan for. The slide for the session said, ‘Planning for the Future’ and had a smaller subtitle that said ‘Know Your Options.’ “Good afternoon,” she said to silence. “Oh, you can do better than that boys and girls! I said, good afternoon!” I found myself half-heartedly repeating it back to her a couple times with everyone before she was happy. “Now that’s how you properly greet someone! My name is Mrs. Beauregard, and I serve as the Director of Student Services and Job Placement for Littles at Emerson.” She paused as if wondering if she needed to use smaller words. The patronizing tone to her voice was painful to my ears. “My job is ultimately to make sure that all of you have a wonderful future when you leave Emerson. Today I would especially like to tell you about some of the choices you have as you move on with your lives. College is a very hard path for anyone, but littles often struggle more than our big students. Finals, loans, maintaining your GPA, course work, and even social situations often times bring our smaller students to tears. It’s sad, and when we see you struggle so hard, it makes sense that we offer you some other options in case you get in over your head.” No one dared to speak out against this speaker, but I could hear a lot of uncomfortable shifting in seats. The squeaking of the fold down seats moving up and down a little was a little annoying. She changed the slide, ‘Finding your way into a New Home.’ It showed a male and female little about our age being held by two smiling parents. The boy was in a onesie with a diaper proudly showing its edges while the girl was in a dress that seemed to be surreptitiously pulled up by her ‘mom’ just to show her thick purple diaper. The two ‘babies’ had disturbingly wide smiles that at least showed they still had their teeth. Both smiled at the camera as if they were the happiest babies that they could be, seeming to not have a care in the world about their lack of freedom! There was more shifting and now some muttering in the back with this slide. “Quiet now please boys and girls. Now I know some of you think that you’re really big boys and girls, but this is a great option for many of you! My office has a service where we help you get matched with a compatible family to adopt you to their loving home. We screen all applicants before they even get near any of our students. You also get a chance to have some input on whether you feel comfortable with one set of parents or not.” She selected the next slide that showed some facts about their adoptions and satisfaction, “We have a Ninety-Five percent satisfaction rate with our littles that go to their new homes. Our participants in the program always thank us for taking such good care of them and finding them their new loving homes.” A new slide said, ‘Benefits.’ “The benefits for a little participating are numerous! You won’t have to worry about those difficult math and science classes, you won’t have to pay another bill, you don’t have to worry about having a roof over your head, a bed to sleep in, or where your next meal is going to come from. Our adoptive families are given extensive training before adoption in how to care for your every need and give you a loving home.” The next slide said, ‘How to Enroll in Happy Griffins,’ and featured the smiling little girl from earlier with her head being dipped by the ‘dad’ who was goofing around and flinging her down so her pigtails flew through the air. “If this seems like something that interests you please understand you’re allowed to join the program up until you receive the ten demerits of disciplinary action. If you reach that point you are no longer eligible for our program. This is just a practical policy since you will no longer be a student at the university. Providing you begin the paperwork before that point you are then exempted from the demerits while we process your application. If this sounds like a fun and exciting future to you, then all that you have to do is come to our office and say you want to join!” ‘Process,’ was the next slide that showed with the boy now grinning from a swing in a park. “Once you join the program, we will move you to our dorm that is reserved just for our special participants! Our caregivers in the dorm will immediately help pack away anything you don’t need into storage for your new home, while also getting you used to your new future. You won’t have to worry about the potty monster anymore there, and you’ll get to sleep in a nice safe bed! While we’re waiting to find just the right family for you, your days will be spent relaxing and taking it easy with the other participants. You’ll no longer be paying tuition at this point and you’ll be off to easy street from then on.” ‘What a load of crap,’ I thought in my head. For the next twenty minutes she explained then how you would meet potential new families and in general join what I would consider the little mill… One little finally had enough and shouted, “This is bullshit!” Mrs. Beauregard looked at the audience and picked out the boy who had shouted. “Young man come up here now…” He stayed put but said, “No ma’am, I have a right to speak my mind freely - I’m still a free little.” She walked down to the chair he sat in and all of our eyes and heads turned to watch what I assumed was a coming train wreck. Wordlessly she went to him and picked him up under the arms, “Put me down!!!!!” She didn’t, and easily manhandled the squirming boy as she moved back to the front of the lecture hall and found a chair that was sitting there that she sat down in. Without saying a word, she yanked the boys pants down to his ankles and examined his regular underwear. “Hmm… some tracks in here, so you have poopy pants. You were a big boy before, but obviously that’s not the case now. Before you go to the Dean, I’m going to make sure you understand your new place.” Her hand began raining down blows on him over and over and over again. I internally reached thirty before I stopped counting and felt my eyes water in the thought of that much pain. He was a blubbering mess as she let him sit up and pulled off his clothes. I blushed at the sight of his naked body and felt terrible for him as she spoke to one of the nest mothers. She dug around in a bag before handing her a thick diaper covered in juvenile cartoon characters. She had him dressed in it quickly as his cries continued, “Go ahead and take him to Dean Sanders, let her know about his poopy pants, talking back to a teacher, and swearing. I count sixteen demerits there, so I guess we have our next student moving on. Tell her I think Tippy Toes is the best facility for him.” The silence as we watched him be carried out in just the diaper blubbering in pain was painful. As the door to the rear of the room slammed shut, I couldn’t help but think that so had the boy’s future. I’d have to go look when I got home, but I had a feeling Tippy Toes was an etiquette school… and probably not one you wanted to be in. “Well, sorry for the bad behavior of your classmate. Like I said many of you may find that volunteering to join our program may be in your best interests.” She spoke for a few more minutes but I think most of us tuned it out before finally changing to a slide about ‘Job Placement.’ “Now, many of you in here are perfectly capable of being big boys and girls and will be looking for a job when you graduate Emerson. We believe strongly in every one of our students leaving the university with a loving home or a great job. We have several services that help you locate jobs in your field that are willing to consider hiring littles for those jobs. We also help your future employers understand the grants and special financing options that are available to them through the government for taking on a little worker.” “We also understand some of you may be interested in starting up your own businesses and help with loan applications for that process.” She paused for a moment, and just from her demeanor it was obvious what she thought about littles and where they should end up. “Any questions?” There was dead silence, “Well in that case good luck to you all here at Emerson, and I wish you a successful future! Please come see me for any needs you have!” For some reason as she said that her eyes found me and narrowed. I smiled sweetly at her and then opened my bag quickly to see if Amanda had texted me. A quick glance said Megan should be waiting for me outside, and I smiled at the thought of hanging out with her for a while on my own. I joined the line that Madison was corralling us into to leave the building and take the other littles back to the dorm. As soon as we passed the door of the lecture hall, I spotted Megan who waved at me and came up to me. “What the hell are you doing here shrimp?” A nearby nest mother hissed at Megan. I watched in horror at realizing Megan’s short Amazonian frame was completely dwarfed by the tall girl who yelled at her. I swallowed my fear though to let go of the rope and began walking towards Megan anyway. The brown-haired Amazon seemed to be just a bit taller than Amanda, making Megan look like a little in comparison. Her body was very plump, with breasts that couldn’t seem to stay contained inside of her ill-fitting top. “I’m here to pick up my niece,” Madison said warily. “Oh, I thought maybe you figured out you should be joining the littles?” the girl said nastily. “I’m not the one that feels the need to move in with them? I’m in a big girl’s dorm.” Megan countered. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to pick up my niece… Unfortunately, I’m sure we’ll see each other in classes next week…” She chose that moment to pick me up protectively and held me on her hip, “Where are you going with her?” Madison asked testily having turned around to see her leaving with me now. “Ms. Madison, this is my Auntie Megan, my mommy asked for her to pick me up.” “That’s true?” Madison asked Megan. “Yep Madison, I’d stay and talk but I promised my sister we’d go take care of some things after I picked up my niece.” “What’s going on here?” Mrs. Beauregard asked as she came of the hall. “I’m trying to figure out what this runt is doing with a student little, since we all know that they can’t be adopted,” the large girl said. “I’m picking up my niece to watch her for my sister, Ma’am,” Megan said politely. “And you are?” She asked me. “Stacy Westerfield,” I told her. “Oh… you…” she said with a tone that made me more than slightly nervous after the last hour and a half. She looked at the large Amazon girl, “Did she confirm this was her aunt?” “Yes, she did,” Madison said to our side holding onto the line of our nest. “I know her mommy said it was okay for her to pick her up. I just hadn’t officially met her yet… Megan, right?” “That’s me,” Megan said nervously. “Well, we can’t all stand here all day, seems like everything’s okay, move along now.” Madison walked away then and I whispered, “Who is she?” “A conniving two-faced bitch,” she told me softly as we exited past the littles who stared at us for the confrontation and my position being carried by a short giant. I waved at a few of my new friends as she carried me away and down the sidewalks towards the dorms. “Let’s just say I’m really a betweener in height according to some of the girls I’m in classes with.” She hissed, “They think that means I might as well be a little then… Last year I helped tutor her when she was failing a math class. For some reason then she turned around and stabbed me in the back with a professor in another class and accused me of plagiarizing. If it wasn’t for Mandy, I probably would have been expelled…” “What’s her name?” “You mean two-faced bitch doesn’t count?” She laughed, and I had to giggle too. She was such a breath of fresh air since she wasn’t talking to me like I was a baby who it was inappropriate to swear near. “Nancy Dannigan,” she said, “avoid her at all costs if you can. By the end of the lasty year she had several of her girls from her nest openly breastfeeding from her in the cafeteria. Anytime someone questioned it, she said they asked her to… Let’s just say that’s not long before went missing to wherever it is littles get stolen away to…” “I’m not surprised,” I told her. She walked along for a few more minutes before saying, “So we have about an hour and a half to kill, what do you want to do besides change that wet diaper you’re wearing?” “Pour bleach in my ears so that I can forget everything I just heard in that seminar?” I said sarcastically. “That’s the one where they basically point out you’re better off letting yourself be adopted out, rather than continue as a student?” “You’ve been there for it?” “No, but I’ve made some friends with littles over the past couple of years and heard about it. It’s despicable and that woman is about as awful as anyone can get. I think she’s actually worse than Chloe and Cassie…” “That’s low,” I said, “but probably about right.” She gave me a squeeze and I watched passively as she carried me down the sidewalk to her dorm. Megan sat me down outside the doors and touched her keycard to the sensor before holding open the massive door for me. “Hey Megan!” a friendly voice said as we walked to an elevator. “Hi Raileigh,” she said in response and I looked to another fairly short Amazon. She was still taller than Megan, but definitely shorter than average. Her blonde hair was hanging from a messy ponytail and she seemed to have been working out. “Who’s this?” she asked curiously as she joined us waiting for the elevator. “She’s adorable!!!!” “Raileigh this is Stacy,” she introduced me, “Stacy this is my neighbor Raileigh.” “Nice to meet you,” I said politely. “You too… but who is she?” she asked Megan suspiciously. “Oh, my niece,” she told her, “she’s going to school here.” “Your niece…?” she asked. “My sister adopted her as a sort of exchange student deal.” “So, you mean she really is a student?” She asked curiously as she stared down at me. “Yes, I am,” I told her myself a little annoyed at being talked about. “Sorry…” she said bending down, “my only encounters with littles are my brothers at home… they don’t do much but drool, cry, poop and pee in their diapees…” I sighed, “I hope to make more of my life than that.” “Umm… You do know how small you are, right?” The girl asked in an incredulous tone. “There’s no way you’re going to graduate?” I smiled, “I will do it! I’m more than capable.” Megan picked me up then and hugged me, “She’s smarter than you would believe. She placed out of the first two semesters of math, she might even be in your calculus class actually, you’re taking the third semester again, right?” I watched the poor girl blush, “Yeah… Math is just not my strong suit…” She paused, “I’m sorry for mocking you there… Maybe we could study together sometime?” I smiled, “I’d be happy to if we can figure out how... You might have to come to my house.” “I’d like that… Megan’s a good friend of mine…” she paused as we reached a door that led to some other closed and locked doors, “I’ll see you later though.” Megan used her card key on a card reader panel and opened up a large dorm room with a single bed, desk, closet, and TV. I couldn’t help but smile at the princess pink theme throughout the room, complete with a glittery tiara decal at the head of her bed. “I didn’t realize you were a princess fanatic,” I told her with a smirk. “Obviously, since I am the baby of the family, I am the true princess,” she told me with her own smirk. “I’m guessing you don’t use those words too much around your sisters?” She shrugged as she picked me up and sat down with me on her gigantic bed, “I’m the baby sister and I know it. I also know I am short… But for the most part I’m never really that worried about it.” “Do you ever worry…?” “What? That they’ll really go ahead and decide to baby me?” Megan laughed. “I know, it sounds silly…” She shook her head, “Actually it happened once with Cassie when Mandy had moved out and Mom and Dad were gone for a weekend. I was ten and she was the only one around that could stay with me. I accidentally spilled a coke on her and she became livid. Next thing I knew I was in diapers and she was attempting to get me to drink out of a baby bottle.” “Where did diapers big enough to fit you even come from?” I asked. She shrugged, “I was still small enough then that I easily just fit in the largest size regular baby diapers. I guess she had a few in her car from babysitting a baby the week before.” “How’d you get out of that?” She smirked, “I gave her the baby she wanted and let loose a load in the diaper that made her puke. When she refused to clean me up, I said, ‘Guess I’m not being babysat anymore.’ I stood up, untapped the diaper, and shoved the mess on her shirt before I calmly walked back to my bathroom to take a shower.” “What did she do then?” “Once she got over her shock she began pounding on the door to my room. I ended up hiding in my room after the shower and called Mom to let her know about it…” “What did she say?” “She… wasn’t happy… let’s just say that was the last time Cassie was left alone with me.” I shuddered, “both of your sisters other than Amanda…” “I know, right?” She shrugged, “So we have about an hour before we have to go, anything you want to do?” I shrugged, “I hadn’t made it any further with planning. Plus, the afternoon kind of put a downer on any thoughts I might have had.” She looked at me for a second and smiled, “You don’t have your nails painted, do you?” I held my hands out to her, “Umm… no… kind of surprising actually given how girly girl Amanda likes dressing me.” She smiled, “Well, in that case it’s my solemn auntie duty to fix this terrible act of neglect!” I watched from my perch as she went to a drawer and pulled out a mini (to her) milk crate of nail polishes and tools. Before she sat back down next to me, she asked, “How’s your diaper doing?” I shrugged, “It’s wet…” “Do you want me to change it? I can let you do it too?” I looked at her for a moment before saying, “You’d be quicker?” She smiled and made quick work of it before beginning to work on my nails. She filed them to a round shape before she painted a base coat of forest green that matched the school colors. A yellow E was then carefully painted on my thumbnails, while she put some other little squiggles on the other nails. My hands were so tiny compared to hers, I considered her patience with the small details to be really impressive. “There, now you look cute!” She told me with a smile before glancing a clock on the wall. “And now it’s time to get you to that meeting too…” “Thanks Megan,” I told her and gave her a hug. “You’re welcome Stacy,” she said as she quickly put away her supplies. “That diaper still good?” I nodded, not having needed to go since she changed me. “Okay then, let’s go meet your friend.” She hustled me out of there with my backpack on and walked quickly down to an area in the student union where meeting rooms were. A large sign outside the room said, “Lambda Delta Pi welcome party.” As Megan and I approached a girl at the front looked up angrily, “This isn’t a party for Bigs,” she told her. “She’s just escorting me here,” I told her calmly bringing her attention back to me. The girl was dressed wearing a nice dress and had a light white jacket on that had the Greek Letters ΛΔΠ embroidered on it. A gold pin was prominently displayed on her jacket. I guessed it was a sorority pin based on what little I knew about such organizations back home. “And you are…?” She asked. “Stacy Westerfield, Sarah Evans invited me?” “We’ll see about that…” she said suspiciously and called out, “Sarah?” Sarah came out shortly dressed similarly, “Hi Stacy!” before looking a little shaken at the short giant next to me. “Umm… I’m sorry, but Lambda Delta Pi is only for littles?” Megan laughed, “No worries, I’ll leave her here.” She looked at me and said, “Amanda should be here for you at five-thirty. If you need to leave before then, call me.” I walked over and hugged her as she leaned down and then walked back to the stunned expression of the girl. “Are you crazy?” The other girl asked a moment later, “she only wants to adopt you!” I laughed, “Somehow I think her sister wouldn’t be too happy with that.” Sarah laughed too, “Yeah, and she’s a lot bigger!” “What’s so funny?” the girl asked. “Relax Jess, we’re laughing because Stacy is already adopted.” “Then what is she doing here?” Jess the girl panicked, “she’s probably just trying to get dirt so her mommy can swoop in…” I held my hand up, “Stop, I’m not your average little, and my ‘mommy’ isn’t your average Amazon. I’m here as kind of an exchange student from the other dimension. I knew I didn’t want to live in the dorms and not have a chance of anything other than being a mindless baby in a nursery, so I found a pair of crazy Amazon parents to foster me while I’m here.” “You’re from the other dimension?” Her eyes looked me up and down, “Is that why you’re so tiny?” Sarah asked curiously. I shook my head and shrugged, “No idea what went wrong.” “Well, let’s try this again,” Sarah said with a sigh, “Jess this is Stacy, Stacy this is Jess. Jess is one of our senior members this year and she’s a bit paranoid about adoption this close to the finish line.” I nodded, “I can understand that…” “S… sorry,” Jess said sheepishly, “I’m just convinced everyone is against us.” “Well that’s the whole point of our sisterhood Jess.” “If that’s the whole point then why invite her?” She asked suspiciously. “I was wondering the same thing,” I asked curiously. “For that you would have to join, Stacy… Jess I’ll tell you later.” I looked up suspiciously, “Am I being setup for something here?” She shook her head, “we just hold the secrets of our sisterhood dear. Come on in and meet everyone,” she told me and ushered me forward to a room with little sized tables filled with hors d'oeuvres. With as short as I was it seemed like they were still adult tables compared to me. I watched Sarah bite into a loaded potato skin before considering if I would want to eat anything there. “It’s all safe Stacy, we prepared it all ourselves.” I shrugged knowing I didn’t have classes tomorrow anyways, and grabbed a few things. Plate in hand, I let her lead me around the room introducing me to their officers and about two-dozen members. It seemed like there were only a few sophomores that were members that were being sought after. I cornered Sarah after a while, “Why am I the only freshman?” Chapter 12: Taste “MOST OF THE time we give everyone a year to shake out if they’re going to be stupid and get adopted, or if they actually have a chance to survive until graduation.” “And me?” “You’re already adopted and safer than any of us will ever be…” she paused, “And, I liked how gutsy you were when I met you.” She smiled, “Not to mention you have really cute nails!” “Thanks, my ‘auntie’ did them for me earlier.” I continued circulating around the room after that and learned that the girls didn’t have a house to stay in obviously since they were littles, but that they were allowed to live on the same dorm floor next to each other. Somehow, they also seemed to have managed to avoid having too invasive of RAs babying them. One of the officers, Lisa, sat down with me and asked me some questions. “How did you do on your tests this week?” “Pretty good,” I told her. “Numbers?” I looked at her and got the feeling I was being evaluated as a piece of meat at a cattle show. It had been pretty apparent so far that I was being recruited by Sarah to become a member, but not everyone else seemed sure that the idea of an adopted little being around was a good idea. “Which test?” “Math placement?” “One-ninety,” I answered her. “Bull shit!” She said. I laughed, “Really, I’m good at math.” “No kidding, you’re telling me the truth?” She still looked dubious about my statement. I dug into my bag and pulled out the paper copy I had been given. My computer science placement test and CARE exams were right there too and she just shook her head, “Are you a robot from the future or something?” I giggled, “No, just a plain old little girl.” “So, what’s with your adoption? She… your… big is a professor, right?” I nodded, “And my adopted daddy is a doctor.” “And you’re okay with being adopted?” “It beats being taken off the streets? Or forcibly put into the daycare and orphanage here?” She nodded, “Yeah… so what happens if you end up demeriting out?” I shrugged, “I don’t honestly know, or plan to find out. Hopefully I would just be told I had to go back to daycare, but I suppose they could use that as a reason for LPS to take me away. I haven’t really considered it that much though.” “And how much… Umm…” “How much have I been babied?” She grimaced but her head went up and down. “Basically, everything they would do with a baby my size I’ve done, leave it at that?” “Including breastfeeding?” She asked with a hiss. “Yes…” “Currently?” I pouted unintentionally, “No… Mo… Amanda doesn’t want me to have a poopy accident in class.” “Keep it that way! That milk is highly addictive and you won’t have any control over your body in a month.” “I kind of liked that with my urine,” I told her. “Why?” “You may have noticed I’m even smaller than you. Potties my size don’t exist commercially.” “Or at all…” she agreed. “Well… I made one actually…” I ended up telling her the story of the incident from last week and she laughed with me. Soon several other girls gather around, and I alternated laughing and cringing as I heard stories from their own misadventures with Amazons. Some were from before college, and others happened at the university. Every single one of them had been diapered and endured some other babying at some point before they joined the sorority. From talking to them it seemed like life got better for them after they joined… “So, what do you all actually do as a group?” I asked finally noting that it was getting close to time for dinner. “Mainly we hang out and help each other out academically. If we need to go shopping for something, we go in a large group of so that we can cover for each other. Generally, we all work together to get good grades and escape Emerson without ending up in the nursery,” Jess said. “Though in your case I don’t know what the goal would be…” “Graduating and helping you all out?” I said. “How can you help us? You’re already in diapers and a nursery?” Jess asked. I smirked, “I’m pretty good with computers… let’s just say I would make a good ally?” “How good?” she asked. “I tested out of a lot of classes?” “You’d need to, that department is the worst at letting littles pass…” Sarah said. “Huh?” I responded. “Doctor Wernstrom seems to be single handedly responsible for a dozen or more littles being kicked out each year. As far as I know actually, I don’t think a single little has made it through one of his classes…” “He was an ass,” I agreed, “I’m glad I tested out of all of his classes.” “All of them?” Jess said. “There’s like four or five of them?!?” I smiled, “I could be of value?” I then asked, “So how many of your members actually graduate?” “Most of the time we get ninety-five percent of our members to graduation,” Sarah said matter-of-factly. “Last year everyone graduated that had joined from the pledge class.” “Cool,” I said. A tall Amazonian man with graying hair came in just then, “Time to wrap it up girls,” he said in a kind voice. “Don’t want to miss your official dinner and have your RA screaming at us.” With that everyone broke up and I walked out to see Amanda waiting outside. She waited patiently by a pillar a little way away and I turned to say goodbye to Lisa who had followed me out. “Thanks for having me,” I told her. “Thanks for coming Stacy… I think we’ll be in touch about some other events coming up if you’re interested?” I smiled, “If you all can help me be sure to graduate, then I’m definitely interested!” She smiled, “Is that your Amazon?” “Yes, that’s Amanda.” “I assume you call her Mommy?” She asked nervously. “Well it helps with blending in…” “I guess…” she said unconvinced, “Well we’ll see you around,” she said and gave me a quick friendly hug, “It was nice meeting you!” I walked over to Amanda who asked, “Did you have fun?” as we walked away. “I did actually,” I told her. After we had exited the building, she couldn’t help herself and picked me up to place me on her hip. “Ready for dinner?” “What are we having?” “Your baby sister suggested Chinese food?” I shrugged, “That works for me.” “What do you want?” “Sweet and spicy chicken?” I paused for a second, “Extra spicy?” “Are you sure about having spicy?” I nodded, “I like spicy food.” “You haven’t had anything we consider spicy yet?” I shrugged, “you have milk in the fridge if I get in over my head…” She laughed, “well I guess you’re right we do have that. She hugged me tight and carried me the rest of the way to the car, felt my diaper under my dress, and laid me down without warning in the back of her SUV and changed my diaper. As my rear end was hanging in the air, an Amazon girl I had seen at the math placement test gaped at me and waved. I turned bright red and stayed that way as Amanda buckled me into my car seat. She kissed me on the forehead, “Sorry, but it’s going to happen…” she lightly grabbed my hand then and said, “Megan always was good at nails, I’m guessing she did these for you?” “Yes, she did,” I told her still flushed red. “They look cute, remember to keep your thumb out of your mouth though with that polish on. I’m guessing it’s not the safe kind for babies that still suck on their thumbs.” I turned red and sighed. I sat quietly as the car ran and she texted my request to Fred to order our dinner, and then I killed some time with the game on my watch as she drove us home. I’d walked a lot that day and had a fair amount of coins to spend on my virtual pet. “So how did this afternoon’s session go?” she asked as she stopped at a red light. “We learned all about how we could choose to go into an adoption of our choice instead of being sent through an etiquette center…” I told her. “Oh, and five minutes on job placement services available if we manage to beat the odds…” “I had a feeling it would be something like that when I found out who ran it. She once offered me the ‘pick of the litter’ if I would help her out on a project.” “What did you do?” “I politely declined saying I appreciated the offer but had too many things on my plate right then…” The rest of the drive home she asked about the sorority event and even what I had done with Megan. “I like them, may I join them if they ask?” “You wouldn’t be able to live in the dorms with them…?” “I know, but I can still go to events and meetings maybe?” “We’ll have to see… if they do in fact give you a bid, we’ll talk then.” She pulled into the driveway at the house just then and carried me inside with my backpack. “It’ll be a little bit until the food gets here, why don’t you go upstairs until then?” “Thanks,” I told her and started my slow and methodical climb up the stairs with my backpack on. I could almost pretend to be climbing a mountain or something with a pack and it felt like an accomplishment every time I made it up the ten steps. I walked down to our nursery and found Bella engrossed in playing with a tablet. “Hey,” she said, “how was the rest of today?” “Well the afternoon session was awful, but I liked the sorority sisters that I got to hang out with. Megan is cool as always too, and she painted my nails,” I showed her. “Those are cute… I’m amazed that she could paint that small!” I stuck my tongue out at her and she giggled in response. She went back to her game and I sat down at my desk and logged into my laptop. I surreptitiously made sure to look around and saw she was well engrossed in her game and began working on a few projects I needed to do. The first was hacking into the video baby monitor in the room and the security cameras outside. It took me a few minutes but I setup a routine that would let me get some alerts if someone was in either area. In this case it also let me discreetly warn myself if someone was coming to check on me! I checked every now and then that Bella was occupied and engrossed in her playing. Amanda was downstairs still as far as I could tell waiting for the deliveryman with our dinner, while Fred seemed to be in his office working on something. Other than coming to close the gate that should have been closed before, neither seemed to want to intrude while we waited for the food. ‘Can I access the nanites still…’ was a burning question to me. I quickly found myself accessing my copy of the coding that had been used. Just as I was about to figure out how to access a connection to them, I heard the gate open and quickly shortcut keyed myself to a safe screen and hid what I had been working on. Amanda unlocked the gate, “Ready for dinner you two?” She asked before sniffing. “Uh-oh, Bella, did you make a stinky?” I turned and looked at the reddening Bella who I hadn’t even noticed that she’d pooped her diaper. “Yes Mommy,” she said timidly. “Well let’s get you changed really quick, Stacy, how’s your diaper?” I felt underneath my skirt and confirmed what I thought, “I’m dry, can I go downstairs?” “Sure, we’ll be down in a moment,” she told me. I pressed another quick shortcut key as she turned towards the changing table with the red Bella and walked down the hallway and hopped my way down the stairs. Fred walked up to me when I reached the bottom and picked me up to deposit me into the highchair. “Mommy said you wanted the sweet and spicy chicken?” He asked a little surprised. “Why is that so surprising?” I asked “Littles like sweet usually, but spicy is usually something they can’t tolerate?” He paused, “I think I remember a study once done on littles showed that their tastebuds were more in-line with our young toddlers… I know much of the time they’re biased, but sometimes there’s a grain of truth in them?” “I loved spicy food back home…” I told him with a shrug, “Like I told Mommy, if I can have a cup of milk, I’ll be able to deal with it even if it is spicy?” “It’s your tongue, don’t say I didn’t warn you!” he said with a smile before putting a sippy cup of milk on my tray. That was joined a second later with a small plate of chicken and rice. I could see some large peppers mixed in and noted that they were much bigger than I was used to. A pair of chopsticks was handed to me and I began eating. I had just finished a couple pieces of chicken as Amanda walked downstairs. The spice was not nearly as bad as I was afraid it would be with their warnings. Really it was only one step above mild in my mind, and I wondered if it was due to the fact smaller the chile pods were, the spicier they were back home. These were as big as poblanos… “How can you eat that?” Bella said as Amanda slid her tray in place. “What?” “It’s spicy… Look at those peppers, I’d be crying by now,” Bella told me. I shook my head, “It’s not spicy at all to me…” Amanda curiously took a piece of the chicken out of the container and tasted it. I watched while her face lit up, “You call that not spicy?!?” She quickly guzzled some water. Fred looked inquisitively and took his own taste and seemed to agree it was pretty hot. For my part I looked at a piece of the large chile pepper and decided to go for it. Amanda said, “Noooo…” as I crunched happily down on it. My mouth lit up in a wonderful sensation that let me know I was alive and I smiled, “You really have to get out more if you think this is spicy…” I shook my head and kept eating while they stared at me in shock and began eating their own meals. I was full and a little bit remained in a takeout box. Bella asked, “Can… can I try it?” “I don’t think that’s a good idea sweetie…” Amanda said. “I think you’ll cry a lot…” Fred added. “Stacy seems to have some odd taste buds…” She looked at me and I shrugged, “I’ve always been the wrong person to ask. If they think it’s spicy then it probably is to them and you?” “Please?” She asked. “It’s your funeral…” Amanda said with a shake of her head and put a tiny piece of chicken on the tray in front of her. Bella looked at it before tentatively popping a small amount in her mouth and instantly turned red with tears pouring down her face. “Hot!!!!!” she cried… “Mommy give her my milk,” I told Amanda who looked panicked. She did as I told her to do and Bella guzzled it for several long moments before the crying became a whimper. “Better?” Amanda asked as she now cuddled her in her lap. “Sort of… You’re crazy…” Bella said to me. “We could have some fun with this though…” Fred said looking at me mischievously. “Conning people into betting what I can eat?” I smiled widely at him. Just then I felt the need to pee and let it out in my diaper. “Something like that…” “You two…” Amanda said disgruntled while she cuddled Bella. “So, what are you doing tomorrow?” Fred asked us, “There’s nothing on the orientation schedule, right?” I shook my head, “We’re done until Monday when classes start, I think…” “Dad called earlier and he wants me to bring Stacy by in the morning to his studio and spend the day with her until his afternoon classes start.” I looked at her, “I’m glad we can finally work out a time…” “Well it’s going to be more often starting next week, but he thinks it’s a good idea to go ahead and evaluate you. He wants me to drop you off at nine…” “Cool,” I said. The rest of the weekend was roughly planned out over the next twenty minutes that we finished dinner. Sunday we would be going to her parents’ house for dinner again. After she dropped me off tomorrow, she planned on going grocery shopping with Bella and Fred for things like diapers and food the next week. “Did you find a place for Bella to go?” I asked while looking at Bella. “The hospital daycare didn’t seem to be too bad?” Bella answered me. “You think you’ll be safe there?” She shrugged, “definitely better than the university daycare. Most of the ‘babies’ there were actual babies. There were only two other littles there and they said other than the normal baby treatment, it’s not bad. Daddy can come check on me through the day too?” I nodded, “I can’t imagine that there are many better places than that then…” “I’m going to keep looking though,” Amanda said to both of us. “A friend mentioned there is a new daycare near the university that is supposed to just be for littles.” “That sounds like an etiquette school?” I asked worriedly. “It might be… so I’m going to keep researching it before we even go visit it,” she added. I sat there for another minute before I wanted to get down and back to my project, “May I get down and get back onto my computer?” She smiled and said, “I guess, why don’t you go ahead and e-mail your parents while you’re at it?” I grimaced, “You’re right, I’d better…” She wiped my hands and then Bella’s hands with baby wipes as she removed the highchair trays. Those out of the way she picked me up, putting me on one hip, before placing Bella on the other. Once upstairs in the nursery she sat Bella down on the floor and felt my diaper, “Hmm… someone needs changed, huh?” She tickled my side before setting me down on the changing table. “We should probably get in the habit of you changing into play clothes when you get home from school Stacy.” I nodded, “Okay…” I was given a diaper change into a new Pamper and dressed in a one-piece romper fit for a newborn. I just sighed though and let her dress me before she sat me down on the ground. “Remember, email your mom,” she reminded me. I nodded and unplugged my computer to use it on battery and jumped onto my bed where I could have the wall to my back and my screen in front of me. I knew that Mom had probably emailed Amanda asking for an update, therefor prompting her reminder… so I emailed her first and filled her in on some of the events from the past few days. I didn’t want to worry her though so I kept the break-in and some of the discouraging information from today out of the email. Mostly I let her know about my course schedule, and that I was alive. It was a shorter email than some I had sent, but I still included my safe codes and knew she would be okay with it. After that I went back to my current project to see if I could connect to the nanites inside my body. Amazingly it seemed they were still able to respond to a signal if you could generate the right frequencies. My computer couldn’t do so by default, so I began looking to see if it was a coding or a hardware solution I would need to break. Bella was coloring something quietly while I worked, but I lost track of her as I continued digging for a software solution that would be easier to deal with. Her sudden weight on my bed was a shock and I quickly engaged a hide shortcut. “Whatcha doing?” she asked me. “Playing around with some of the coding software from this dimension,” I told her honestly. “I’m bored…” she told me. I sighed, “Sorry… I know how I felt the first couple days when I was getting full on babied, but at least I’m getting some mature time… You’re just stuck…” She nodded, “I knew it was inevitable… it could have been a lot worse actually…” “But it still sucks,” I said while mentally wondering if the filter I had installed on the monitor really would filter my usage of that word out… ‘I know there’s no way I can get rid of that word from my vocabulary!’ I had thought at the time. “Yeah… Play with me?” she asked. “Huh?” “You were a boy growing up, right?” I nodded. “So, you have no idea how to play with dolls…? Right…?” “What’s with you and dolls?” I asked, “I thought girls grew out of them?” “Doesn’t mean we wanted to… I know of several of my friends that played with them still even when they were grown up… I had a collection of them hidden in my apartment even…” “Huh…” I said. I thought for a second and closed the lid of my computer, “I guess…” For the next hour or so we dug out a couple dolls from the toy chest and pretended we were the amazons and they were the littles… Actually, I had a lot of fun with it before Amanda came into our room and said, “Bella it’s bath time and bedtime sweetie…” “What about Stacy?” she asked. “Stacy is a big college girl; she stays up later.” I thought for a second, “I could go ahead and take a bath with her though?” Amanda looked at me in surprise, “You sure?” I scooted over on my wet diaper closer to her and hugged her, “she’s fun.” She shrugged and said, “Okay then, let’s go down to the bath tub. Just remember she’s given shallower bath water,” she reminded me. I sighed, “We have got to teach her how to swim…” The water was embarrassingly low to me! Because I was at least shorter than Bella my belly button was covered, but the water barely covered her groin. I took care not to stare, but her chest was a lot more developed more than mine was. She caught me looking and said, “It’s okay to be curious…” I sighed, “What’s it like to have them?” She shrugged, “embarrassing when all of the big girls grow theirs sooner, and they get a lot larger than yours. I was the smallest of my little friends with even less to write home about than them. At least it doesn’t seem as necessary to remove them if they’re smaller… I had one friend that I didn’t recognize when I saw her in just her diaper outside my old apartment building.” “They removed her breasts?” Amanda asked cautiously. “Those, her teeth, hair, and I think the surgery for cutting the tendons so she couldn’t walk anymore…” “I just don’t get it…” I said aloud. “No, it really doesn’t make any sense,” Amanda agreed. Bath time was pretty short and Bella was dressed first into a diaper, and a sleep sack before Amanda sat her on the floor, and put me on the changing table. A thick princess diaper and a footed sleeper were zipped onto me. “Here, why don’t you take your computer down to my office and you can work there?” She suggested. I nodded and grabbed it from where I had plugged it in while playing with Bella. I also grabbed my tablet from my bag and toddled with the thick diaper on down to her office. She followed me to put me into the highchair. Before she did so I asked, “Mommy, can you move the highchair over there?” “Why?” “I like having a wall against my back?” I hesitated, “Especially with the break-in and everything?” She looked skeptical, but moved it over to the spot I’d pointed to anyway before setting me down, buckling me into the harness, putting the tray down, and setting the computer on the tray. “I’ll be back with a baba in a sec,” she said. I decided since she was coming back that I wanted to look into that place that little had been sent to earlier. It had been said so viciously that ‘Tippy Toes’ burned in my head as the name. I quickly covered my electronic trail with several routings of my IP address and VPNs before searching it. The website it brought up instantly made my skin crawl. Have a troublesome little that’s just not adjusting to your great home environment? Our three-week program will have your little bundle of joy behaving like a good baby in no time! We offer customization packages to change gender, dental remediation, mobility adjustments, and cosmetic packages that can be made permanent or temporary…’ I was just reading the next level of horror when Amanda came in with the bottle and peeked at the screen. “Looking for somewhere to go if you drop out?” She asked curiously. I shook my head, “This is where she demanded the little be sent to this afternoon…” “I’ve heard it’s one of the ‘best’ she said as she made quotations with her fingers.” “Worst more like it…” She nodded, “I’m going to go feed your sister, I’ll be back to check on you then. Make sure you drink that baba before I get back!” “Yes Mommy,” I told her and quickly got to work the moment she was gone. A quick scan made me sure my screen was out of view, and I began going at the changes that I needed to do to reach the frequency of the nanite remote software. I ended up piggybacking onto the tablet’s wireless transmitter, which it turns out could generate the frequencies I needed. It was finicky, but finally within about twenty minutes had a connection established! ‘Whoa… I have access to all of the original settings and then some…’ I thought. ‘First things first… if I can access them so can anyone else…’ I began securing the connection and locking editing out with anything but my 256-digit access key. I used a special reminder system to keep track of what essentially ended up being a small paragraph of text, numbers, and characters to gain access. Certain it was now secure; I began digging into the original software and found the code that had caused the baby fat on my face to appear. I looked at it for a while before programming an adjustment plan to make it disappear, and get my face mostly back to normal over the course of six-months. Faster than that and I was worried it would be obvious what was happening. I had just begun researching again into the reasons Amanda’s milk might cause incontinence when she came back in and I cleared what I was doing back to looking up textbooks for my new classes. “Mommy we need to buy some different textbooks for me, right?” “I almost forgot about that…” she said, “Hand me your tablet,” she said. Twenty minutes later she declared herself done and said, “Okay, bedtime Princess…” I sighed, “I’m really not tired…” “I know you’re not, but I am…” she said and hesitated… “Plus I thought since you don’t have classes until Monday… thought well… we could maybe give nursing another chance?” I looked at her both dumbfounded and wrought with an aching desire for the comfort of nursing from her and the addictive liquid, unsure of how I should respond… Chapter 13: Unannounced Visits I STARED AT Amanda for a moment and was about to say yes when I shook my head… “Maybe tomorrow night?” I told her. “I started doing some research and want to wait until I’m sure… I really really really want to… and that kind of scares me?” She squeezed me in a hug and sighed, “No worries, you’re probably right… Daddy was pretty much thinking we shouldn’t either…” “Believe me I want to… I know the university will let us access medical journals, and I just want to read up some more. One of the girls tonight seemed to think after just a month I would lose all control – permanently. I want to find whatever research I can first.” She nodded as she laid me down on the changing table and changed my diaper again. “At least I have your sister to help me…” I nodded as she lifted me up and tucked me into my little bed, “Stacy please don’t think I love you any less with Bella here,” she kissed me on the forehead, “Try and get some sleep, you didn’t get much the last couple nights!” I sighed and said, “Night Mommy,” and rolled over onto my side. It took me longer to get to sleep that night than I could remember since I came to the dimension. The diaper was especially distracting for some reason that night. It felt hot and I was sweaty for some reason. After a while of sitting there I realized that I needed to go pee, and let the padding soak it in. I had so many ideas going on in my head of what do with the nanobots that were still active in my body. I fully planned to use their programming to my advantage in every way I could. They were an incredible tool that I was surprised every Amazon hadn’t injected themselves with yet. I figured I could go in and give myself some other attributes to make myself stronger. More importantly if I could figure out what made breast milk addictive and tear down control, I could hopefully combat that so that Amanda and I could let ourselves enjoy that bond again. Tomorrow was a new day, and I hoped I could find some time on my own to work again. Finally, after at least an hour I managed to get my brain to turn off until morning. THE NEXT MORNING came early as Amanda scooped me from bed and plopped my sleepy form on the changing table. “Come on Princess, time to wake up!” she said as she undid the tabs of my diaper and wiped me with a cold wipe that did spring my eyes open. “Cold!” I whined. “Well you’re awake now at least. Did you know you wet your diaper last night?” I nodded, “Couldn’t go to sleep, ended up going in it before I did.” She sighed a bit in relief, “Glad to hear that… I was a little worried,” she admitted. I smiled weakly at her and she plopped a pacifier in my mouth. “Okay my dad said he wants you dressed like a normal little today so you can blend in and look like he’s just babysitting you for me…” I groaned. She lived down to my expectations right then by pulling out a pink romper that looked like it thought it was a dress. The top of it was smocked like a fancy dress, but it ended like a romper with a baggy bottom that tried to look like shorts. I noticed it was missing snaps in the crotch and only had buttons in the back. I groaned knowing that every time I needed a diaper change, I’d have to be completely undressed… I was sure that if I wore it no one would believe I wasn’t a pretty baby girl - or at least a very well taken care of little! “Cute isn’t it!” she told me, “I can’t get this in Bella’s size unfortunately,” she added. “Lucky her…” I said dryly. “It should make you look like an innocent baby staying with your grandpa for the day. But, with it being a romper, you should be able to still mostly move around.” “Mostly?” “He did ask that I have you in the thickest diapers that you normally wear.” “Why?” “I don’t ask my dad those things…” she admitted. “I’m guessing if he’s training you, he’s going to worry about the real world?” I thought for a second and nodded, knowing that the princess diapers did impede my motion some. “I guess that makes sense… I sure hope none of my friends see me…” I grumbled. She laughed as she put the other side tape down on my diaper securely. “Why don’t you stand up so that we can get you into this…” “You know this is like the worst outfit to change a baby out of,” I told her as I stood up inside the leg holes and she helped me pull my arms through the sleeves before buttoning the back. “Why didn’t they at least put snaps in the crotch?” I asked. She shook her head, “I don’t actually know, you’re right. Hopefully you don’t have to poop right now…” I groaned knowing I would probably need to do so before we left. She carried me downstairs and presented me with a bowl of oatmeal and a spoon. I looked and could see Bella looked to have been fed earlier because she was snoozing in the playpen. I started to reach for the spoon but she stopped me so she could add a bib and she picked up the spoon, “Do you mind?” She asked. A part of me went, ‘I’m a big girl, I don’t need…’ The other part that had been insanely jealous of all of the attention to Bella. That part took control and nodded my head. Amanda smiled and quickly began putting the train in my mouth over and over again until I was done with the bowl. She gave me my cup of coffee, and set a bottle of juice next to it, while she went about doing dishes in the sink. I focused on the coffee first and enjoyed every drop while wondering what I was in for today. All too soon I felt a rumbling in my bowels and asked, “Umm… Mommy may I use the potty?” She sighed and wiped her soapy hands off before coming to get me out of the highchair. She was about halfway through undoing the little buttons at the back of the romper when I couldn’t hold it much longer. I think it was clear from my face and she said, “Stacy just let it go, I’ll get you right out of it.” I whimpered but another cramp meant I wouldn’t make it until she was able to get me out of the romper. With no other option I pushed the mess into my diaper. It was runnier than normal and I felt it on my legs. Amanda wrinkled her nose as it she could clearly see that some had leaked out the diaper onto the romper. “Eew,” I complained. She sighed but patted my back and carried me back upstairs. “I knew you weren’t a fan of the romper, but did you have to get poopy all over it?” I felt tears in my eyes, but she laughed and kissed my head, “It’s okay sweetheart, let’s get you out of that and into something else.” “Just get the poop off of me,” I whined. She finished what she had started doing with the buttons and slipped it out from underneath me before going to work on my leg with a wipe before she even opened up the diaper. Inside she found a disgusting mess and asked, “You didn’t eat anything strange yesterday, did you?” I shook my head, “I don’t think so… I guess I had some food at the party last night, but they said they made it themselves so it was safe?” “Hmm… I wonder if they have a mole or something inside their sorority. Could be a high paying job to help sell out the others... Next time you see them ask if they had any problems?” “They’ll probably just blame me,” I told her. “Several of them were really suspicious of me since I’ve been adopted already.” Once I was rediapered she said, “Well this romper is out, but I bought a dress with the exact same design, let’s go with it!” I groaned when I saw the nearly identical top but with a skirt. She had a pair of pantaloon style panties that she pulled over the top of the diaper first and then had me sit up to put the dress over the top. It didn’t cover much past my waist, so the panties were fully exposed. A pair of frilly socks went on my feet next, but no shoes. “Shoes?” I asked her. “You wouldn’t be allowed to wear them in my dad’s studio anyway,” she said. “And since right now, you look like a nice innocent baby you really don’t need them.” I sighed and nodded, “I guess…” She tickled my side for a moment before finding a pacifier to put in my mouth and carrying me downstairs. “Fred?” She called. He came from downstairs, “Yes Mandy?” “I’m taking Stacy to my dad’s now; I’ll be back in a while. I just changed and fed Bella not long ago, so she’ll probably nap until I get back.” “Okay, see you both later,” He told us with a smile. Amanda grabbed one of two pink diaper bags that were sitting side by side that had my name on it now. “When did we get new diaper bags?” I asked after pulling my pacifier out. “My mom bought them for us yesterday. Seemed to think it would be a bit easier to keep track of if we needed to take you to different places since you definitely wear different sized diapers!” She pushed the pacifier back in my mouth, “Now hush and be a good baby.” I sighed and wondered about the weird back and forth my poor brain had to go through sometimes! It didn’t take long before we reached a part of town with a number of strip malls and restaurants. I couldn’t see much out of my seat, but she soon pulled over into a parking lot and opened up my door. She pulled my pacifier out of my mouth and placed it into my diaper bag, before she gathered the bag and me up, and walked towards a glass door that she knocked on. I just managed to read the sign that said, ‘Colonel Joe’s Self-Defense Training Studio’ before it opened. Grandpa had let her into the large studio that looked nicer than anything I’d seen back home. Practice dummies, punching bags, different weapons, mats, and everything someone might need for practicing martial arts seemed to be there. It even looked like there might be a robotic opponent sitting silently asleep in a corner… A sign above the entrance listed a surprising number of styles that were taught in the studio. “Hi Mandy,” he said as he hugged her after relocking the door. “Hi Daddy,” she said. “Hi Grandpa,” I said to him too. “Well, we have a few hours before I have a class coming in. Mandy I’ll take Stacy to our house for lunch, is there anything I should know about?” “Her diapers are in her bag. I just changed her into one of her thick princess diapers earlier like you asked. When they get wet, they’re supposed to keep her from walking, but she’s learned to adjust pretty well. Generally she’s still is able to toddle around without it knocking her down. She usually stays in her regular Pampers though, so there’s some of those in there too if you want her to wear something thinner.” “Any bottles?” “There’s a couple bottles of juice in there if she gets thirsty,” she told him. “What time should I pick her up?” “We start our elementary class at 4pm, why don’t you come get her at 5pm?” “Sure, she’ll be okay in there?” she asked worriedly. “Worst case scenario I put a blanket on the floor and tell her to pretend to be a baby. Somehow, I don’t think that’ll be necessary. Just be warned she’s probably going to be pretty sore tomorrow!” he told her and me with a smile. She looked down worriedly at me but hugged me, kissed me on the forehead, and said, “I’ll see you later Princess.” “Bye Mommy,” I told her as she sat me down and went back out the door leaving me with the giant Amazon man who I had no doubt was incredibly skilled and dangerous. “Okay, first things first… How long has it been since you were in your last classes?” I thought for a moment, “About five years?” “Do you remember the last Kata you learned?” I nodded, “I think so.” “Demonstrate,” he said while motioning me to the center of the floor. I respectfully bowed to him and then began running through what I remembered. The diaper I was wearing was still dry, but it definitely changed my sense of balance. Luckily after wearing them for a few weeks it was something I really had mostly adjusted for. I honestly expected more loss of motion than I’d had after five years of not practicing, but I guessed the nanites doing their thing had helped out. He ran me through a few more exercises to see how powerful I could punch and kick. A punching bag and even some boards were used once he felt like he could trust my control. “Okay, Stacy really you’re in much better shape than I would have hoped for…” he told me while I stood respectfully looking up at him. “Thank you, Sensei,” I told him with a bow, “I’m a bit surprised myself, it’s been a long time.” “That’s not to say there’s not a lot for you to learn!” I nodded, “Especially given how big you all are… I don’t stand a chance if I make a mistake,” I said honestly. “No, you don’t,” he agreed. Just then I noticed that the diaper I was wearing was sagging a bit and wondered how long we’d been practicing. A look up at the clock surprised me that it said it was nearly noon. “We’ve been going that long?” I said motioning to the clock. He looked up and smiled, “When I have a willing pupil, I don’t notice time pass either. Why don’t we change that wet diaper and we’ll go to my house so your Granny can feed you a good lunch. We’ll come back here and I’ll work with you a bit on some new forms before the class arrives?” “Sounds good, thank you Sensei Grandpa,” I told him with a bow and then accepted his hug. “You are definitely in the running to be my favorite granddaughter!” he said with a smile. He carried the diaper bag and me back to a locker room. He laid my changing mat on a bench and quickly changed my diaper, before changing himself in front of me. I squirmed a bit as he pulled the Gi he had been wearing off and switched to a set of warm-up pants and a shirt. He then quickly took me to his car. A pink toddler car seat sat waiting for me. I couldn’t help but guess that it was probably too big for me. It was also setup front facing, but I didn’t say anything as he tightened the harness down as small as it would go around me. As he went to his door I noted I could still easily wriggle free if I wanted to! We drove the short distance to their house and I was carried inside where Grandma was eagerly waiting. “There she is!” She cooed. “Hi Granny,” I told her as she kissed me and hugged me. “Did you remember to change her?” She asked her husband a little accusingly. “Of course, I may not understand you women folk’s fascination of littles and babies, but I can change a diaper…” he grumbled. “He did good Granny!” I told her with a smile and a wink and Joe. He smirked and said, “See, she even says so!” “Well, I guess we better get lunch going here. I just made macaroni and cheese, does that work for you both?” she asked him mainly. “That’s fine honey,” he said. I was sat in the highchair they had purchased for me. I was grateful that this one was a normal baby highchair without the straps for littles! There were several of the other type lined up against a wall for when the other ‘grandkids’ came to visit... I noticed another new one that I guess was for Bella now. ‘They’re going to run out of space for high chairs…’ I noted. Granny grabbed a bib for me out of my diaper bag, filled one of my bottles, and then gave me a small bowl of what looked like homemade macaroni and cheese. She looked apologetic, “I don’t have any small forks…” as she held a large one that could have been a serving fork back home in her hands. “Did Mommy leave one in my diaper bag?” “I didn’t think to look, let me check!” I watched her check a few compartments before standing up and saying, “Yes she did, my daughter apparently makes a very good mommy!” I smiled at her, “Of course she is – she has a good one too!” I was able to eat the lunch on my own with my fork, and had some small conversations with both of them as lunch progressed. Just as I was finishing lunch their home phone rang, “Mandy? Are you okay?” I heard, and then heard her say, “Of course…” she held her hand over the phone, “Joe LPS apparently is at their house, they need us to bring Stacy back for a wellbeing check?” “That was sooner than I expected,” he said with a sigh. “Tell her we’ll be there in about a half-hour.” “Mandy, your dad says we’ll be there in about a half-hour. The cavalry is coming,” she told her and hung up. “What’s going on?” I asked scared. “Sounds like someone decided to play a card to see if they could get you two away through a complaint to Little Protective Services,” Joe said. “I’ll have a friend of mine meet us there. Whatever you do when you get there be cute and compliant with whatever the investigator asks…” “Can you change me again first?” I asked having just felt an overwhelming need to urinate. “Granny will take care of that,” she told me coming over, “Joe, make your call!” Granny came over and unbuckled me from the highchair before taking me upstairs to a nursery I’d only heard about. Definitely designed with littles in mind, the crib, changing table, and other items all had extra straps to hold a ‘naughty’ little. I shuddered more than a little at them, but was glad that Granny didn’t even use a strap on me as she laid me down on the changing table to change my damp diaper. “You want a regular pamper or one of those thicker ones?” she asked me. “Which do you think LPS is less likely to thing is neglectful?” “Probably the thicker one,” she said. “That one then…” “At least my daughter dressed you about as babyishly as she could today…” “Yeah… but I don’t have my student ID with me…?” I said nervously. “Yes, you do, it’s in your diaper bag…” she said digging around for a second and handed me the lanyard with it on. “Why don’t you try and put it underneath your dress though so it’s not too obvious?” “I really need to get one of those bracelets they talked about yesterday…” She hugged me, “You’ll be fine,” before she carried me downstairs, “Joe are you ready?” “Yes, let’s get her buckled in and go to her house. Larry said he’s going to meet us there.” “Good,” she said and followed him with me and my diaper bag out to her car that had a smaller rear-facing car seat in it, “Don’t you need to get back to the studio?” “Hopefully this won’t take that long, but if it does, Amy can take care of running classes.” With that I was set down in the seat and buckled in. A pacifier was handed to me with the advice, “Probably best to play baby girl for the next few hours…?” She paused, “At least I think…” I nodded at her confusion and hoped everything would be okay. ‘The last thing I need is to be removed from Fred and Amanda by LPS…’ I thought to myself. The trip home was both too long and too short at the same time. As Granny undid my harness, I saw a van that we had parked behind with ‘Little Protective Services’ on the side. I felt my hair stand on end at the sight of that logo, and knew we had to be very careful how we handled their visit. Granny went to the front door and was followed closely by Joe who was carrying my diaper bag. Just before they were going to open the door Amanda opened it and I looked at how nervous her eyes were. She had a good poker face, but I had noticed I could read her eyes easily. Knowing just how vital this afternoon was, I happily squealed, “Mommy!” I reached out to grab her from Granny’s grasp. “There’s my princess!” Amanda took me from her arms, hugged me, kissed me, and quietly said, “I love you,” as we walked in. I saw a lady and a gentleman sitting on the couch, Fred in a chair next to them, and Bella in the new playpen they had picked up for home. “This is your other daughter?” The lady asked, “I thought she’s going to college?” “No classes today, so she was spending the day with us,” Granny told her. The lady looked me up and down and said, “I’ll need to examine her like I did your other daughter…” I shuddered as I noticed Bella shudder and sob, and wondered just what this woman was going to be doing to me. Just as she began moving towards me though the doorbell rang. Grandpa Joe didn’t ask for permission and opened it to let in a well-dressed man in a suit. “Thanks for coming Larry,” he said. “Anytime Joe,” He said. He turned to Amanda and said, “Nice to see you Amanda,” he held his arms out and hugged her gingerly with me in her arms, then held his hand out to Fred, “Fred,” he said. “Thanks for coming,” Amanda told him. “So, what’s the problem?” he looked towards the two LPS officers, “I’m Larry Worthington, the Westerfields’ attorney.” “I’m Diana Ellis and this is Bob Drindel. We’re here because there’s been a complaint against the Westerfields that they are abusing and neglecting their two littles.” “From whom?” Larry asked. I’m sure he wasn’t expecting a response, but I was glad he asked anyway. “It was an anonymous report. They simply stated that the girls were malnourished, being allowed to roam freely with no bounds, and that the smallest was let run around with no supervision around the university.” “Well, those are serious charges, have you seen anything to back them up?” “We need to examine Stacy there to see if there’s any sign of abuse there…” “By all means, but I and her mother will be present,” he told her. She shook her head, “Because she’s been accused of abuse, we can’t have her present. If they wish you to be as a third-party observer on behalf of the family you may.” I looked at this complete stranger in fear, and the one too, and just hoped I wouldn’t be abused in the process here. Larry held his hands out and said, “It’ll be okay Amanda,” and handed me over to this unknown stranger who she seemed to trust. “Stacy, I know you don’t know me, but I’ll be right there,” under his breath. “Where do you want to examine her?” “Their nursery will work fine,” she said. I sighed and hoped this unknown stranger could help keep something more serious from happening to me like seemed to have to Bella. The lady led us upstairs to the nursery and said, “Please set her down on the changing table there,” and she began moving towards me. She examined my hands and arms first, neck, face, legs, and then moved my dress up so she could see my back and chest. “You are a tiny thing, aren’t you?” she cooed. I shrugged and she pushed me back onto my back and pulled the panties down, followed by my diaper. Larry stood by closely, “Is there any reason for this?” “Her diaper’s wet, I’m just changing her before we start chatting. I don’t want her to be any more uncomfortable?” She suggested. “I’ll take care of it actually if you don’t mind…” he said. “I’m a woman and a mother, I have this quite in hand,” she said. “Yes, but I’m her lawyer and her parents have not given you permission to do so. Let me change her really quick myself. You can keep looking for non-existent bruising just as easily from the side.” He kind of gently pushed his way in and then quickly undid the diaper I had on and gently pulled the tapes open. I squirmed a bit with this unknown man doing it. ‘I trust girls more…’ I thought, but he was quick and thorough. “I have three daughters at home, the youngest is two, so I’ve had a lot of practice,” he said to me with a smile as he pulled my dress back down and held me possessively. “Shall we continue the conversation you want, ma’am?” “Where?” “The floor?” he suggested, “Littles are always more comfortable on their level, right?” She looked at him suspiciously but nodded, “Alright,” and he sat me down beside him, opposite of her. If there had been a table between us, we could have been in a legal conference room. “Your name is?” She asked. “Stacy Westerfield,” I told her. “What was it before you were adopted?” “Stacy Slane,” I told her. “And you willingly went into the adoption agreement?” I nodded, “I wished to come study in this dimension and reached an agreement with Mommy and Daddy to adopt me and let me go to school.” “Why bother?” she asked narrowing her eyes. “This dimension has cooler toys,” I told her. She laughed, “Of course it’s about the toys. I guess wood blocks back home aren’t interesting enough?” “Something like that,” I told her. “Have your Mommy or Daddy ever hit you?” she paused, “Even a spanking?” I shook my head, “Mommy and Daddy probably would if I was bad, but I’m a good girl and they’ve never had a reason to spank me.” “Never?” “Never,” I told her. “The only time I’ve had a spanking was when this evil machine did it to me at the store…” “I read about that incident…” she paused, “they’ve really never spanked you?” “Really,” I said. “Sounds like they need to consider more discipline…” “Can we continue the questioning please?” Larry asked. “Of course,” she said. “We were given reports that you were wandering around on your own on the university campus the past couple of days.” “I was never alone ma’am. I had a babysitter at all times,” I told her. “Really?” “An unadopted little can babysit me, correct?” “Well…” she stammered. “Yes, they can,” Larry reminded her. “All of her college friends are unadopted and can watch her without any problem.” “Yes, you are correct… but who would leave such a tiny little thing with an irre…” “Next line of questioning,” Larry told her. “You agree it’s legal, let’s move on…” Her nose flared in irritation, but she continued, “You are aware it’s highly unusual for a little to be in university classes rather than being enrolled in a certified daycare, correct?” “So?” I responded, “I can do the work.” “What’s the point though, you can’t work anywhere when you finish?” “Not your realm of responsibility,” Larry shut her down. “Do you really believe that she’s being neglected?” He motioned around the room, “the girls have a beautiful nursery with gates that lock them safely inside. You can see she’s well dressed, diapered, and well nourished. What are your legitimate legal concerns at this time?” She glared at him, “As you said, she and her sister seem to be well taken care of. I guess I don’t really have any other than I don’t believe she should be going to the university...” “Completely legal though, correct?” “So long as she is supervised in some way at all times… yes, it is.” “Then lets head downstairs and get you and your partner on your way to someone who actually needs your help?” I was glad that he was there carrying me, and protecting me, because I was honestly quite certain she was more than willing to spank me just because… She followed his request though and followed us downstairs. Larry handed me back over to Amanda who was nervously waiting. She hugged me tightly, obviously scared of losing us. “So, you’ve observed my clients take great care of their littles. Nothing to concern yourselves, correct?” He asked them. The lady said, “we reserve the right to do another unannounced inspection…” “During which time I will be called to observe and make sure my clients rights are not violated, correct?” he said. “Of course, sir…” the gentleman said, “I don’t really see a need to come back though. If half of our littles were pampered like these two princesses there would be no need for our agency. Come on Diana, this strikes me as one of our jealous calls. It’s probably someone hoping to take these two cuties for themselves. Thank you for your time,” he said and walked out with the lady and Larry following them out. When they were gone Larry came back inside, “So who did you all piss off so badly?” “I think there’s a list now?” I looked up at Amanda who didn’t smile. “Yeah… there does seem to be…” Amanda said. THE NEXT HOUR we held a long conversation with Larry. We filled him in on what had happened since I had arrived. I had been moved to Fred’s arms, and Bella was in Amanda’s shaking very nervously. I noticed that she wasn’t really saying much about what happened. I learned that in the time before we arrived the lady had done a similar ‘inspection’ on Bella without the help of Larry, and since she’d been all alone with her, I couldn’t imagine her being kind. Eventually she told us that she had been stripped so the lady could examine every inch of her. She had been given a very invasive diaper change that Bella whimpered about, but refused to go into detail about. Fred had to keep Amanda from going and finding the woman to kill her then. It turns out Larry was the lawyer who had looked over our contract and he told us, “Look we knew that someone would probably make a complaint at some point, but like I said there was no grounds to even really do more than visit once. If they come back let me know and we’ll put an injunction together to block them from coming.” “Is there any way to find out who put in the ‘tip’?” Fred asked. He shook his head, “they make things anonymous for a reason. When a little really is being abused, that would be an asset. Is there anything else going on that I should know about?” Amanda looked at Fred and when he nodded, she said, “Bella here seems to be getting us some attention since another group was after her. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the reason for the tip?” “Why are they after her?” “Information she may have?” Fred replied. “We’re not entirely sure. We adopted her on a flight to Selegnasol to protect her from a stewardess that seemed really sketchy. Since we adopted her, there have been a few attempts to kidnap Stacy or attack us. The Trelini crew maybe involved in it, as well as a group called Venture B & E.” “Both are trouble…” he said thoughtfully, “I’ve had a couple clients with problems with them before. I’ll put a private investigator on it – maybe they can help us figure out who’s after her…” he looked at me, “For now make sure that you stay good and out of trouble at the university. If you got in trouble for something, they might be able to come back and make a stronger LPS case.” I nervously nodded, “Yes sir,” I told him. “Well, if there’s anything else you need let me know, I’m going to go ahead and head back to my office. If they come back call me immediately.” “Will do Larry,” Fred responded and walked him out the door with me still in his arms. Grandpa Joe stood up then, “I need to get back to the studio. For today let’s call our morning session enough Stacy, next week we’ll start back up as planned.” I squirmed so Fred would let me down and went over to hug him. He picked me up and gave me a big squeeze, “You really are adorable, stay out of trouble!” He gave me a kiss on my forehead and transferred me to Granny who had already hugged and kissed Bella goodbye. “Be a good girl,” she told me and gave me the same squeeze and kiss routine. She sat me down on the ground and I watched them leave. “Well… so what’s for dinner?” Fred asked. Amanda smacked him on the arm. “Ow…” FOR THE NEXT hour Amanda and Fred talked with us before letting me go upstairs and get on my computer in our room. I was sitting on the bed as Bella looked forlornly around at the toys. “Play with me?” She asked sadly. I sighed, just managing to find the electronic journals available through the university library, but closed my computer and moved to the floor. “What are we playing?” I asked her. “Dolls?” I sighed, “You’re going to have to keep teaching me what I’m doing here…” I told her. She smiled a bit at that, “Okay,” she said and began teaching me how to play ‘nursery’ she decided. We were taking care of the baby dolls and changing their diapers, pretending to feed them bottles, baby food, and rocking them to sleep. I wasn’t sure how long we’d been playing when I watched her sit up a bit and smelled something. Her diaper sagged under her dress then too. “Did you just go poop?” I asked her. She looked around a little bit confused before saying, “I didn’t even realize…” and then began sobbing and wailing. Chapter 14: Residual Effects I HUGGED HER larger body for a few minutes unsure of what to do before Amanda came in. “What’s wrong Bella?” she cooed. She just sobbed and wailed so she did the Mommy thing and sniffed, “Do you need a diapee change?” she said, “That’s no big deal, let go of Stacy and we’ll get you all clean,” she told her. Bella didn’t initially want to let go of me for some reason, but we soon transferred her grip to holding Amanda’s neck. I watched Amanda hug her, kiss her, and bounce for a moment to try and get her calmed. Bella was playing down to the roll of sobbing baby quite well as Amanda laid her down on the changing table and put a pacifier in her mouth. Her sobs quieted a little as she sucked on the pacifier, but you could tell it wasn’t going to calm her completely. Amanda pulled the skirt of her dress up out of the way and began to work on her diaper. I could just hear the rip of the tapes as she began wiping her. At that point I could feel myself need to go a bit so I let some urine into the padding of my thick diaper, but knew there was no reason to change it for hours yet. “You poor thing,” Amanda continued to coo, “you’ve had an awful week, I don’t blame you for crying one bit.” As soon as she had her redressed Amanda carried her over to the rocking chair and settled down with her while wrapping her protectively in a blanket. “Shhh…” she said for several minutes before I watched her sigh, open her blouse, and traded the pacifier in Bella’s mouth for her breast. She continued patting her on the back and rocking while I sat there awkwardly. Figuring that Bella probably would be taking a nap next I started picking up our dolls and accessories to put them away in the toy bin. “Leave them out,” Amanda said quietly. “Why?” I asked, “What if you step on them?” She gave a pained look, “It just shows that you two are well taken care of and playing. The neatness of the nursery was almost a red flag to the LPS lady earlier…” I nodded, “Okay then…” and just kind of put the dolls at least to sleep next to the crib. I climbed back onto my bed and opened my computer back up as she moved Bella to her other breast. I began looking through some things online until she finished nursing, burped Bella, then laid her down in her crib. Without warning she came over to me and put her hand on my diaper. “That’ll take a lot more, huh?” She asked. I nodded, “Yeah it will…” “You want to come downstairs while your sister naps?” She asked me quietly. “Can I just stay here in case Bella wakes up crying?” I asked her. She smiled, “Sure… want a bottle at least to drink?” I nodded, “Please,” while thinking what I really wanted was what Bella had just had. She hugged me and said, “Okay, be right back.” I did a few mundane things on my computer while I waited for her. She reappeared with a juice bottle pretty quickly and handed it to me, “Thanks Mommy,” I told her. “Be good,” she told me as she left again. I quickly nursed about half of the bottle down and then got to work on my project. I had been excited when I learned that part of the university privileges for students included access to electronic medical journals. I logged in through the university library and began searching for abstracts that involved studies on Amazon breast milk. Most of them were innocuous enough studies on normal Amazonian babies, especially pertaining to their growth and brain development. I read a couple of the abstracts on those and saw that just like in my world; they really did push breastfeeding’s benefit over formula. Unlike back home though formula seemed less driven by mothers who were unable to lactate enough. What few studies I glanced through seemed to indicate that was a non-existent problem in this dimension. Formula was instead driven by working mothers who didn’t want to pump, or by the mothers who didn’t like to be chomped on by teeth… I managed to narrow my search to its effects on littles, and then found several research journals on the nutrition aspect of Amazon milk. They all indicated that an average little could be sustained solely on their mother’s milk if they fed every two to three hours. Any less than that and it was likely that a little would be at least somewhat malnourished. It also indicated that by feeding a little only on breastmilk you would get the result of a plumper, healthier looking baby. Several of the articles indicated that you could get away with less nursing sessions by using vitamins, supplementing with formula or baby food. When I finally found a comparison of the components of Amazonian breast milk versus littles, I was curious to note that the Amazonian milk contained a higher level of calcium and proteins per ounce, compared to the version Little mothers produced. A few other studies showed that littles who breastfed were far more likely to be compliant and bond emotionally to their ‘mothers.’ Several psychological studies showed these ‘babies’ rejected the breast at very low rates once given at least one nursing session. I came across one study that took free littles and gave them breast milk unknowingly for a week before presenting the mother who had produced it in the same room. In all thirty cases the little instantly hugged the stranger and excitedly nursed at her breast. The study noted that there might a psychosomatic trigger caused chemically in the milk. Further study was needed they suggested, as it could be a separately synthesized substance administered to parents struggling to bond with their littles. I squirmed at just how invasive and awful some of the experiments were. They were all written up in scientific language, but all I could picture were the Nazis in Germany under Josef Mengele justifying their horrific acts. I shuddered, but kept digging, just hoping I would find something more specific about the chemical mechanisms. The bottle was empty when I finally found a study linking their milk to urinary and bowel control. ‘Pathway to Control’ was the name of the study, and specifically looked at the usefulness of a specific Casein Protein E3 that was present in Amazon breast milk. Wading further through the technical terminology required several dictionaries and more research, but they named a Pontine Mictruition Center, along with the spinal cord, that controlled bowels and urinary release. The flooding of the body with the amino acid that made up the E3 Protein resulted in the buildup of chains right on the receptors of those two centers. Something about the little receptors bonded very easily with the E3, and they discovered a ‘clumping’ of those chains around them. The effect seemed to be that those centers were inhibited and constantly would give signals to the bladder muscles that it was full. It would also diminish the signal to the cortex of the brain that was used to indicate the status of the bladder. A similar process towards the center that controlled the anal sphincter seemed to occur too, causing the muscles to continually relax their hold while simultaneously blocking that signal from the brain’s receptors. I read one paragraph that made me squirm, ‘Short-term studies show that the removal of the protein’s presence will let the centers recover and clear – returning full control to the little. Long-term continual exposure for at least a month seems to result in a residual structure remaining around the center. This seems to be damage that cannot be easily corrected. Littles rarely showed any control even when no longer exposed regularly to the protein.’ The study believed that the protein could be isolated and marketed as a medication to help struggling littles who were fighting the diaper training their ‘parents’ were giving them. Included within the study was a diagram of the specified mechanism and I wondered if I could use it to program the nanobots to clear the chains off the centers? Or make an immune response to attack the chains? Amanda came in right then though and said, “Ready for din-din?” I shook my head and quickly closed out of what I was doing before saying, “Sure.” Bella was still fast asleep so Amanda said, “Bella baby, do you want to wake up and have dinner?” She just groaned and said, “Don’ feel good... swweep pwease?” I watched Amanda’s face turn into a worried frown, but she said, “yes you can. If you need something call out, I’ll have the monitor on downstairs.” She just mumbled and rolled over. Amanda came over to me then and stuck her hand on my diaper, “Let’s change you after dinner?” I shrugged, “I can’t really feel it in these, so that’s fine.” She hugged me and carried me downstairs to my highchair. Some pot roast was cut up along with mashed potatoes on a plate for me. “Thanks!” I told her, “This looks great Mommy!” A bottle of juice was placed on the tray too before she asked, “Okay, so what is it you’re working on…?” as she sat down. Fred looked at me curiously too, “What are you talking about?” he asked. “Our daughter here is most definitely up to something; I just haven’t figured out what it is. Seems she’s been messing around a bit with Mommy making her think she was on the web?” “I have been on the web,” I told her. “On sites that don’t exist in this dimension?” She asked with a smirk. “So, it was you…” I smiled and stuck my tongue out at her, “I hoped it was…” “Apparently you really are too good at this for your own good, most people wouldn’t have found that, let alone fooled me for a couple days here.” I smiled, “I didn’t know who put it on… I’d rather have a secure system,” I told her honestly. “That’s honestly really smart… now back to my question?” I debated about lying, but decided there was no reason to. “I’ve been researching the causes of why your milk would make me lose control.” Fred’s eyes went up a bit at that, “How?” “I’m a university student, I have full access to the electronic library with journals of medicine and everything else.” He nodded, “I have the same access, but haven’t really had a chance to sit down and look myself. Did you find anything?” I looked around and mouthed, “We’re secure?” to Amanda. She nodded, “I swept earlier and got rid of the four presents the LPS officers left.” I sighed and looked at Fred, “I think so. There’s a specific protein that your milk has, but isn’t present in little’s milk. The research I found shows that it binds up inside a little’s body on two receptors…” I gave him as technical of an understanding as I had gained about it. “Hmm… if you feed long-term though, those build up?” Amanda asked nervously. “Yes… Kind of like plaque in arteries… There must be some clearing possible though? I mean clearly some littles who get away and are able to re-potty train?” Fred looked thoughtful, “I know that probably ninety percent of them end up still wearing diapers though for at least occasional accidents. Whatever control they gain back can’t be that great?” Amanda sighed, “I guess that means no more nursing for you.” “Well…” I said. “You can’t seriously be thinking of risking it?” Amanda asked. “Not without some adjustments…” “Adjustments…?” “Give me a day or two and I’ll explain. I don’t want to get my own hopes up yet?” She narrowed her eyes at me, “Nothing crazy, right?” I just made the most angelic face I could, “Mommy I’m not cwazy… It’s not wike I came to another dimension to get adopted and become a baby again?” They both laughed at that and we all finished eating. “May I go back to my room and work on my computer some more?” I asked. “Let’s see what your sister is doing first,” she said, “and change that diaper of yours too. You probably can’t even waddle in that thing at this point.” I poked at the padding through the weird panty and nodded, “Probably not…” She laughed at me quietly and carried me upstairs. Bella seemed to still be asleep so Amanda was quiet as she changed me into a regular pamper. “Let’s take you and your computer down to Mommy’s lab?” she suggested in a whisper. I shrugged but nodded and grabbed my computer and tablet from where I’d left them. When we arrived at her workroom, I asked Amanda, “How bad was the LPS lady to her? I can’t believe she’s slept this much…?” Amanda looked at me thoughtfully, “I honestly don’t know why she’s crashed so hard…” I felt my gut tighten then, “Are you sure she’s okay?” I paused, “Are you sure those were really LPS agents?” The look of terror on her face made me think she hadn’t considered that. She hurried back down the hallway and cried out, “FRED!!!!!” I just sat there in the highchair for a moment as I heard Fred’s footsteps pound down the hallway to our nursery. I looked at the harness I was strapped in with and pressed on the buckle release with all of my might. It took several minutes of trying many different ways before I managed to miraculously get the buckle to come loose. ‘Thank God I’m in a baby’s highchair and not a little’s…’ I thought to myself as I climbed down. I hurried to the nursery and found that the baby gate was open and forgotten. Fred held a limp Bella in his arms and was moving towards the changing table. “Amanda call 9-1-1!!! Tell the operator she has a very weak pulse and is non-responsive.” Amanda stood there for a second looking lost and confused, “What’s happening to her…?” My phone was sitting right on my desk so I grabbed it and dialed the number myself. “9-1-1, what’s your emergency…?” The operator asked. I looked up to see if Amanda looked like she could talk to the operator, but seeing her in a state of shock, so I took the initiative, “My little sister is unconscious and unresponsive. My daddy is a doctor and he said she has a very weak pulse and we need an ambulance to take her to the hospital…” The lady impressed me by not questioning my squeaky high voice, “What’s your address?” I had to think a few moments before responding with the address that I’d needed for some paperwork, “9387 Oak Lane.” “Okay, the ambulance is on its way sweetheart, just stay on the phone with me until they get there. Does your daddy know what’s wrong with her?” I looked up at Fred who was still watching her carefully. “The operator wants to know if you know what might be wrong with her?” Amanda finally snapped out of her stupor then and asked, “Fred… what can I do…” “Go get my emergency bag from the car,” he told her. “I have a crash kit in there. I hope we don’t need it, but she’s breathing shallower.” She hurried out of the room and he told me, “I think she may have been poisoned. I don’t know what form it was. She was acting strange earlier, right?” I thought back and nodded before I relayed that to the operator, “We think she might have been poisoned…” “Poisoned? Intentionally?” The lady asked in shock. “Never mind that, can you give me as much information as you can on your sister?” I told her Bella’s age, height, and weight then. I decided I didn’t know enough about what happened earlier to know if it was the LPS ‘agents’ or not. It seemed likely to me, but I didn’t mention it to them on the phone since I would just be guessing. Amanda came back upstairs quickly with Fred’s emergency bag and handed it to him. I watched as he hurriedly opened it up to find whatever he needed inside. He attached some leads to a small square box, and then attached that to her bare chest. I guessed it must have been some sort of small AED, or heart monitor, as it began beeping irregularly. He grabbed a bag valve mask and placed it on her face, before he began gently squeezing it to help her breathe. From what I could tell she didn’t seem to be improving and Fred’s face looked increasingly concerned as every moment passed. After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only five minutes at the most, the doorbell rang and Amanda ran downstairs to get the door. Paramedics followed her upstairs and assisted Fred in getting her on a small stretcher board. “I think she’s going into some sort of toxic shock. Do you have epinephrine?” I heard him ask as they carried her quickly downstairs to the ambulance. As they carried her, I found Grandpa’s number on my phone and dialed it as the paramedics had arrived. “Grandpa?” I asked as he answered. “Stacy? What’s wrong?” “Bella… something’s wrong with her! Daddy thinks she might have been poisoned. They’re leaving with her to the hospital…” “We’ll be at your house in a minute!” He said and hung up. I followed the group downstairs and stood by Amanda as we watched helplessly as they loaded Bella into the ambulance. Fred climbed into the ambulance and they were off a moment later. From what I could tell Amanda just couldn’t register much of anything in her shock. I walked over to her and hugged her legs tightly. Her only response was to reach down, pick me up, and tightly hugged me to her body while she cried her eyes out. GRANDPA JOE AND Granny had to have broken every speed limit, and ran every red light, to get there as quickly as they did in their two vehicles. Both pulled into the driveway at the same time. Joe appeared to have come all of the way from the studio since he was still in his gi. “Oh, baby what happened?” Granny asked as she enveloped Amanda in a tight hug. She just sobbed for several minutes, “Stacy… Stacy… and I were talking and… she asked if Bella was really okay…” She tried to get her sniffling under control but was failing miserably. “She had a gut feeling something was wrong… I went to check on Bella and she wouldn’t wake up… I kept shaking her shoulder and then found her pulse was weak…” She lost it then and Granny hugged her and consoled her. Grandpa Joe squatted down next to me, “What do you think happened?” I shrugged, “I don’t know… Bella seemed fine for a while… but then seemed kind of sick or tired. She could have just been traumatized from whatever that lady did to examine her… but she didn’t want to wake up for dinner… then she didn’t wake up even later… Something about it just seemed wrong when I stopped and thought about it…” “I’m so scared Mama…” Amanda sobbed on Granny’s shoulder. I walked over and hugged Amanda’s legs and found myself picked up again and joined in the crying session. “Theresa, why don’t you take Amanda to the hospital. I’ll stay here with Stacy as they probably wouldn’t allow her into the NICU anyway…” Amanda looked down at me and I could see she was scared and concerned for the girl that had only been calling her ‘mommy’ for a week. ‘I guess the maternal bonding of an Amazon doesn’t take too long to form…’ “I’ll be fine Mommy, go check on Bella. Grandpa and I’ll be fine here,” I tried to maintain a fake smile as I could for her sake. “Come on Mandy,” Granny told her. I was given a squeeze and then handed to Grandpa who watched them leave before bolting the door and carrying me to the couch to sit down. “So really, what do you think happened?” He asked me. I shrugged, “That lady had Bella upstairs on her own before we came home earlier. From what little Bella said, it sounded like she was pretty invasive with her inspection for abuse and a diaper change - inappropriately so. She could have easily put something inside of her then or just used a cream on her before putting the diaper over it?” His eyes narrowed, “That’s probably a good guess… did she have a diaper change after that?” I shrugged, “I don’t keep track, but I think so?” I thought for a moment, “Yeah, she did…” I wrinkled my nose, “Just before dinner it was a poopy one that she was upset about since it was the first one that she didn’t know she had gone…” “Come on, let’s go upstairs and see if we can find the diaper that she had on… it would be a good idea to have it checked out.” “We’re digging through the diaper pail?” I wrinkled my nose and groaned as he hoisted me in the air and carried me to the nursery. Fred’s medical bag’s contents were still strewn about the room. He walked over to our diaper pail and opened it up. Amanda used a type of pail that made little pockets in a long plastic wrapper, sealing each diaper in it’s own smell resistant wrapper section as it was dropped inside. He pulled the tube of used diapers loose from the entry spot and began looking at them. “That should be the one, right? She’s a lot larger than you in diaper sizes…” He held it to where I could see the poop stains on the larger sized diaper, I grimaced at the smell that began to escape from the pail, “That’s hers alright…” “I’ll be right back…” he said before he walked out. I heard his footsteps go down the hallway and he came back with gloves, a Ziploc bag, and a pair of scissors. I watched as he put the gloves on, cut the section of wrapped diaper out, and then placed it into the Ziploc. I wrinkled my nose as a bit of poop smeared against the clear Ziploc. “I think it would be a good idea to get this to a friend of mine at the police department. They have a good lab and he should be able to test it quickly. Maybe if they can identify the agent, they’ll be able to treat Bella better…” Just as he pulled off the gloves his cell phone rang, “Fred, what’s the word? Mandy and her mom left about ten minutes ago…” I held my breath wondering what Fred would say… “Not good then? They can’t identify the poison?” He paused, “Well I have a clue in my hands… it’s the diaper that lady changed her into. I’m going to run it to a friend on the police force. I think they might be able to maybe identify any foreign substance in their lab…?” “Well… yeah I could take her there too while I’m at it… She’d be safe? Or maybe Megan can come pick her up?” I couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation and it was making me go a little bit nuts. ‘I need to boost the gain on my hearing or something…’ I thought while looking around my room. I just happened to glance up at the video baby monitor then and smacked myself mentally for not thinking about it before. I left Grandpa’s side and ran back down the hallway to Amanda’s lab, where my computer still sat on the tray of my highchair. I hesitated for a second as it wasn’t the safest thing in the world, but I climbed up carefully into the seat that was a bit above my head, gathered the computer, and then began an awkward climb down. With my computer in hand I ran back down the hall to our nursery where Grandpa was still talking on the phone. “Stay there with her, hopefully the treatment they’re giving her is the right one. You might have Amanda checked for anything too since she came in contact with her when she changed her diaper later? Stacy and I’ll go down to the police station to drop this off and then I’ll drop her off with Megan in her dorm.” “See you soon, love you,” Grandpa said and got off of his phone finally just as I opened up my computer. “How is Bella doing?” I asked “Bella’s heart stopped a couple times on the ride to the hospital… She’s got an erratic heart rate right now, but at least it’s beating. The doctors are treating her the best they can for an unknown poison, but it’s going to be touch and go…” He said before noticing I had my computer at my desk and turned it on. “What are you up to?” I pointed to the two cameras that Amanda had to monitor the nursery, “I think those record…” “Oh…” he said. “You can get into that? Doesn’t Mandy have it passworded?” I gave him a grim smile and then got to work. I quickly hacked my way back into that system and found that the system did indeed record a day’s footage. If I hadn’t thought of it though by tomorrow at this time it would have been gone… I quickly scrolled through the footage until I found Bella being carried into the nursery by the lady. I played it back and watched the lady take Bella’s clothes off. As she did so she said ‘let’s change that wet diapee while we’re checking you out!’ I noticed that after she put the strap over Bella’s chest she reached into her own purse for a pair of gloves and then a bottle of lotion of some sort. We watched as the video clearly showed her spread it all over her diaper area, chest, and legs like baby lotion before she put that bottle back in her purse and put the used gloves inside a Ziploc in her purse too. There would have been no point to her using her own though, because you could clearly see that there was a large bottle of baby lotion on the changing table… “That’s pretty damning,” Grandpa said while looking over my shoulder. “Yeah…” “Download that, and put it in a few safe places?” He suggested. “Done already,” I told him. “It’s on my computer, Amanda’s computer, and Fred’s computer. I also uploaded it to an online storage account I have and it’s on this memory stick,” I handed him one of the drives Amanda had given to me with an adapter on it that I removed. “You are a nerd baby…” he said with a smirk. “Let’s run now and see if we can identify this poison…” I grabbed my backpack, put my computer and power cord in it, grabbed my phone, and added my tablet to in there too. I stopped, “Grandpa, did I hear you say that you’re supposed to drop me off with Megan?” “Yes, your Grandma and Fred think it would be a good idea…” “Then I guess I better change into a uniform and grab some pajamas and extra diapers while I’m at it…” He nodded, “You have your own diaper bag too, right?” I pointed downstairs, “I think it’s where you set it down when we came home earlier still.” I grabbed a few extra Pampers from the shelf that I could reach and put them in my backpack to be safe. Then I walked to the closet and pointed to one of my uniform sets, “Can you grab two of those to be safe?” I told him and then pointed to the footed pajamas I wanted next, “And that?” He smiled, “You need a change first while you’re getting changed?” I assessed how the diaper felt in my brain and nodded. He picked me up and sat me down on the changing table before quickly changing my wet diaper like a pro. As he started to pull my outfit off to change me into my uniform I asked, “Actually…Umm… would it be better just to make me seem like a normal baby to your friend?” “Normal baby?” “Put a hat on me and I look like an innocent three-month-old infant… he might not display as much prejudice?” He looked at me thoughtfully, “Might not be a bad idea actually…” He grabbed the clothes he was going to put on me and folded the outfit neatly and handed it to me, “You have room in your backpack for that?” I nodded and pulled the bloomer panties back on and stuffed the clothes as neatly as I could into the backpack. I kept my student ID on my neck, dangling it underneath my dress and walked over to the closet where Amanda had started a hat collection. I found a bonnet that matched my dress and carefully used it to cover all of my hair while he ran downstairs to find the diaper bag. “You know there is something to be said for you being able to blend in like that… perfect spy…” he muttered. I smiled, “I try!” He put another spare uniform, a cute sunsuit dress, and a pair of my footed pajamas into the diaper bag. I made sure that I added several days’ worth of diapers, just in case. I didn’t want to rely on the dorms for diapers! Joe picked me up and placed me on his hip while I carried my backpack myself on my back. Meanwhile he held the diaper bag and the evidence in his other hand. He made a quick stop in the kitchen to grab a couple of clean baby bottles that he stuffed in the bag along with several sealed bottles of water, and a handful of small bottles of apple juice. “Be careful what you drink around the university,” he reminded me. I nodded, “I know…” He moved about then setting the house alarm, locking up, and placing me into his car that featured a new rear facing infant carrier car seat now. “When did you get a new seat for me?” “Your Grandma dropped it off earlier… she wasn’t too happy with you being in a seat too big for yourself,” he said. “It’ll actually work really well though for your idea. I’ll just carry you in it and rock you back and forth. No way he’ll think you’re anything but the baby you appear to be.” I nodded as he closed my door and walked to the drivers’ side. He started the car and I stared at my outfit and hands as he drove for a long while. I was missing the mirror that Amanda had put in the car for me to at least see what was in front of us. I was also missing Bella as someone to talk to at least... Just like every time I was in a hurry back home, it seemed like you hit every red light that existed! I sat and thought about Bella and hoped that she’d be okay. Medical technology seemed to be far ahead of our own back home, so hopefully they had something – maybe even the nanites, that could help. I couldn’t help but think that ‘I came close to being the victim too…’ I wondered what the point of killing Bella even would be after everything… ‘I guess they could mutilate her body and get the chip they’re after…’ I kicked myself for not trying to hack it already myself. At the police station Grandpa Joe separated the car seat from its base and carried me out of the car. “Grandpa, why don’t you give my pacifier?” I suggested. He set me down on the ground for a second while he dug through the diaper bag and found one to hand me. I plopped it into my mouth and smiled, “Fanks!” He smiled back at me and closed the car door before putting the handle of the car seat under his arm and grabbed the evidence from what happened to Bella. I couldn’t see a lot from my vantage point, but the female officer at the desk smiled at me and cooed, “Oh my gosh, she’s such a cutie pie!” “Right now, she is, but wait until she gets hungry or poops that diaper!” Grandpa joked. “I’m amazed how quickly she can go from being cute to a monster!” “Oh, hush Joe, she’ll grow up with a complex!” He laughed, “Maybe… Given the fact my daughter is her mother that may be inevitable,” he chuckled some more, “I’m here to see Bo in the lab?” “Yes sir, if you’ll just sign-in here,” she said as she handed him a clipboard that he quickly signed before she handed him a visitor’s badge. “Your little cutie doesn’t need a badge yet!” she told him. He laughed, “Thanks, he’s still in the same place, right?” “Same cages for the lab rats,” she said with a joke back. He swung me again from his arm and began moving down the hallway to wherever his destination was. He had to be buzzed in through two security doors before he finally sat me down on a table and began talking to this ‘Bo’ person. “Hi Joe,” he said extending a hand. Swinging from his arm I actually had a good view of their conversation, seeing that he was quite a bit shorter than Joe - definitely scrawnier than average for an Amazon. I guessed that he was probably only eight and a half feet tall, so Joe easily towered over him. “Hey Bo, thanks for letting me come in.” “Yeah, no problem Joe, you said it’s an emergency?” “Some asshat bitch of a lady poisoned my daughters’ new little girl she adopted. I think it happened when she took her off to examine her during a fake LPS visit. We have it on video that she rubbed some sort of cream on her, but don’t know what the agent she used was. This was the diaper she was changed into by the lady.” I watched the guy wrinkle his nose a bit, “That’s a different piece of evidence… some might say it’s really shitty evidence…” Joe gave a small grimacing smile, “The puns never stop with you…” He shook his head and shrugged, “I aim to please. Believe it or not it’s definitely not the most disgusting thing I’ve had to analyze. What exactly do you want me to look for?” “She rubbed the cream over her diaper area and her chest. I think that’s the substance we need to identify there will probably be more than slight traces inside the diaper on the lining. The lady used gloves when she put the diaper on, so there won’t be fingerprints left to analyze. My granddaughter has been in and out of consciousness and they’re barely keeping her going. If we can figure out the agent, she may have a chance…” “And if she doesn’t make it?” “Then I want to know what she did before I put her down for good,” he said angrily. “What were the symptoms?” “She was kind of cranky, seemed to have some loose stool – that would be in the diaper you’re holding, and then she became really sleepy. She wouldn’t wake up for dinner and when my daughter went to check on her discovered her barely breathing and non-responsive.” “Shit… Well there’s a couple of things that could cause that off the top of my head… I’ll get right on it, maybe it’s a common substance at least with some sort of known treatment. My equipment can probably have an answer in an hour either way?” “That’s about as much as I can hope for… I’m going to take my other grandbaby here to my youngest daughter to babysit for the night. We didn’t think it would be good for her to wait in the hospital…” “No, it wouldn’t… If you drop her off then come back… I’ll probably be about done analyzing it?” “Great,” Joe said and shook his hand, “Thanks Bo, I owe you!” Bo shook his head, “No, I definitely owe you about fifty times this for saving my skin. This isn’t even close to enough to even the table. Erin would never have been able to raise our kids alone…” “I’ll be back in a bit,” Joe said giving him a gentle pat on the shoulder before he picked me back up and carried me out to the car. Once I was secured, he went into his door and I asked, “What did you do for him?” “A few years back there was a crime scene he was on site investigating that was really just a trap by a bunch of cop hating morons. Five heavily armed guys attacked the investigating techs and officers with automatic rifles. They had Bo pinned down, and the rest of his crew was either wounded or dead... I just happened to be nearby having dinner and managed to take down four of them before an injured office managed to get a round off into the head of the fifth. All were wearing heavy body armor… Seven officers died that day. Bo was injured, but I managed to do enough care at the scene that they were able to patch him up in the hospital and send him home to his family.” “That’s amazing,” I said, “I had a feeling you were a bona fide hero the second I met you. You remind me a lot of my own grandfather…” I felt a bit sad at missing him back home. “I’d be honored to meet him some day,” he said to me with a voice that left no doubt that he was sincere. Chapter 15: Sleepover THE CAR RIDE to the university took as long as it had taken to get to the station. By the time we were there I was both thirsty, and my wet diaper was getting cold and clammy. He called Megan as he pulled into the parking lot, “Megan? We’re down here in Lot 42, if you’ll come collect your niece?” He hopped out of the car and waited for Megan with me. “Let’s change your diaper and get you back into your school clothes…” I nodded as he undid the harness straps and then moved me to the back seat on the other side of the car to strip me naked. I was more than slightly embarrassed to be in the midst of a diaper change as Megan came up, “Hi Daddy!” she said and hugged him. “Hi Stacy…” she said as he laid me down on the diaper and taped me in. “Hi Megan,” I said. “Did you bring pajamas?” She asked me. I nodded, “They’re in the diaper bag?” I paused, “I thought it might be better to be in my uniform though?” She shook her head, “Pajamas makes you look like an innocent little girl right now… Your uniform would mean people think you’re out after curfew?” I grimaced at that knowing that would certainly come with spankings and demerits. My stupid brain recalled that being worth seven… “Should you carry me in the carrier then too?” I asked. She looked thoughtfully for a second, “Let me think for a second while we get you dressed. Daddy do you mind if I take over? No offense, but you’re a little out of practice…” He laughed, “You girls and your dolls…” She tickled my bare stomach and began quickly zipping me into the pink footed-sleeper. “Naw, we’ll leave your carrier here. I’ll just carry you and have your diaper bag on my other shoulder. Daddy, can you hand me her backpack?” He did so as she held me comfortably on her side. “Any more word on Bella?” She asked nervously. “Not yet,” he told her, “I have a lab analyzing some evidence… I’m going to go back there and hopefully have an answer in a half-hour or so. I’ll call you as soon as we know something more about Bella…” She gave me a comforting squeeze then, “Okay, I’ll take care of the princess here. I’ll probably need to keep her at their house after tonight though. They’ll get picky on her not being in a littles dorm otherwise…” “Yeah… I guess I could just take you there now?” “No, you worry about figuring out what happened to Bella. We’ll be fine for a night if I have her in bed quickly when we get inside. No one can say she’s not being taken care of, and I really am just babysitting my niece.” He nodded before hugging us both, kissing her on the head, “I love you Megan, see you soon.” “Love you too Daddy,” she said with a smile. “See you later,” I said. She waved my arm bye as we watched him pull out and she began the trek to her dorm room. “Pretend to be sleepy for me, okay?” I nodded, “It’s not that hard right now…” She gave me a comforting squeeze then and waived her ID at the scanner to enter into her dorm. There were a lot of ‘awes’ and ‘she’s adorable’ comments as I was carried upstairs. Just outside of her room she ran into Raileigh, “Hi Megan,” she said before taking a double take, “why do you have Stacy?” Megan sighed, “Her little sister was attacked this afternoon and is in the hospital. I’m babysitting while her parents and my parents are sorting out everything.” “Oh my gosh, is your sister going to be okay?” She looked at me. I shrugged, “Her heart apparently stopped a couple of times and they’re doing all they can… It doesn’t look good right now,” I admitted with a few tears leaking out of my eyes. “Aww you poor thing,” she said sympathetically “Yeah… anyway, we’re going to turn in for the night. We’ll see you later,” Megan told her. She closed the door and sat me down on the bed, “I thought we were going to have a clean entrance until we saw her…” “Will we get any trouble for me being in here?” I asked. She shrugged, “It’s an emergency, you’re an adopted little in the capable hands of a babysitter. You don’t live in the dorms, so it’s not like it makes sense to send you there. And, clearly according to the law you’re not able to legally stay on your own.” I nodded, “Umm… do you mind if I get on my computer for a little bit here?” “Why?” she asked, “I thought you were sleepy?” I smirked, “I’m tired, but I’m actually probably okay to stay up for a while longer. I wanted to get the image of the lady who did this to Bella and search it against their employees and anyone else?” She nodded, “Go ahead, but we’re turning the lights off and laying down in the bed just in case anyone comes by to check on us!” “Okay!” I told her. “You want a drink before bed?” She asked as she handed me my computer from my bag. “There should be a bottle in the bag?” I asked. She looked and saw a full juice bottle in addition to the empty bottles, “You really want a baby bottle? You’re not at my sister’s house?” I smiled, “I’ll tell you a secret…” I blushed, “I don’t think they’re that bad. I actually kind of like nursing from them…” “You’re a weirdo, you know that?” “Takes one to know one?” I suggested. “Why you,” she said with a smirk and launched into a quick tickle attack before saying, “I actually need to go to the bathroom before bed… you’re coming with me because I can’t leave you alone in here.” I nodded and held my arms out. She balanced me on her hip and carried a carrier of stuff with her in her other hand to the bathroom. She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and then used the toilet with me sitting there in the stall with her. When we emerged, an older student was standing by the mirror. She seemed to be waiting for us. “Megan, I heard you have a little university student here? You know you can’t adopt from the university littles?” Megan laughed, “I haven’t, this is my niece. Her baby sister is in the hospital in the ICU… My sister, who’s her mom, had nowhere else for her to stay tonight. Our dad asked me to just babysit her here for the night with everything going on. We’re going to make a blanket fort and a bed on the ground so she can’t accidentally fall out of bed. Kind of a slumber party?” “She’s a student though? Shouldn’t she be in Wenig?” “Terra she doesn’t live in the dorm. She’s adopted.” “Then how is she a university student? Every little university student has to live in Wenig…” ‘Clearly this girl isn’t too bright…’ I thought to myself. “I can be a student because my Mommy enrolled me here because I’m smart.” She scoffed at that, “No little is smart.” “Well I kind of am,” I told her. “Now I know this is unusual, but I’m just here for tonight. I’m in a diaper, so there’s no worry of me leaking anywhere and making a mess. Aunty Megan is my babysitter, is there really a big problem?” She looked at me skeptically, “I guess not… it is a special circumstance, but you do need to be in bed like now. Little’s were supposed to be in bed an hour ago…” “I couldn’t just leave her unwatched in my room by herself,” Megan reminded her. The girl rolled her eyes for some reason and we were able to make a quick exit from the bathroom to her room. “Work quickly,” she told me after she pulled her mattress down and began making a blanket fort like she’d talked about. I didn’t waste any time loading the computer and running digging into the LPS systems. I ran her picture against a database of IDs and failed to match her. I thought back and remembered her name was supposedly Diana Ellis and typed that into the system. Her name came up as an employee, but she was most definitely not the lady we had seen that afternoon. “Shit…” I said softly. “Stacy!” Megan admonished me quietly. “Sorry… but the lady earlier was a fraud!” She looked at the information I showed her and added her own, “Shit…” “Auntie Megan, I have delicate ears here…” she responded with sticking her tongue out and dialing her phone. “Dad?” She said quietly, “It’s Megan… Stacy just figured out the lady from this afternoon was a fraud…” I listened as she outlined what I had said and kept searching the lady’s image. It finally matched up with a company ID for Venture B & E. I showed her that, “Dad Stacy just gave me some more information that the lady works for that company they had problems with in Selegnasol…” I could hear over the phone him say, “Shit… hold on one sec…” “Is he at the lab?” I asked her. She nodded, “Yeah I’m still here…” she listened for a second, “Yes sir, we’ll keep the door locked until you or Megan come tomorrow. Love you Daddy, tell Mandy that I love her too please,” and then hung up. “They find something?” I asked her. “He says they identified a poison and he’s calling Fred at the hospital to see if the information helps with treatment.” “Did he say what it was?” “Iocainoxitate?” she paused, “I think that’s what I heard the tech tell Dad?” I quickly typed the name into a search browser and felt my heart drop, ‘Iocainoxitate is used in industrial settings to aid in the production of beryllium isopheres. The compound is considered highly hazardous and full protective gear must be worn to ensure no exposure to skin or lungs occurs. Exposure to quantities as low as 10mcg are known to be fatal to adults.’ “This doesn’t look good,” I said feeling tears go down my face. She looked over my shoulder and then hugged me, “There’s still hope,” she told me. I nodded, but didn’t agree verbally because what little I could see didn’t lend a lot of hope. I decided it was time to call it a night and had closed the computer and laid down under the blanket ceiling of the fort she made when there was a light knock. I gave a look at Megan and put my head down to pretend to sleep. I heard her lightly step to the door and opened it, “Yes?” she said to the person. “I was told you have a little student from the university in here?” “I have my niece here. She is a student, but she’s been adopted by my sister and enrolled here. I’m babysitting her right now while her parents and my parents are at the hospital. Her little sister is in very bad shape there.” “You know they have their own dorm…” “But she doesn’t live there.” She sighed, “Look, I’ll watch her at my parents’ home or her house tomorrow night if need be, but this was a very urgent emergency. Her sister’s heart stopped several times and she may not make it through the night…” “Oh my…” the voice said. “Yeah… so can you please just let her stay here tonight? She’s already asleep?” “This one time only… Any other time you have to watch her you need to babysit at her house, or she needs to get a bed in Wenig since she’s a student.” “Thanks Carmen, I appreciate you doing this,” she said sweetly. “Now I don’t want to wake her up, so good night,” she told the girl. I think we both feared the girl, who I suspected was the Resident Hall Director, would stand outside and wait to see if we began talking. Megan locked the door and changed into her own pajamas before laying down on the mattress next to me and giving me a big hug. “Let’s not risk her coming back…” she whispered in my ear and I nodded. I found her arms to be quite comfortable around me, and with the sound of her heart beating drumming in my ears, I was lulled to sleep fairly quickly. AS I WENT to sleep, I feared the phone ringing telling us Bella had died. Instead neither Megan, nor I, woke up until close to ten in the morning when there was a knock on the door. Megan was apparently as much of a morning person as I was because it took a few minutes of knocking before she sat me up and crawled her way out of the blanket fort to the door. I followed her needing to pee badly. I felt my bladder completely drain involuntarily as she opened the door revealing Dean Sanders’ face. “Good morning Dean Sanders,” I said standing beside Megan. “Good morning ladies. Megan, I had an odd message this morning from your RD that a little was staying with you. Do you have an explanation? This is normally against the code of conduct for our university for both big and little girls,” she said coldly. “Would you like to please come in and have a seat?” Megan said with a surprisingly calm smile as she looked at her and picked me up protectively in her arms. “I guess,” she said and Megan motioned her towards a small couch she had on one side of her room. Megan settled herself down while placing me onto her lap as she sat in her desk chair. “Last night my dad called me and said that they had to rush Stacy’s sister to the hospital. It’s been touch and go all night long for her after she was taken there. My dad was needed to do a few other things and then went to the hospital with my mom to wait with Stacy’s parents for word with Bella. Without anywhere else to send her for the night, she came here.” “What happened to your sister?” Dean Sanders asked me. I debated on what to tell her, but decided to tell her the truth, “We think a lady impersonated an LPS officer yesterday and poisoned her.” She narrowed her eyes, “You shouldn’t make up stories young lady…” Just then another knock came on the door. Dean Sanders motioned for Megan to stay there and went to open the door herself. Amanda stood there and for some reason didn’t really look shocked to see Dean Sanders face, “Good morning Jackie,” she said to her tiredly. “Amanda you look like hell,” she said. I couldn’t help but agree as her hair was a mess and she was clearly wearing the same clothes as the day before. It looked like she had taken her makeup off at one point, and her bare face presented itself with red baggy eyes. “I feel like it too Jackie. I’m guessing you’re here because Stacy stayed overnight here?” “Yes I am. I am willing to consider this being a one-time exceptional thing, but I’m a little concerned that your baby girl is making up stories. We can’t have students lying to the administration…” “What did she say?” “Some contrived story about an LPS officer poisoning her sister? What kind of person does she think I am to believe a tall tale like that?” “Umm… Actually, it’s true,” Amanda told her. “They arrested her an hour ago and she’s going to be indicted for attempted murder.” “Bella’s okay then?” I asked cueing into the ‘attempted’ word. “She’s not going to come out of this easily Stacy, but with a good team of doctors she’s going to mostly be alright…” “Mostly?” Megan asked behind me. “We’re afraid there’s going to be some brain damage and organ damage that’s going to affect her long term.” “You’re kidding?” Dean Sanders asked, “Who would do such a thing to someone else’s baby?” “The same group that tried to have Stacy kidnapped last week here on campus, broke into our house,” she glanced at me, “and the same group that actually broke into our house again last night. It was a good thing that Stacy was here with Megan last night, or they would have gotten her too.” Dean Sanders had gone from looking like my future in the university was bleak to suddenly feeling bad for me. “That’s terrible… What are you going to do now?” “Well we have contractors taking care of the house, but we’ll probably go stay with my parents to be safe until they get this all figured out.” “Well… if you can’t get things easily sorted Stacy could stay in the dorms?” “I guess we can keep that in mind… but I’d rather not have her that far from me. Besides, you probably don’t even have any rooms free?” “Well… it’s the beginning of the year. We usually end up having to consolidate dorm rooms a couple times through the freshman semester. We’re almost to that first consolidation now… I know her nest already has two empty beds now.” I cringed and wondered who the two unlucky girls were. “If this doesn’t work out, we’ll think about it,” Amanda said. “But she’s my baby girl and I don’t really want to not have her around as much as possible. Plus, it’ll be helpful to have her around to help Bella get better…” “It’ll stay an option…” “So, I guess our next question is there going to be anything we need to worry about consequences from her staying here last night?” Dean Sanders looked like she was thinking for a moment, “No, Megan was babysitting her niece during an emergency. We’ll let this one slide. In the future though she needs to be babysat elsewhere. This dorm is no place for a little…” she looked at us sternly. “Yes ma’am,” Megan told her. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get home to my own babies who are due for lunch soon. Or at least I’m due for lunch soon… My breasts definitely feel like it’s lunch,” she said as a joke to Amanda. She gave a wry smile and nod, “I know what you mean, have a good weekend Jackie.” As she left Amanda closed the door and then came to pick me up. I asked her, “So what is going on with Bella?” She sighed, “It was touch and go last night until my dad called with the information on what the poison was. Bella’s heart stopped three times before some of the medication stabilized her. Once we knew what the poison was, we treated her with some nanites to rid her body of that substance…” I felt my face fall and panicked, “They weren’t modified?” She grimaced, “I only had about ten minutes to get through the settings. I got rid of the same things that we did with you, but missed a reduction setting, and her face has the same baby face look you have now.” “How small did she get?” Megan asked. “She’s only taller than Stacy by a few inches now. I guess they can probably share dresses and outfits now…” I raised my eyebrows at that, “Poor Bella…” I said. “Anything else?” “We think that’s it as far as the mods are concerned, but she’s still in an induced coma for the moment. They plan to keep her in it for another day to give her body a chance to heal…” I hugged Amanda and felt tears streaming down my face, “I’m so glad she’s going to be okay.” “Me too…” she said softly. “Well, I think it would be a good idea to get you out of here Stacy. Megan, do you think you could stay at Mom and Dad’s with her tonight? At least one of them will probably be there too, but that way I know someone else is there?” “Sure, it’s not like we have any homework yet anyway,” Megan said with a smile. “I’m sure I can deal with putting up with Mom and Dad for a night…” she sighed theatrically. “Just keep an eye on her for me if Chloe and Cassie come over tomorrow?” “Ugh… I forgot I was going to have to smell their insanity tomorrow…” I looked up at her and she said, “I really don’t get our sisters keeping their littles in shitty diapers. They smell terrible and I’d rather see any diaper get changed immediately so you don’t have to smell it! Plus, if they sit in it…” Amanda sighed, “They’re definitely the nutty ones…” she agreed. “Let’s change that wet diaper and get you into a uniform before we leave?” She suggested to me. I just nodded and went along with it. Just as we were leaving, I thought about something, “Mommy?” “Yes Stacy?” “Can we go by the bookstore really quick? They said we could get a different ID in a wristband form to avoid having our ID being stolen?” She looked nervously at me and her watch before nodding, “Yes let’s go get one for you…” It was a quick paced walk to the bookstore where I had to run to keep up with my two giant companions. At the bookstore we were directed to a counter where my ID was scanned, wrist measured, and I was given a wristband that I put adjacent to my LittleProtect Watch that I was assured would be just as impossible to remove without the proper university tools. We didn’t look around for anything else and hurried out of the store. I held my arms up to Amanda, motioning that I wanted up outside so that I wouldn’t have to run to keep up with them. I played with the wristband all the way to Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Megan picked me up from the car seat, while Amanda grabbed my bags and a small one for Megan that she’d brought with her. As soon as we were inside Grandpa greeted us, “Hi girls.” “Hi Daddy,” Megan said and gave him a hug. “Hi Dad,” Amanda said, “You’re sure you’re good with Stacy being here tonight?” “Of course, sweetheart… I’ll make sure nothing happens to her. Go ahead and get back to the hospital and keep an eye on Bella. Your mom will be by there in a while too to check on you all. She just went to pick up some groceries for the weekend.” “Thanks Dad, I appreciate that you already took care of the house too…” “Of course, I’m just mad that they got in. I’m glad that Stacy stayed with Megan, but until we get this situation sorted out, we’re going to need everyone being really careful for their safety.” “I know… I’m glad the university is splitting the cost for security at least.” Amanda said. “Well it wouldn’t be good for one of their lead researchers, or star doctors to get killed…” “You forgot the genius student too…” Megan said with a smile. “Mandy go be with Bella,” her dad ordered. “Between myself and Megan we’ve got Stacy more than covered!” Amanda suddenly burst into tears then and her dad hugged her, “It’s going to be okay Mandy,” he reassured her. I almost felt embarrassed as I looked on from Megan’s arms, but she got herself together soon after. “You okay to drive?” He asked her when she began walking out to the door. “Yes, it’s not far and I’ll be fine,” she came over and took me from Megan’s arms. “I love you Stacy and I’m so glad that you’re okay. I feel terrible what I let happen to Bella… I’m glad you’re at least okay.” I hugged her back, “You have nothing to be guilty about Mommy, you were given credentials and had to follow LPS orders or they could have removed both of us then. They did have one legitimate agent… You couldn’t do anything. Go be with Bella now and we’ll figure out how to get her back to normal when she’s healed.” She squeezed me, “I love you more than you can know.” “I love you too.” She was gone a few minutes later and Megan said, “you didn’t get a bath last night or this morning… you want a bath or a shower?” I looked at her, sniffed myself, and nodded, “A bath would be nice…” MY BATH WITH Megan was much like one with Amanda would have been. Even though Megan valued me more as a thinking adult than Amanda did, she played with me and some bath toys more than Amanda did. I enjoyed the bubble bath that ended with my body wrapped tightly in a towel and carried down to the nursery. I gulped as she laid me down on the changing table that was clearly designed not for babies, but littles. The head strap and arm straps showed that there was a belief littles needed to be restrained more than just with a chest belt. Fortunately for me Megan didn’t buckle anything but the chest belt as she pulled the towel away. “So, what do you want to do today?” She asked me as she lifted my ankles in the air to slide a diaper underneath me. “Play with my computer?” I suggested. She gave me a look, “Didn’t you get enough playtime on your computer last night?” I pouted, “No, I only made it through the first level of my game,” I told her. I motioned with my head towards the monitor and who knows what other bugs after what we’d been dealing with. She laughed, “Okay, I guess you can play with your computer until lunch. Then you’re going to have to take a nap though. Grandma will insist on it,” she told me with a smile. “If you’re just going to play on the computer let’s put you in this cute romper,” she held up one of my many cute rompers that ended in a puffy set of bloomer type bottoms. As soon as I was dressed, she handed me my backpack and put me inside a playpen along with a bottle of juice. “Be good,” she told me with a smile. I opened my computer and then immediately groaned because I didn’t have their WiFi password… My new phone was next to me though and I discovered it could act as a hotspot. A quick connection had me back in and able to work on my projects. The first thing I did was make sure that I was as secure as I could be. I took care to spoof my location and built up multiple layers of security hiding my identity before going to work first on our attackers. I found that they had indeed arrested the lady early this morning. From what I could see in the police system she seemed to have clammed up and had a lawyer for her arraignment scheduled for this afternoon. I decided to follow the money of the lawyer and confirmed that Venture B&E was paying the bill for the attorney. I sat there and thought for a moment and debated on my next move. We couldn’t keep playing defense, and hope that their attacks wouldn’t succeed. Obviously last night they had intended on getting me and whoever else was left. A quick look at that police report revealed they had four suspects in custody who had also clammed up. Given the severity of the charges, I figured the DA was attempting to get them to be held without bail. I wondered how much their employers would protect all of them though. I decided that before I did anything else, I needed to talk with Fred and Amanda. I had a few ideas on ways we could go on the offensive against this company, but I didn’t want to do so without their okay. With my initial ideas exhausted, I went back to my project from the previous night, to see if I could program the nanites to bind with the problem protein and avoid the clogged receptors. I lost track of time and failed to notice Megan watching over my shoulder for a few minutes. “Whatcha doing?” she asked me in a voice that made me feel like she’d caught me with my hand in the cookie jar. “Umm… well… a project?” I said innocently. “Why don’t you close it down and tell me about it over lunch?” I blushed and did as she said, pressing a quick shortcut key that killed everything I’d been doing. I held my hands up to her and she picked me up and put her hand underneath my diaper as she carried me on her hip downstairs and deposited me into ‘my’ high chair. I eyed the others again, and was thankful for a normal baby one! She velcroed a bib onto me, before she brought over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich she’d cut into small triangles. I saw her sit down with a plate that held a larger version for herself. “I hope you don’t mind peanut butter and jelly?” She asked. I shrugged, “It’s fine.” “Good, so what were you up to?” I sighed, “Has grandpa swept this room?” I asked. “Yes, I just did,” he said entering the room. “Why do you ask?” “Megan was asking me some questions I didn’t want to risk others hearing…” “So…?” Megan asked. I sighed, “I started off looking into the guys who broke into our house and the lady who poisoned Bella. There’s nothing else that can really be done there though…” “No, it’s pretty much in the courts hands now,” Grandpa Joe said. “I think they’re going before a judge who’s pretty honest, but we’ll see what happens.” “It’s all about the money,” I sighed. “Yes, it is,” he agreed. “So, what was with the chemistry I saw you looking at?” She asked me. “I’m looking into the adverse effects of breast milk…” I said turning bright red. “Which ones?” She asked. “The loss of continence…” “That would be a big breakthrough,” Megan said. “And potentially a bit target on your back…” Grandpa said sitting down with a glass of iced tea across the table from Megan. “I know… it’s why I’ve been keeping it low key,” I said to them. “I haven’t even told Am… Mommy how far I’ve made with it.” “You actually know what causes it?” Megan asks. I nodded and walked her through it, “I think if I can program a nanite set to act as a T-Cell of sorts to go and bind to the protein and block the binding of the receptors there’s a good chance I can prevent the effects.” “Or you could cause more problems…” Grandpa noted. “It’s definitely playing with fire,” I agreed. “But…” “What about the addictive parts?” Megan asked. “I haven’t made it that far… I don’t actually mind that part since I know littles are able to get past that.” I admitted. “It’s an interesting idea,” Grandpa Joe admitted. “Just be really careful Stacy, you never know what unintended consequences something like this might have.” I nodded but didn’t say anything else, instead putting a piece of sandwich in my mouth and chewing. “So, what are you two up the rest of today?” Joe asked us. “Well originally I was going to go do some shopping with my friends,” Megan said, “but given everything going on... I think staying home and working on some video game skills is probably smarter.” Joe shook his head, “I don’t know what I did wrong with you girls... “ I laughed at that and he shot me a mock glare, “Don’t you go there, Missy, you’re as much of a nerd as your mommy…” I stuck my tongue out at him and Megan and he both laughed. “I’m going to spend the rest of the afternoon making sure this house is secure for the night before working on figuring out what we can do with your home Stacy.” It was weird hearing it called, ‘my home,’ but it did feel that way at this point. “I don’t know what more you can do…” I told him. “I’m thinking robot security guards?” He suggested. My eyes opened in terror… “Does it have to be robots…?” I could feel my rear still feel phantom pains from that stupid swing. “I’ll see if I can think of something else,” he said sympathetically. I nodded and took a drink from the bottle on the tray. I was full and asked, “May I go get back on my computer please?” Megan shook her head, “I think a nap would be a good idea first…” “I don’t need…” I started to complain. “Think about last night and yesterday?” Megan said, “I want to take one myself too. Why don’t you just come take one with me?” I wanted to complain but I knew even with Megan if she wanted me to take a nap she would be able to make me take a nap… I sighed, “I guess…” “Great,” she said as she picked me up out of the highchair and wiped my face of some crumbs with the bib she’d used on me. I made a face but she just laughed and put me back on her hip. She felt the diaper underneath the romper and said, “I’ll change you after your nap…” “Our nap you mean?” I asked. She squeezed me, “Our nap then.” We went up to her room that was obviously still hers with posters, pictures, stuffed animals, and a faded purple wall that I suspected was a color she liked when she was little. A faded sign on the door said ‘Princess Megan’ much like the one on my door at Amanda’s house. She laid me down on her day bed that was set against the wall. As soon as I was down, she kicked off her shoes and laid down next to me on the open side. Once she was down on the bed too, she began hugging me and cuddling me like a teddy bear. I sighed as she was pretty warm but closed my eyes while trying to think of what was my next move. Her heartbeat again lulled me to sleep as she also hummed a lullaby too. Chapter 16: Investigations I WOKE UP sometime later, and discovered that Megan definitely woke up before I did! I rolled over and looked at her doing something on her computer at her desk that was adjacent to a bay window. The window looked to have a bench seat tucked inside. When I sat up, she was oblivious to my waking up, and instead seemed intent on the screen in front of her. I crawled to the edge of the bed and looked at the long drop down to the floor. I sighed as I realized I needed to pee badly right then and let it loose in the diaper before saying, “Megan?” She looked up surprised, “Oh, you woke up!” she said with a smile and came over to me. I felt her hand check my diaper and she said, “How about we get you out of that icky wet diapee?” I nodded, “Please…” She carried me down the hallway back to the nursery and made quick work of the diaper change and said, “So I’m guessing you’re pretty much happy as long as you have your computer somewhere?” “That bay window in your room?” I suggested. She smiled, “I’ve always loved that window seat! Let’s grab you a bottle from the kitchen really quick along the way.” She held me as she bent over and picked up my bag of electronics from the playpen, carried me down the hallway to the stairs and grabbed a bottle from the fridge. Moments later I was placed onto the comfy cushioned window seat to work. “Thanks,” I said as she handed over the bottle of juice to me. “Comfy?” She asked. I nodded, “Much better than the playpen…” She giggled at that, “I’m going to get back to my game then…” I gave my own giggle and watched her begin to play some sort of city simulation game and got back to my own tasks. I began exploring the software the university had available for students and came across a chemical simulation program that was sort of able to run on my computer. It was compatible with some tweaking, albeit the program ran rather slowly as my processor wasn’t quite up to their standards. I was able to import the chemical structure of the protein that was so problematic in Amanda’s milk, and then modeled the receptors that would be needed to collect it and send it out through the bodies endocrine system. I was working on it for about an hour when Megan said, “You’re going about that wrong…” I started as I hadn’t even noticed her approach as she had climbed on the cushion next to me. After I got my heartrate down a bit I asked, “What am I doing wrong?” “Do this…” she walked me through another method for ten minutes, explaining why along the way, and the simulation was suddenly successful. “So, if you get this going on in your body, breastfeeding becomes okay again?” “I’m hoping…” I admitted. “Speaking of leaky breasts… I’m going to drop you off in the playpen for a bit while I take care of mine…” “I’m sorry,” I told her, knowing my presence was responsible. “Don’t be… though I have to say if you get this figured out, I may want some help at some point…” I smiled, “I’d be happy to help…” She gave me a hug and helped me reclaim my electronics and moved me to the playpen in the nursery before taking off. I used that time to drain some more of the bottle she’d left me with. I had promised I wouldn’t do this edit without letting Amanda check over my work, so I decided to move on with another project. The nanites seemed to have other potential uses and I wondered just what else I could do with them… Just as I was thinking of my plans for future uses my phone suddenly shocked me by ringing with Amanda’s face showing up on the screen. I picked it up and said, “Hello?” “Stacy?” Amanda asked tentatively. “Hi Mommy,” I said, “How’s Bella?” “She’s doing a lot better right now. I need you to do something for me for tonight… The real LPS agency is sending over a team on a well-being check. Can you get Megan to help you put your toys away?” I grimaced, “Yes Mommy, how far are they away?” “About a half-hour, they were told our lawyer must be present and your grandfather is insisting on an officer that he knows he can trust absolutely.” “Okay, I’ll get myself into cute baby mode… I love you Mommy!” “Love you too,” she told me. I cut the connection and called out for Megan, “Auntie Megan!” “What’s wrong Stacy?” “We have guests coming…” I told her as I was putting everything away into my backpack. “I need to look like a well taken care of little…” She nodded and began helping me with the backpack and clothes being put away out of sight. “Did you pack any of your princess diapers?” she asked. “I bought some last week and they’re in the diaper stacker,” Grandma’s voice said coming in through the hallway. “Good idea for putting her into one of those.” She dug for a second in a hanging diaper stacker and handed her the pink rectangle, “Here, get her changed into that. You have her in a good outfit, I’m going to take this playpen downstairs along with some toys for looking like she’s spending time playing with them. Why don’t you just hold her on your lap and watch something safe on TV together until they come.” “Is it fair for them to assess her in this house?” Megan asked. “Not really, but fortunately I’ve kept everything baby proofed for your sisters’ babies. No real point in it for the littles, it’s not like Stacy is going to be foolish enough to put something in an electrical outlet and electrocute herself, but LPS would insist on it otherwise…” She shook her head, “Go on, get that diaper changed and get downstairs,” she ordered. “So how scared should I be right now?” I asked Megan as popped the snaps on my romper and pulled the tapes of the slightly wet diaper loose. “I don’t know honestly Stacy… Hopefully Dad and Larry have this in hand,” she told me as she lifted my feet in the air and pulled the old diaper out and put the new on in place. She held my feet in the air for a second longer to wipe me thoroughly and then put some lotion on from my diaper bag. I shuddered for a second thinking of poor Bella, but knew that lotion had to have been safe at least. As soon as she was satisfied, she wiped her hands on a wipe and taped me in. The romper was snapped shut and she carried me to the bathroom where she washed her hands. “Let’s get you a pacifier?” She suggested. “Maybe another bottle too?” I said with my mouth feeling very dry all of the sudden. She gently squeezed me before retrieving one of my pacifiers that she attached to my outfit with a clip and stuffed the nipple of it into my mouth. She patted me gently on the back as we moved downstairs and I suckled on the reassuring pacifier, just hoping beyond hope that nothing bad was about to happen to me. She stopped at the fridge and grabbed a bottle of juice and carried me to the couch and exchanged the pacifier for the bottle that she held as she turned on a movie that she decided on, “This is a kids movie and it’s free of subliminal messages as far as anyone knows.” “Okay,” I said pausing from the bottle for a second. I had downed maybe half of the bottle when the doorbell rang and Grandpa moved to open the door. “Hey Larry,” he said as he let in his lawyer friend. “Hi Joe, did I beat them here?” “They should be arriving anytime now I would expect,” he said as I looked up from the bottle I was drinking from. I embarrassingly put it down as he came to sit down in a chair that Joe provided next to the couch. “How are you doing Stacy?” He asked politely. I shrugged, “I’ve been better. Do you know what they’re coming for?” “I…” he started to say when the doorbell rang and Grandpa Joe went for the door. “Hi, I’m Claire Parsons, I’m with Little Protection Services, and this is Police Detective Deming,” I heard from the door. “Hi Ty,” Joe said to the man. “May we come in?” They asked politely. “Yes, come on in,” Joe said and directed them inside to the living room. I was a little surprised to see that Claire appeared to be a betweener at probably only six and a half feet tall. Smaller than Megan who waved at her from underneath me. “This is Larry Worthington, our attorney, my wife Theresa, our youngest daughter Megan, and this is Stacy, who I believe you are here to see?” He asked. “Yes,” Claire said, “May we sit here and talk?” she asked. “Yes ma’am,” Joe said politely and motioned to a chair that was catty corner from where Megan and I sat on the couch. Grandma sat down next to Megan and Joe sat down protectively next to her. “Thanks for speaking with us, I know I wouldn’t trust anyone at this point with what happened yesterday…” Claire started out speaking with me. “Umm… just out of curiosity I thought you were going to college Stacy? I wasn’t expecting to see you living as a traditional little?” I wondered if it was a trick for a moment, but I decided there was something about the shorter woman that I could trust. Grandpa had already said he trusted the officer sitting next to her. “It’s kind of a dual arrangement,” I said with a smile, “I agreed to some of the baby treatment in exchange for being able to go to school. I don’t have to worry about being adopted and having to worry about being maimed or something… But I can study in this dimension where the technology is so much further advanced.” “I don’t want you to worry about appearances for our sake right now Stacy, I understand you are a very intelligent young woman. What we both need to know is what happened as far as you were aware yesterday…” “I agree Stacy, don’t worry about playing baby right now, we want to know what happened so we can nail the lady and anyone else connected with her.” “Go ahead Stacy, and you can tell them about the other stuff you all have figured out too. I checked into her, and Ty here is one of the most trustworthy people I’ve ever known,” Grandpa said across from Grandma. I gave him a look but the nod from him meant I felt comfortable talking with her with that kind of information. I looked at her, “Where do you want me to start?” “Well how about yesterday to begin with?” “Grandpa had me for the morning to stay with him. We had come here and were eating lunch when we got a call that LPS was doing a wellbeing check on us…” I paused, “We’d been kind of expecting something like that after everything that was going on, so Grandpa took me back home. There were two individuals who had identified themselves as LPS agents waiting there when we got there. The lady stated her name was Diana Ellis, and she said the man’s name was Bob Drindel,” I told her. “Wait, how do you remember that clearly?” Claire asked. “I have a really good memory… as you said before I’m smart. The lady insisted that she needed to be able to examine my body for marks or about the complaints of malnourishment. She started to try and change my diaper when she had me undressed, but Larry said he would take care of it.” I paused, “I appreciated his being willing to protect me from dealing with her molesting me at the time was all I worried about…” I felt a little bit of tears come to my eyes but I shook it off, “Anyway after he insisted on doing that, she said she wanted to speak with me. We sat down on the floor for what I would expect would be a pretty typical interview?” “What all did she ask?” I thought back, “She asked about my adoption, if it was willing, if my parents spanked me, why I would bother to go to college,” I thought back and wasn’t remembering much else. “I think we discussed the failed kidnapping attempt at the university? She also seemed concerned that I’d been left unsupervised on the university campus… We pointed out a free little could babysit me and Larry shut down the conversation?” He nodded, “That’s basically the conversation. I have a recording of the whole encounter from when I entered the room if you would like it?” “We would, I know we already have the video of what happened with her and Bella…” the detective said. “Did you see any other signs of problems?” I hesitated, “I’m not sure what it would look like for a normal visit, but I know a lot of abuse happens in this dimension to littles that no one seems to do anything about… So, I have no way to gauge that honestly.” “That makes sense,” Claire said, “And you’re right about the abuse. We have a number of agents that we’ve investigated in the past too that have taken desirable littles away to sell for a higher price…” she shook her head, “I hope you know not all of us are like that. I’m certainly not, which is why I’ve been tasked to investigate the matter.” “So, you have no doubts as to the care of Stacy and Bella?” Grandpa Joe asked. “None whatsoever, though I do hope that Stacy doesn’t get pushed anywhere she doesn’t want to go with her life… She seems too smart to get stuck with just being a mindless baby. Do you have any other information to add?” I looked at them and nodded, “I took the video images we captured and compared them with pictures online… I let Mommy know about the discrepancy that was passed onto the police so they could arrest her. I was able to do some further research and tied her with a Breeding and Export business that was after Bella when we met her. They had gone through some elaborate steps to get her to fly out to Selegansol to kidnap her. Now they don’t seem too happy to have lost her. There were a few attempts there to kidnap her, and I suspect that was the same group who tried to kidnap me in the student union.” “I agree,” Detective Deming said. “Unfortunately, proving it beyond a reasonable doubt, and identifying the person who ordered everything is probably out of our reach for the moment.” “Any ideas on how to keep me from being attacked anymore?” I asked him. “We’ve increased patrols around this house and your home. Hopefully that deters them. I know Joe was working to do some more work to secure your home there to harden entry points. They got in last night by ignoring the alarms and just busting in through a side window on the first floor. They appear to have run straight to the nursery, and then ransacked it some when they didn’t find you.” I felt a bit of fear in my gut hoping that my Switch with the hidden pistol had stayed hidden. “How much did they do?” I asked. He pulled out a tablet with pictures and showed me the nursery. To my horror basically everything had been tossed except the mattress of my bed. The crib had actually been thrown onto its side, clothes and toys were everywhere on the floor. It looked like they emptied bottles of baby lotion and powder and poured that everywhere too… it seemed pointless levels of vandalism. All of my important stuff other than that weapon were with me though, and it looked like the mattress to the toddler bed had been spared completely. I was able to flip through photos and saw they had also done some damage to the master bedroom and Fred’s office. It looked like they had been scared away before getting to Amanda’s workroom though. I handed the tablet back to him and said, “Thanks, why’d they stop?” “I don’t honestly know,” he said, “Unless they found something they wanted in the office?” I shook my head, “I’m guessing they got scared off myself?” I paused, “I’m not sure what was up with the vandalism in the nursery.” “Probably a psychological attack,” Grandpa Joe said, “It definitely struck Amanda to the core, and it takes away your sense of safety.” “I agree,” the detective said and Claire nodded. “So, where do we go from here?” I asked. Detective Deming sighed, “That’s a good question. I was hoping having a conversation with you might bring up some new leads… and it did with Venture, but that is like an impossible ivory tower to scale right now. They have so many politicians and officers bribed, to protect them, that they’re not going to go down easily. Add the Trelini family connection that seems to be present from your first kidnapping and I’m not sure what can be done right now.” “That’s a bit of a dreary picture,” Grandma said from beside me. “Well is there anything else you need from us?” Deming looked at Claire who shook her head, “We’re going to investigate how the imposter got her credentials altered. The lady she claimed to be was actually found murdered in her house today when we went to check on her.” I felt my blood turn to ice as once again I could see how serious they were. “Murdered?” Megan asked as she hugged me protectively. “She hadn’t been seen in a couple days, so they had been working on this at least that long. The other guy who was with her was on loan from another office, so they hadn’t worked together before. He seems to be innocent in this.” “That’s crazy…” I said as I felt some urine leave me into the thick diaper. “Yes, it is,” Claire said. “Look, the only thing I can assure you of from my end is that your file has been flagged so that if it comes up again, I will be the agent to investigate any complaints. I’m pretty certain I’ll be able to close them in a single visit and a shake of my head. I can tell you’re definitely with a good set of parents, and I hope your sister recovers quickly.” “Thanks,” I said. She and the detective made their exit and I was left sitting on Megan’s lap. Larry made his own polite departure then too, as he was no longer needed, leaving the four of us sitting there in the living room. “This is scary,” Megan said. “Yes, it is,” Grandpa said, “Megan, would you please go help Stacy change into something more comfortable and a regular diaper so I can work with her… actually make it one of her uniforms like she’ll be going to school.” “What are you up to Joe?” his wife asked. “The game has changed; we were just worried about kidnapping before. Now I’m worried about lives, I’m going to arm Stacy with every dirty trick in the book. We’ll be downstairs in the workout room for the rest of the day.” “Are you sure dear?” she asked nervously. “Yes, I am. Go on Megan,” he told her and she followed his instructions with a squeeze of a hug for me. “Are you okay with this?” She asked me. I nodded, “It’s not a matter of if, but when, I run into these guys again.” She kissed my forehead as she laid me down on the changing table. “Definitely could have stayed in this one longer,” she told me with a smirk. “You should have seen the monstrosity from the other day…” I groaned. The change was quick, just a quick wipe, some powder, and the new Pamper was on. We dug out one of my school uniforms and dressed me completely down to the shoes before she carried me downstairs past the first floor, and to the basement where I discovered Joe had a mini version of his studio there. “Go ahead and leave us alone Megan, call us up for dinner and we’ll take a short break, but we’ll be down here until her bedtime tonight.” “Yes Daddy,” she said and set me down beside his towering frame. He had changed into a gi and looked to be back in full martial arts master teacher mode. I bowed politely as she left and took a comfortable ready stance. When the door closed, he walked over to a bag and said, “I called a friend yesterday afternoon after I left you all and asked for a rush order on something.” He pulled out a pair of shoes that looked identical to mine. He sat down on the floor and showed them to me. “They look just like mine; I have a feeling there’s something concealed?” “Don’t ever let anyone find this, but there is a blade in each of these shoes,” he showed me how to pull two thin bladed weapons from the heel of the shoe quickly. There was a set of finger holes that resembled a set of brass knuckles attached to a thin single bladed knife. The weapons had a curve to them that made them look beautiful, if not deadly. I placed my fingers in the holes of the right hand one and amazed that it was a perfect match to my hand. I took a tentative swing with it and marveled how it became an extension of my hand. I looked up at Grandpa Joe, “I take it you can teach me how to use these without hurting myself in the process?” He gave a light laugh, “That’s the idea. First, we’ll practice just drawing them smoothly.” I pulled my other shoes off and replaced them with the new ones that even felt more comfortable. As I went to lace them though he said, “These have some special laces, put your finger right here,” he said to a place that seemed to just be a spot of regular patent leather. I did as he said and they suddenly laced up on their own, “Cool!” I said with a smile. “I take it you don’t have self-lacing shoes in your dimension?” “Only in science fiction movies!” I said with a smile. “They will only unlace now if you use your fingerprint on that spot. They won’t be able to cut them off easily either, so since they’re cute, you’ll probably see an Amazon give up in a hurry on taking them off.” “So just keep them hidden and wait to strike?” I asked as I stood up. “That’s one option, but I personally think your best bet at this point is to strike first and not allow them to get their hands on you if you can help it. These would also let you cut through safety belts in car seats. Since they would probably want you in a rear facing seat that might be an easy way to keep covert there…” We spent a while longer talking about some tactics before he said, “Let’s practice,” he said. After the first time I pulled them free, he handed me a set of practice blades to put in their place and began drilling me in a number of positions to draw them and then move into a ready stance. We had only practiced that when Megan came down just as I had replaced the practice set in the shoes, “Dinner’s ready you two,” she said, “Mom wants me to tell you to clean up, I’ll change Stacy, and then we’ll eat.” “Okay,” he said. We exchanged a quick bow to each other and then I walked up to the stairs where Megan scooped me up. She made a face as she checked my diaper, “It’s been hours! This diaper should be a lot wetter, you need to drink more…” “I’ll try and remember that…” I told her. She changed me into a fresh diaper, washed her hands, helped me wash mine, and then carried me to get situated downstairs in my high chair. I had a moment of fear remembering earlier on when I first arrived that I would likely be eating baby food under Granny’s watch. I saw from the pasta pot and a red pot of sauce that dinner was apparently a pasta dish in a homemade red sauce. “Here, let’s get you a bib,” Granny said and appeared with one that said, ‘My Granny Spoils Me More than Yours.’ I rolled my eyes internally as she tied it on and then gave me a plate of pasta and one of my small forks. I sighed in relief and said, “Thank you Granny!” “You’re very welcome Stacy,” she said with a kiss to the top of my head. “Has Mommy called with any more information on Bella?” “She’s still in the ICU, but they have seen some signs of her waking up. They’re going to try and wake her up in a few hours if she hasn’t on her own.” “That’s quick…” Megan said. “I wish I could be there for her,” she added. “If you want, I can stay here with your Dad and Stacy and you can go there for a bit?” She suggested. She shook her head, “Mandy wanted me to watch Stacy. Why don’t you go back after dinner though?” “I’ve got Stacy under control if you both want to go?” Grandpa Joe suggested. They both looked torn as I twirled some of the large spaghetti noodles around my small fork and took a bite. After I chewed, I took a sip from my bottle that sat on the tray and then said, “Go, it’ll do everyone some good. Grandpa and I are just going to hang out downstairs anyway, right?” He smiled at me, “Right!” They both sighed but said, “Okay, I think we can trust you two for a bit…” He mocked pain and said, “Just for a bit?” “To be fair they probably shouldn’t trust us at all,” I said with a smirk. “Definitely my favorite granddaughter,” he said with a laugh. We all ate pretty quickly and I filled up on the large noodles. It was almost like eating a pasta the thickness of penne pasta. The sauce was one of the best I’d ever had, “This is amazing,” I told her. “I’m glad you think so, I worried you might not like it?” “Why?” “I don’t put sugar in my sauce. Our other little grandchildren didn’t like it while they could eat it.” She was sad at the end of the statement. I grimaced but nodded, “I keep hearing my taste buds are weird…” “How else?” Megan asked curiously and seeming interested in a change of conversation. “Well… I think Daddy and I might have to go and have some fun with fiery food challenges…” Granny looked a bit nervous at that, “What?” “Well I grew up that the smaller the chile, the spicier it is. Even your smallest peppers are like the size of our mild poblano peppers to me. I think because of that they taste milder. Bella regretted it when she tried a little of one that I didn’t feel a tingle on.” Megan looked intrigued, “They have some events sometimes at the university…” “Before or after bedtime?” “Some before… I’ll keep an eye out for those for you!” She said with a smile. Dinner ended soon and Megan made me finish the bottle before changing me again. She delivered me back to Grandpa’s care, before they both took off for the hospital. “Okay, draw those blades again,” he told me and came at me simultaneously. I did so with a front tumble as I moved to his left and drew the blades, standing to face him to my side. “Good!” he said, “But, you left yourself open…” For the next few hours we worked nonstop until my muscles hurt, and I was dripping with sweat. He showed me how to go for the tendons around the ankles, and to attack the hamstrings first. We also worked with him reaching for me and going after holding my arms and wrists. There were also drills with me getting to the blades while being held, cradled, and aggressively squeezed. By the end of that night I knew I could be beaten by the right person, but I thought I might have survived someone who underestimated me. I hoped with more practice even the right person would be unlikely to win! My watch showed eleven when Megan walked in and said, “Okay Daddy, Stacy needs to take a bath because I’m guessing she stinks, then she needs to get to bed.” We both bowed to each other and I said, “Thank you for teaching me Sensei.” “My privilege, I really do hope we have more time to train… Here, let’s switch the training blades out,” he added quietly as he hugged me. I discreetly repositioned the blades into my shoes. I now had the real blades that were razor sharp where they could be useful. I walked over to Megan who looked at me with wide eyes, but squeezed me as she picked me up. I asked her, “Did Bella wake up yet?” “Yes, she did. She’s groggy and disoriented, but seems to remember everything that’s happened recently, as well as further back in the past. She managed to answer questions for about fifteen minutes before she went back to sleep. They’re cautiously optimistic that there won’t be too many long-term effects,” she had made it up to the top of the stairs then. “Have they noticed any so far?” “She seemed to have some coordination issues, nothing major, but there may be some losses there. They can’t really tell much more until they have her try and move around though.” I nodded as she reached the door to the nursery. She stripped the dress I wore off and tried to take my shoes off but couldn’t do anything. I went, “oops, let me get those,” and put my fingerprint where the sensor was hidden. They came undone and I slipped them off, “Make sure I put those on tomorrow please…” I told her. “Mmm… Okay,” she said leaving me in just my diaper a moment later. The discolored garment was hanging almost loose on my hips at that point as she removed it and carried me bare-naked to the bathroom, where Granny was already running a bubble bath for me. I blushed as Megan passed me to her and she sat me down in the water. “Do you mind if I bathe you?” Granny asked. There was definitely a tentative nervousness to her voice, but also you could tell she really wanted to bathe me. I blushed but nodded, “Okay.” The next ten minutes or so weren’t that different than Amanda bathing me. It was a little more embarrassing with the lady who I had at one-point thought would be my biggest antagonist. Every stroke of a sudsy wash cloth, or massaging of baby shampoo in my hair was so gentle though, so I felt pretty content. I was almost feeling like going to sleep in the bathtub when she said, “I think my little grandbaby is ready for night night, huh?” I nodded, “Yeah, it’s been a long day…” She nodded and wrapped me gently in a towel before carrying me down to the nursery. Megan was hanging around then as Granny asked, “So are you okay with going to church with us tomorrow?” I felt my nerves come up again, but wasn’t sure how to respond as she deposited me onto the changing table. Megan came to the rescue then, “Mom, why don’t I stay home with Stacy tomorrow?” With everything going on right now she could probably use another day of sleeping in before classes start on Monday.” I looked up at Granny and she pursed her lips, “I think I can live with that if you promise me that you’ll both come next Sunday?” I nodded, “Okay Granny, I appreciate you letting me sleep in…” She pulled my legs in the air as she put a thick princess diaper under my rear. “You’re welcome sweetie,” she said. Powder followed all over my diaper area, stomach, and legs. She taped up the diaper and then helped me get dressed into my footed pajamas. She brushed my hair and used a loud blow drier before braiding it loosely. “You want a bottle before you go to bed?” She asked me. “I heard you don’t mind them?” she added with a smile. I looked at Megan who flushed a bit at having been busted at telling my secrets to her mom. “No, they’re okay… sure. Just regular milk though, right?” “No breast milk for you for now per your mommy’s wishes,” she agreed. “Here, Megan hold her while I go get her a baba,” she said with a quick hug to me and passed me over to Megan. She sat down on the floor with me and turned me around in her lap to face her, “Sorry I told Mom that…” I giggled, “She’s your mom, you don’t probably have a ton of secrets from her. It’s okay.” She gave me a quick squeeze, “I figured tomorrow going to church might be a bit too much. I’m not sure if they’ll send you with the babies to the nursery, let you hang with us in the college room, or send you to a free littles group…” “Thanks, that’s more thinking than I would want to do tomorrow,” I agreed. “Maybe I can get a few more things done on my computer before Chloe and Cassie come over…” “Sure,” she said. “Do you have many more things you’re working on?” “I have a couple more things I want to check on... “ Her mother came back up the stairs with one of my bottles in hand, and Megan handed me over to her. She carried me to a well-worn rocking chair in the corner where she placed me in the crook of her arm and placed the nipple of the bottle of warm milk to my lips. I latched on and began nursing as she hummed a lullaby that Amanda must have learned from her. My eyes closed gradually and I must have been fully asleep as she settled me down inside the large crib. Chapter 17: Edits and Missteps THE NEXT MORNING Megan woke me up and carried me downstairs to have a great hot breakfast made by Granny before they took off for church. I was still dressed comfortably in my pajamas for the meal. Afterwards Megan changed a soaked diaper while Granny and Grandpa left for church. She helped me get dressed in one of the more mature outfits that I had afterwards. The skirt was covered in a floral pattern and I wore a cute short-sleeved top, with just a simple bit of lace on the collar. It concealed my diaper and looked okay with the white socks and my new Mary Jane shoes that Grandpa had given me the day before. “What do you want to do now? Kill time on your computer?” Megan asked me once I was dressed. “Sure,” I said, “Can I just hang out on the window seat in your room again?” She nodded, “Sure, especially since it seems like LPS is out of everyone’s hair for now.” “I hope Claire was being truthful with everything yesterday…” I said in response, “I felt like we can trust her, but what about her bosses?” Megan nodded, “I know, but I believe Larry will ensure that we’ll be okay.” She helped me gather my backpack of electronics and got me situated on the bench seat. I laid down on my stomach after plugging in my computer and had my legs kicking in the air aimlessly as I began looking through the nanite file for something else that I’d thought of that morning. “You know you’re flashing me that cute little diapee from underneath that skirt?” She asked me. I blushed and pulled my skirt back down, “Still not used to these things,” I told her honestly. “I can’t imagine you ever as a boy,” she told me with a smile. “Definitely going to have to train you to be a lady though!” I smiled at her and then looked down at the screen to get busy. Last week at the one orientation session, when every little had been in a diaper, I had gone in my diaper without knowing I was going. It was the first time I could say that happened when I wasn’t on Amanda’s milk, and I remembered thinking at the time it was probably a hypnosis thing. In this world that threat terrified me! I wondered if the nanites might have made me more susceptible to that abuse in some way. I started a simple search for hypno within the code and felt my blood turn cold as I saw more than three hundred results! ‘Shit,’ I said internally and began browsing my way through the results. It seemed like they all came from the same function that specifically allowed for a little become more susceptible to hypnosis. The frightening thing was that it was turned on by default, and we had missed it completely! I decided it wasn’t worth waiting for approval from Amanda on this change, and began going through and creating a patch to upload to my nanites. I went further than just disabling it though, I used the code as a foundation to theoretically make it to where I would be immune from such attacks, just like the Amazons. I checked everything several times before I sent the patch to my nanites and felt a physical jolt like I shocked myself with electricity. It hurt! “Owww!” I complained. “You okay?” Megan asked with concern having been watching me right then. I grimaced, but nodded, “I just got a sudden cramp for some reason…” I felt myself let out a fart right then and hoped it wouldn’t smell too bad for her to notice. She looked at me skeptically before looking at her watch, “Mom and Dad should be back soon, and they’ll have Cassie and Chloe with them. Do you need to use the potty before they get here?” “I left mine at home, didn’t I?” I thought actually thinking about the fact that I did need to go number two just then. “I can hold you on top of the regular one?” I shakily stood and shook my head, “It’s probably easier for me just to go in my diaper…” She looked at me, “You sure?” My answer was just to let go into the diaper. I pushed for a long moment before standing up feeling out of breath, “yes.” “Ewww,” she complained as she carried me to the nursery and laid me down on the changing table, “You can definitely tell that you eat regular food…” “Sorry,” I told her. “I told you I would hold you…” I blushed, “I’m a little scared of falling in to be honest.” She tickled my side then, “Like I would let my adorable niece be gobbled up by the potty monster!” I was wiped clean and stood back up on the ground just as we heard the downstairs garage door open and heard Granny announce, “We’re home!” “Come on, let’s go have lunch and pretend to play nice with my evil sisters for a while…” she said to me. I looked at her, “So I guess you enjoy these days about as much as I’m going to?” She nodded, “I’m their liberal and short baby sister… They like putting digs in on me of course, but then I also have to watch what they do to their kids and littles. It’s so depressing…” I nodded my own agreement and stayed silent as she carried me downstairs. We’d left my electronics safely in her room while her sisters were there to be safe form any tampering. Soon we joined her mom as she pulled a casserole out of the oven. “Lunch will be ready soon. Megan can you help me out over here with the salad?” I was placed on the ground and all but forgotten for a few minutes. Soon though the front door opened and Cassie came in carrying Neville, while her husband carried Klara and Kristina right behind her. “Mom we’re here,” Cassie called out as she came in and I looked at the giants and their large preschool daughter who towered over me. “Baby Stacy!” Kristina cried as she saw me and ran towards me. I was more than a little frightened as she hugged me. “Hi Kristina,” I told her while still gaping at the size of the toddler. Before I could say anything more she pulled my skirt up to show the world my diaper, “Good girl, all dwy!” she said to me. “Not Klara, her diapees poopy!!!” I looked up at Klara and noticed she was red and upset as Cassie came in. “I’m going to take Klara upstairs to change her poopy diapee. I guess she’s decided to just be a baby and not be interested in potty training,” she said glaring at me. “Some kids, like you, take longer to train. I learned the hard way that you can’t always rush them,” Granny said as she came and hugged everyone and kissed Klara. She demonstrated the same greeting to Neville who I knew had to be starved for true affection. “Why don’t we change Neville while we’re at it,” her husband suggested. “He’s rather ripe too…” “I guess,” she said. “I think he could probably go longer since he likes being poopy.” I looked at his dejected face, and gave him a sad sympathetic look as they carried him upstairs and left us downstairs. “Granny, can we watch cartoons?” Kristina asked. “Sure sweetie, take Stacy with you,” she suggested. She turned the TV straight onto a TV show that I knew for certain wasn’t safe!!! A screen showing two characters that I had seen all over little’s clothing, Naomi and Oliver, showed one the screen! “This Neville’s favorite, you like too?” she asked as I tried not to look at the screen. “Not really,” I managed to say nonchalantly while hoping if I did see it my changes would help. Thinking quickly, I asked her, “What’s your favorite? Maybe it’s on?” She used the remote and said, “This one, Princess Silvy!” She said as she turned to a cartoon that reminded me a bit of Sofia the First from our dimension. She grabbed my arm and insisted that I sit on her larger lap. I’d been sitting there for a few minutes when Cassie came down and said, “Megan, you’ll probably need to change Stacy soon, she’s watching Princess Silvy with Kristina!” “What?!?!” I heard a shocked set of voices call out. Grandma and Megan ran out quickly and Megan grabbed me to take me out of the room while Cassie laughed and said, “What’s the big deal? She’s just a little baby anyway? Mandy has her in diapers like a proper baby should be?” Then she paused, “I mean she certainly seemed happy that I can’t get Klara to use the potty like a big girl?” Megan put her hand to my diaper and seemed surprised to find it dry, “That was one of those hypnotic shows wasn’t it?” I asked as she carried me upstairs. I heard Granny and Cassie arguing a bit as she did so. “Yes, it is, you were watching it long enough you should have gone… I shouldn’t have been able to pull you away either without you crying and begging to keep watching it,” she said more than a little surprised. I smiled at her, “I think I may be immune now…” She looked at me suspiciously, “How?” “Umm…” “You’ve been editing more again, haven’t you?” She asked me quietly. “Mandy said you shouldn’t be doing that…” “It was that or be more susceptible to those shows…” I told her. “We’ll need to talk with Amanda later about this,” she said with a frown. “Are you sure it was safe?” I shrugged, “I think so. I already had one run-in with someone using hypnotic tricks at one of our little events this week. The fact that I didn’t wet or mess my diaper right now, probably means that it was successful?” She squeezed me in a hug, “Dad has the picnic table setup outside, why don’t you go out there with me?” I nodded and hugged her back as best I was able to. We came down seeing the fireworks had gone to a simmer and Granny came over to me, “Are you okay?” “I think so… I’ll tell you later,” I added. “Have you talked to Mommy today?” “A couple hours ago… She said that Bella is a lot more alert today, they’re supposed to move her to a regular room this afternoon, and hopefully be able to send her home tomorrow.” “So soon?” I asked in surprise, “She was basically in a coma?” “Our medical technology is a lot more advanced,” she reminded me. “Now stay with Megan - do not leave her side!” I nodded and clung to Megan as she went hugged me tightly on her hip. Grandpa Joe had what looked like gigantic chicken breasts cooking on the grill, along with some sausages. “Need any help Daddy?” Megan asked. “Not right now. Why don’t you just sit back and relax? Tomorrow you both start classes again and you won’t have much time for rest!” He reminded us. We smiled at him and Megan sat down with me, turning me in her lap to face her. She played with letting me fall backwards out of her lap and I squealed. She did that a few times before holding me in a hug, “If my sister gets tired of you, I don’t know that I want you as a stinky baby, but you are cute!” She told me. I smiled at her, “You are definitely better than the other possibilities,” I told her. “I…” she started to say as Chloe came out with Kendra and Katie one either side of her, and Derrick followed carrying Kacey. They were actually dressed this time in onesies, so something at least covered them, but it looked like they all had leaky diapers showing around the edges. The bottoms of their onesies were darker, and Kacey’s looked like diarrhea had caused some permanent brown stains. I felt myself want to throw up at that. She brought them over to us and said, “Auntie Megan, can you watch these three for a moment while I go grab some of their toys?” “Sure, I’d be happy to,” Megan said cordially. I watched as a blanket was laid down on the grass and she put all three onto their stomachs. “Be back in a moment babies,” she told them. I gave Megan a look and she hugged me tight. “Hi girls,” Megan said nicely. The look they gave her was not a warm one. “Gaba Goo Gim!” Kacey said fairly angrily. I sighed, “I’m sorry,” I said just loud enough for them to hear. There was definitely a jealous look from Katie that I wasn’t screwed up as bad. Of course, at least she could crawl... Kacey looked forlornly like a worm that couldn’t do anything from her stationary spot on the blanket. You could almost see her arms and legs spasm in an attempt to sit herself up. Thankfully we didn’t have to sit there with them alone long before Chloe returned bringing a couple of toys for them to play with, including a bar that went over the top of Kacey that she could attempt to bat at some hanging toys. You could tell that she just desperately wanted to do anything to make her feel like she had control. I couldn’t see any hope left in her face, and it was so sad to watch her half-heartedly bat at a dangling toy that it made me want to cry. I chose instead to talk to Megan, “What’s your schedule like tomorrow?” “I have a philosophy class at eleven, then a history class after lunch,” she said. “Then I have another couple of other classes tomorrow too that go into the evening.” She shifted me a little as obviously my body weight was getting a bit heavy. My skirt moved and flashed the girls my clean diaper, just as Cassie came out carrying Neville to deposit next to the other three littles. Kristina came out holding Klara’s hand. She was now wearing only a shirt and her diaper. She was all smiles though and didn’t seem to have a care in the world following her big sis outside. Granny followed and played a small game of chase with both of them as she came out. I watched as trips inside to get the other dishes were made by Granny, Grandpa, and Cassie to pile on the table. Cassie looked at Megan, “Why aren’t you helping?” “I am, I was told to watch Stacy here,” she told her. “You know she’d be just fine with the other girls on the blanket if she couldn’t walk. Mandy is just being stupid…” “Enough about my Mommy,” I told her. “If there’s anyone who needs to be told how to treat a little it’s you. The inhumane treatment of making an adult only crawl should be illegal,” I hissed. Megan grabbed me in a hug, “Umm… Sis, I happen to agree with Stacy here. Add to the fact that her parents are with her sister in the hospital right now, maybe keep your stupid opinions to yourself?” Before a war between sisters could fully erupt, Grandpa Joe put his hand on Cassie’s shoulder, “Enough sweetheart.” “But Dad…” “Enough,” he said simply. The food on the table meant we began dishing up, and it was like déja vu from the first Sunday I’d been there. Megan helped me with a plate that she placed a small piece of the chicken she had gotten. A piece of her sausage, and some of the green bean casserole that I wrinkled my nose up a little on, also joined on the plate. It was all really tasty! Well… except the green beans! While I made my way through my food, I watched as Cassie fed Neville another concoction of baby food. I was grateful for him that this one at least seemed slightly more edible; simply being a beef stew. Her biological daughters both fed themselves without incident, although she made sure to tie a bib on ‘baby’ Klara. She seemed to be treating her as obnoxiously like a baby as she could. ‘I guess she’s hoping to embarrass her out of babyhood?’ I shook my head, ‘I doubt that ends well…’ Chloe had Kendra and Kacey hanging off her exposed boobs while her husband held a bottle for Katie. ‘At least she’s feeding all of them…’ I thought. ‘I wonder if Grandpa and Granny said something to them…’ There were a few stifled conversations, but not much was going on when the back door opened and Amanda came through. She looked well past the ragged edge of fatigue and exhaustion, but came straight to me. “Stacy!” She said as she pulled me into her arms and hugged me. Tears streamed down her face and I saw Fred was right behind her. Something went tight in my gut since they were both there. “Is Bella…?” She sobbed, and sobbed then, with her body just convulsing with tears. Fred joined us in a hug and I just knew that the worst had happened, Bella… “Bella’s been kidnapped…” Fred said quietly to Grandpa. “Why didn’t you call me?!?” Grandpa Joe asked instantly. “There’s nothing anyone can do. They managed to slip some sort of sleeping agent into the room, and when we both came to Bella was gone. The police are reviewing the hospitals video footage, but the cameras show the kidnappers getting away with her.” Fred informed everyone, “We would use her Little Protect watch to track her, but there was a doctor that insisted we remove it for them to have access to put in IVs as needed… Her other tracker isn’t showing up either.” “My god, who would do such a thing?!?” Chloe erupted. It was an uncharacteristically caring moment on her part. “What can we do?” Cassie asked, almost looking like she wanted to cry. “Pray…” Amanda said. The family actually stopped and did that right then, but it didn’t sit right with me. I wanted to get in there and on my computer and start tracking down the kidnappers. Amanda was a hysterical mess, and it took Granny a good hour to get her talked into taking a nap in her old childhood bedroom. Soon Cassie and Chloe took off with their families, leaving just Amanda’s parents, Amanda, Fred, Megan and myself at home. While Amanda slept, I had gotten my computer and began hacking the hospital and every other place I could find a trail. Grandpa had come in at some point and just watched silently behind me as I worked. I found the video of the kidnappers taking off with her. They had rolled a canister of something that left some smoke fumes on the outside. They wore some sort of odd masks and went in after a short time. It was apparent that it only took a few seconds to knock Amanda and Fred out, and they were carrying Bella out barely five minutes after their arrival into the hospital. I took still images of the kidnappers and put them in a file as I followed their progress on the security cameras. They had used a back entrance to come into the hospital and left the same way. The camera view sucked, but I was able to figure out the make and model of the car and began finding some other cameras in businesses along the two routes they could have left by. I struck gold on the second with a good view of the license plate, “Hold on a second Stacy, let me write that down before you leave that screen. Good work by the way,” he said with a pat on my head. I heard him call his detective friend as I resumed tracking the car. This dimension was further ahead on plate tracking so a quick hack into another file handed me a list of places the plate passed by. The trail stopped in another area of town not far from the airport and I felt my stomach drop. “Grandpa Joe, I think they headed for the airport!” “Why do you think that?” he asked. I walked him through it just as Amanda had woken up and came inside the room. She was teary eyed and seemed to be all but broken as she came in and asked, “Where did you say?” “The airport maybe?” I suggested as Joe called and directed the police that direction. I drew up dead ends on flight manifests then and everything else before she touched her hand on my shoulder, “You’ve done all you can for now Stacy,” she said. I shook my head, “There’s got to be more of a trail…” “Time to let my dad and the police handle the next steps. They’re already going to be questioning him on how he found out so much…” I sighed but knew she was probably right. Just before I closed the computer though I saw her bra had spots coming through – I knew she had to have been leaking badly. I took a look at the patch file I had compiled already and just clicked ‘Install’ without asking her. I felt a small jolt as the patch hit again, but I didn’t space out. Instead I let her pick me up into her arms and then pulled at her shirt. “Stacy you can’t…” “Mommy you need it, and… I won’t be affected by it anymore…” “What did you do…?” She asked me a little angry, “I told you to let me check over…” “You need this, and I just installed it. You can check it later, the nanites are active and still really programmable so I know I can alter it more later if I need to. For now… Please? For both of us?” She sighed, but pulled her shirt down revealing the nursing bra and a nipple dripping with a droplet of milk was exposed to me. My mouth instantly watered from the sight. I didn’t hesitate on latching on and nursed until she burped me and changed sides. After I was done, I was groggy, but noticeably still clean, and no wetter than I had been before. “Well it looks like you still have control for now…” she said as she patted my back. “Yeah, but I definitely need to go…” I said and let a stream of urine into my diaper and a little bit of poop. She bounced me and held me for a while before taking me to the nursery to change my diaper. I stayed in her arms afterwards though as we sat in the living room to wait for any news that might come about Bella. We waited for a couple hours before a detective came to the house, “Please come in,” Joe told him. “Thanks Joe,” he said as he came in and we all sat down in the living room. “Do you have anything new? Have you found her?” Amanda asked. He shook his head, “We followed the leads that led to the vehicle they took Bella in, but it was abandoned near the airport. As far as we can tell she didn’t get on a plane with anyone, and all of our officers are keeping an eye on other travel points. Roadblocks are set on the outgoing roads, but so far, we haven’t been able to get much more than a name on one of the kidnappers. Joseph Di’santi is a member of the Trelini gang. We have a bulletin out for him as well.” “So, what now?” Fred asked angrily. The detective shrugged, “If there’s going to be a legal adoption of Bella, she’ll have to have her chip scanned. Right now, one of our experts thinks they must have her in some sort of faraday cage, because we can’t get a lock on her tracker at all. We’ve got scanners up and running looking for if she passes by any of our many scanners… but at this point we’re just waiting for them to screw up.” “You’ve got to find her,” Amanda cried as she was holding me. “We’ll do our best, I promise,” the detective said. “Well I need to get back to the station, I’ll contact you each day even if I don’t have anything new.” As he walked away to the door, led by Joe, Fred embraced us both in a hug that Megan and their mom joined in on. “Is it safe for Stacy to go to classes tomorrow?” Megan asked. “No, it’s not…” Amanda practically cried. “It’s not safe anywhere,” I told her. “I need to go. You can take me to each class if you want, but hiding isn’t going to help Bella.” She sniffled and we spent the next couple hours barely eating a dinner of takeout, and then discussing the problems for longer while we waited endlessly for any news on Bella. “Let me see what you uploaded to yourself…” she said. “Both of them…” I ended up showing her the code and going over everything I had done with my nanites. “I don’t see anything that should be a problem from this, but please be careful. I know you understand all of this probably as well as anyone, but the possibility of unintended consequences is something you need to be very careful of.” I nodded, “I’m sorry Mommy… I just wanted to nurse again, and I thought it would make you feel better too…” “I’m actually thinking more about the hypnosis settings… Which I can’t believe we missed.” I nodded, “I know… I think the settings must have worked, at least earlier I didn’t have the reaction everyone thought I should have.” “Next weekend I may test you on that, but for now keep avoiding anything that could have that. Our house will hopefully be back to normal tomorrow with even more security. For now, do you have anything you’re missing that you need for classes tomorrow?” “Let me check my backpack?” I asked as I wriggled off her lap and walked to my backpack. Inside I still had six pampers, wipes, powder, pencils, pens, my stylus, my tablet, and my computer would barely join it all. I still had a spare uniform with my new shoes. “I think I have everything,” I told her. “Then why don’t we go ahead and get you undressed and make an early night of it?” She asked. I looked at my watch and saw it was only eight, “I haven’t slept much the last couple nights,” she added. I hugged her and said, “Okay.” “Do you need a bath tonight?” I hesitated, “Take one with me?” I could see the hurt in her eyes, but she gave me a thin smile, “okay.” The bathtub off the hallway upstairs was soon filled with bubbles and the two of us were settled in the bath with her washing me gently. I looked up every now and then to tears in her eyes, but she did seem to be doing a bit better just by being able to baby me some more. When I was clean and my hair was washed, she cuddled me to her chest and just hugged me silently. “I love you,” she told me, “I’m so scared something will happen to you too.” “Not going to lie, I’m scared of it too,” I told her, “I’m also scared something will happen to you.” She held me to her body for a while before saying, “Let’s get dried off before we shrivel up. I’ll blow dry your hair and we’ll get to bed.” We were both wrapped in towels a moment later and she had me sitting on the edge of the counter as she used a loud blow dryer to go through my hair. I was making faces and plugging my ears as she used it and she smirked weakly at my wimpiness there. When my hair was dry, she carried me to the nursery where she diapered me, put me into my blanket sleeper, and then carried me to the bedroom that had been hers as a kid. Amanda and Fred were sharing the smaller bed in there for the night until we moved back to our house tomorrow. Amanda dressed in a set of silk pajamas and then carried me back to the nursery. Megan came by then, “I love you both,” she told us and gave us a combined hug. “Love you too sis,” Amanda said, “Thank you for watching out for Stacy…” “Of course, she’s family!” she told her. She gave me a peck on the top of my head and left the room. Amanda pulled her shirt out of the way and said, “Well, since you’re hacking like crazy then I guess there’s no reason not to nurse anymore,” she exposed her breast and I began nursing and fell asleep. THE NEXT MORNING should have represented a day to be nervous, excited, and otherwise proud to be moving onto college classes, but it was impossible to do so while being worried about Bella. I caught a bit of the news on TV before Grandpa Joe turned it off. It looked like Bella’s kidnapping was the leading local story. From what I could tell there was a lot of outrage that anyone would steal an adopted little from a hospital room with her adopted parents there. I just hoped the worst hadn’t happened to Bella… sadly in this dimension it wasn’t hard to imagine too many dark scenarios with her current whereabouts. I had barely gotten to know her, but I hated to think that the girl I had just begun to know could be dead… or worse. Breakfast was an egg, a piece of toast, and a cup of coffee. Granny’s eyebrows rose a little at the coffee, but she hadn’t said anything. I’d eaten quietly from my highchair and sat through the silence that hung around the table. Fred was taking the day with Grandpa Joe to triple check our house’s new security systems. Amanda mentioned a few ideas she had to add, but otherwise was not really actively engaging in the world. They both went with me to Emerson and walked me to my first class about fifteen minutes before it was to start. Amanda hugged and kissed me, “Good luck Stacy, I’ll be back to pick you up at the end of this class to walk you to your next. I love you,” she said. “Love you too Mommy,” I told her. With that goodbye, I walked into the classroom for my first Calculus III class. Looking around the room every seat was built into tiers with long tables covering each of them and desk chairs behind them. None of them were little sized, so I pulled out my collapsible booster and sat down on one of the chairs in the first row. Other students were coming in, and I saw a mousey looking man working to organize some papers with a tall Amazonian girl and a slightly shorter boy. I guessed they were the professor’s Tas, and just pulled out my tablet to be ready to take notes. Right then another large girl sat down in the seat next to me, “Don’t you just wook so cute sitting there pwetending to be a big girl!” I looked over at her and sighed, “And don’t you sound like the biggest idiot on the planet. I’m a student that will probably do better in this class than you.” “Sounds like someone must have a poopy pamper,” she hissed. “Really? You have a poopy pamper on? You should really change that before class you know. I thought something smelled bad when you sat down…” A laugh came from next to me as a boy sat down on the other side of me, “She’s witty, I like her,” the tall boy said. “I don’t, it sounds like someone needs a spanking…” the girl said. “Yes, it does miss…?” The professor suddenly stood by our table. “Uh… Gregson,” she said. “Well Miss Gregson, I happen to know you’re antagonizing a young lady who probably doesn’t need to be dealing with your idiocy today. If you continue, I’ll speak with Dean Sanders and see if we can’t have you classified as a little so we can follow through with the spanking you need. I guarantee you’re going to struggle in this class given you just barely scraped a C last year in Calc two.” He nodded towards me, “She could have skipped this class altogether but made a mature decision to make sure she understood everything well.” I looked at him and said, “Thank you Doctor Lieberman, I hope to live up to your expectations,” I said politely. I gave the girl next to me a glare, but then looked forward. “If there are no other concerns?” He asked her. “Well then,” he said seeing that it was time to start class. “I’m Professor Lieberman and this is Calculus three. Hopefully by this time you know where you are, but if you’re in the wrong place now is the time to leave,” he said with a smirk. “Okay then, my TAs this semester are…” he introduced his teaching assistants who handed out paper syllabuses. He mentioned he was a bit old fashioned with that paper copy. “There are three exams for this course, quite frankly I don’t care if you come to the classes where I explain the material or not… Those are all that matter. I don’t get paid for your pass or failure, if you need help, I advise you to meet with me or my TAs as you need to.” ‘Ouch…’ I thought and I could hear some rustling behind me from some students who seemed more than a bit nervous. “Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get started…” I was used to high school still where the first class was a get to know you, these are the rules, and time to move to the next class… In this case he began right into teaching multi-variable calculus and my brain got a workout with the Base 60 math right away in the morning. The good thing was that it distracted me from everything else going on. Midway through the class I had to pee and just let it loose into my diaper without any further thought. The class was actually over quickly! I stood up when class was dismissed to instantly see the Amazonian girl next to me looking down at me. “Well little girl, do you still have dry panties?” “I don’t wear panties, and no, my diaper is definitely wet, but my mommy will change me. See you Wednesday,” I said as I grabbed my bag and walked to the hallway where I found Amanda waiting. The girl gaped at me as Amanda grabbed my hand and led me through the busy hallway and out of the building. We had to pass the student union to get to the Jennings building where my next class was, “Need a change?” Amanda asked me. I nodded and thought for a second, “I need to poop too…” “When we get to the bathroom go ahead and go and I’ll change you,” she told me. I sighed, but understood that even the few bathrooms with little potties would still be too much for my small body. I walked alongside her into the Union. Just before the bathroom door I stopped fighting the battle, pausing for a moment to crouch and fill my diaper completely. She waited patiently and walked with me inside as I noticed an Amazonian girl watching me with a hopeful smile on her face. It turned to a frown when she saw Amanda, and she walked off. I hated the icky feeling of the sticky poop on my butt! The feeling like it was sliding down onto my legs made me want to scream. It was a less composed poop, so I could feel it smear everywhere on my bottom! I made my own frown as Amanda held the door open for me. Inside the bathroom Amanda picked me up and laid me on a changing table after she put a pad from her purse down. “How did your first class go?” She asked sliding my skirt up. “Good,” I told her, “I like the professor, he stuck up for me when the girl next to me was giving me a hard time.” Amanda ripped the tapes loose and made a little bit of a wiggle with her nose, “You stinky!” she said. The smile on her face though said she was just happy to take care of me. “Sorry,” I told her. “We’ll have to remember to have you go at home tomorrow morning,” she said, “I should have had that brought over for you yesterday…” I nodded as she wiped my butt firmly pulling away a brown gooey mess. She was in the middle of another wipe when a little rushed into the bathroom and looked at me with terror in her eyes. I noticed she had panties on, but they were leaving a drippy trail of pee and poop. Amanda noticed too and gave her a sad look. Chapter 18: Defenders “STAY RIGHT THERE and I’ll change you next,” Amanda told the girl as I watched a piece of poop slide down her leg. “Hold your skirt up so maybe you don’t have to lose that.” The poor girl just started bawling, and I felt bad for her. Amanda was obviously a faculty member from the badge on her blouse, and this would mean a demerit and a trip to Dean Sanders office most likely. She finished wiping me quickly, rediapered me, and set me on the ground, “Wait there a moment Stacy,” she ordered. “Come here little one,” she told the girl. “Let’s pull down those poopy panties, there’s no reason to save them,” she told her as she reached down to the girl. She sniffled but let Amanda pull them down and discard them into the trash can adjacent to the table. I watched as she used a couple wipes on her standing up and then picked her up, “Lay there and be good for a moment,” she told her and suspended her butt in the air with her ankles in one hand as she kept wiping her. She was much too big for one of my diapers, but Bella’s fit her and she had her diapered a moment later as a girl came rushing in, “Which little girl dripped all the way down the hallway?” She asked. “I don’t know, that trail was there when we came in,” Amanda told her. “Both of these little girls needed changed, but they were in diapers that held everything in.” “Damn…” the girl said and left after checking the stalls. “Are… are…” the little stammered. “Am I going to tell on you?” Amanda asked. The girl streamed tears from her eyes, but nodded. “No, but if you want my advice you won’t leave your dorm room in panties again. Make sure you don’t poop in a class, and the worst that will happen is a diaper change. You should have about five demerits right now and a paddling...” The girl nodded, “Thank you miss,” she said. “I’m Meg, I really appreciate it.” “I have a little sister named Megan, so I can remember that. This little girl here is my adopted daughter Stacy.” “Nice to meet you,” the girl said as she was trying wipe her face with her hands. A bit of her makeup was smearing, and Amanda offered her a baby wipe, “Wipe your face really good, we’ll walk you out of here and you should be fine. What class are you going to?” “English…” she said nervously. “So am I!” I told her. “Over in the Jennings building?” She nodded. “Why don’t you walk with us,” I said. Amanda walked beside us to leave the bathroom a moment later as I watched another two large Amazonian girls follow the trail of poop and urine in with the hopes of capturing a little to turn them in, or claim for their own. Meg was hesitant to talk to me at first, but by the time we made it to the next building we discovered she had the same class that I did. Amanda dropped us off at the classroom, which was a moderately large lecture hall that seated about eighty students. I made a move to the front and she looked at me like I was nuts, “If you sit up front, they can throw things at you…” she hissed. I shrugged, “If I sit at the front the professor may or may not be a defender. I’d rather be up front… Plus we don’t have any chairs to see over the top of here.” “I guess,” she said as she sat in the too large seat and tried to use a sweatshirt to make herself a little more comfortable in the large seat. She was about a foot and a half taller than me. She watched in a little bit of confusion as I pulled my booster seat out of my bag and put it on the chair. “That looks a bit more comfortable,” she admitted. I was sitting almost at her level then at least. “Gotta do what I can…” “Aren’t you worried about being too much like a baby?” She asked as she squirmed in the diaper. “My dad always told me to never let anyone put me in a diaper…” “Is he still free?” I asked gently. She shook her head and looked in pain, “Last week just before I came here, he was taken on the street…” “Your only real chance of staying free is wearing them I think…” “But what about you?” She paused, “I mean maybe your mom can help keep you from being kidnapped, but…?” I laughed, “I’m an adopted little is what she meant.” “Wait… you’re the one who’s adopted and still going to classes?” She asked just as I heard a “Hey Stacy!” from my side. I saw Laura and said, “Hi Laura,” to her. “Hey, why didn’t I hear from you this weekend?” She asked. I sighed, “My sister was poisoned by a fake LPS agent on Friday, and then they tried to get me that night… She fought for her life that night and was finally improving Saturday night, only to be kidnapped on Sunday from the hos