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Prologue 19 Years earlier. "Sarah, I know you don't want me to leave but I want a better life for my child, I don't want her to grow up thinking bad about little's." "Liam little's have it better now then when we were kids, I know you still don't like how some are treated but there is not much we can do." "REALLY SARAH? DAD OWNS THE BIGGEST COMPANY THAT MAKES LITTLE DIAPERS, TOYS, CLOTHES, AND FURNITURE. WE ARE RICH WE CAN MAKE CHANGE BUT YOU AND DAD REFUSE TOO!!!!!" "Liam please calm down I don't need the stress we both know you mean well, why do you think I had the idea to go?" "I'm sorry Ella, I am trying not to yell anymore." "Ella, Liam I will make you a deal when dad gives me the company, I will save your share of it. Liam as long as you bring your new son or daughter to see me that's all I ask please?" Liam sighs knowing his sister means the best but is still too young to fully understand. "Ok deal once our child turns 18 we will come back and stay here if all parties want too." "That is fair Liam. Then I guess Liam and Ella its goodbye for now I'll miss you both." "Bye Sarah I'll miss you." "Bye my great sister in-law we will both miss you. bye for now but not forever." Both having said their goodbyes walk through the portal to Earth to start their new life. Present day. Chapter 1. 12 Hours earlier before the trip to see Sarah. "Mom where is my suitcase I need to pack some more clothes before we leave." "Amelia really? You have three so far you don't need anymore, we don't have a lot of room as it is." "Amelia listen to your mother, we can't take that much stuff we have a limit to what we can take with us to see your aunt Sarah. She said she will come pick us up once we get to her Dimension and take us out to eat. Remember Amelia once we get there, we will be a lot bigger, I was 13 feet before I left, and your mom was 12 almost 13 feet too and we were taller than most bigs. Both me and your mom think you will be maybe 12-13 feet, but we don’t know." "I know dad I just can’t believe you have a sister in the other Dimension, why didn't you tell me before?" "Me and your mom wanted to wait tell you were 18 before we took you to see her." "I know I'm a big, but you didn't have to wait to tell me you know." "sweetie we didn't think you would be ready tell you were older, but we are sorry we didn't tell you." "It's ok just please don't keep secrets from me." "We won't keep anymore secrets from you, from now on Amelia does that sound fair." "Totally." Amelia and both of her parent's pack their bags in the car and go grab some breakfast getting ready to leave in a few hours. "Mom can we have pancakes before we go?" "Sure, let me make a few you want anything on them?" "No mom I'm fine with plan." Amelia mom gives her and her dad some pancakes with butter to eat for breakfast, then sits down herself and starts to eat hers. "Mom can we get a few things from town to give to Aunt Sarah as a gift please?" "Sure, once your father and I are ready ok, go meet us in the car we will be out soon." "Ok mom you and dad hurry up." Amelia heads to the car and gets in the backseat to wait for her mom and dad. God, I hope they don't take forever I really want to get aunt Sarah something but what would she like? Hm I'll have to ask dad she is his sister after all. "Liam are you sure this is a good idea? I mean she has never been there, and we only told her about her aunt a month ago." "Ella it's ok I think she is at least old enough to know who my family and your family are. even if your family are bad people." Ella sighs loudly. " I know Liam that's why I hate my family. What they do to little's should be illegal." "Let’s just try and not be around your family too much ok Ella, lets meet them at the mall or somewhere public." "Sounds good dear you ready." "Yes, dear let’s get going to town." All Liam can think about now is how Ella's family will react when they find out she has a kid now. Ella can’t help but think to herself how her parents will react to Amelia, and to the fact we are visiting Sarah more then them. Ella and Liam make their way to the car and hope in and buckle up. "ok Amelia where do you want to go?" "Well um dad what does Aunt Sarah like?" "Well get her something that means a lot to you I'm sure she will love it cause it's from you." "How about I get a photo of us and fame it and give it to her?" "That sounds perfect dear let’s get her that." "Thanks for the help dad." "No problem Minnie." Liam says has he laughs a bit to himself. "DADDDD don't call me that I'm not 10 anymore." "Minnie be nice to your dad." "Not you too mom. I can't win, can I?" "Nope dear me and your dad always win." Ella says as she chuckles As the car takes off dad drives them into town to get a good family photo and get it famed he stops by the photo studio and asks how long the wait time is for one photo and gets told it can be done right away. Liam Ella and Amelia walk in and are sat down right away. "Make sure you smile. Now say cheese." "Cheeseee." all three say at once. After its done Amelia finds the perfect frame for it. "Mom Dad can we get this one? It says it can't break." "Sure, that way no matter what Sarah will always have it." "Ok get in the car Minnie." "Mom pleaseee. At least don't do that in front of Aunt Sarah." Both Liam and Ella laugh knowing she hasn't seen the back of the photo. The amazing family jumps in the car and heads home to finish getting ready for the trip tonight, knowing it will take about an hour to get to the portal and that they will be arriving just when it's just starting to turn night, so they can meet Sarah then head to her house to sleep and hang out in the morning. Amelia thinks to herself on the ride home about meeting her Aunt. I wonder what she is like or how tall she is dad has not told me much about her other then her and dad are rich on the other side of the portal. Guess I'll find out tomorrow morning not sure I'll be able to stay awake tonight. The family gets home and Amelia heads to her room to chill for the rest of the day waiting for 10 pm when they leave to go to the portal. "Ella I'm worried about Amelia she has never been on the other side of the portal, I don't want her to think different of us for leaving it." "Liam calm down please she will be fine no matter what she won’t change just because it has little's, if she is anything like me, they won’t affect her. Hell, they didn't affect your sister too. That reminds me did your sister ever get a little. I know the CEO of the biggest company that sells little stuff should have a little too." "Honestly honey I don't think she ever did get a little she thought they might slow down her work and she wanted to takeover dad's work after I left, and he told her she would be CEO." Liam and Ella spend hour's talking about Sarah the other side and Amelia hoping everything goes well. Amelia sits in her room excited to go to the Portal and see the United States a group of 60 country's that hate little slaves but have laws to protect everyone. As the hours roll by she cant stop thinking about her aunt and where she lives hoping her aunt likes her and the present she got her. 8:45 pm rolls around and Liam and Ella get ready to leave. "Amelia are you coming sweetie we got to leave so we can get there before 10 pm. We need to beat the traffic so we can get there on time." "Coming mom! Don't leave me I really want to go." "Sweetie we are going for you so we won’t leave you." "Ella Amelia you both ready?" "Yes dad." "Yes dear." Amelia and her parents get in the car and start the hour-long drive to the portal to go to the U.S on the other side. "Mom is it ok if I take a nap?" "Yes, go ahead you might need it, I'm not sure what your aunt has planned but it might be a good idea." As Amelia takes a nap her parents talk about what Sarah might have planned when they get to a stop light, they go once it turns green but both of them never see the drunk driver in the semi before he hits them cutting the car in half killing both her parents instantly, then slamming the seat into her face breaking bones waking her up for a split second before her half gets tossed into the pole break the car more and causing her seat belt to fail and toss her from the car back first into a tree. Amelia starts to come to in the back of the ambulance. "Wha....." She passes out and her blood pressure drops low and she goes into shock before the Ambulance works knew what happened. "Give her fluids to increase the amount of fluid in her body QUICK!! We need to keep her alive tell we can get to the hospital. She’s going into hypovolemic shock!! Drive as fast as you can to the one by the portal it has the best tech go 100 MPH if u need to just drive faster!!!" "Quick pass me some saline and some large bore needles we need to keep her alive tell we get to the hospital!" "Quick use the anti-shock pants. We need to keep the blood up near the heart as much as possible." "Mack she’s losing too much blood and I can't tell what is broken and what’s not." "Jimmy breath ok? we need to just keep her stable. GORGE DRIVE FASTER GET A ESCORT IF YOU HAVE TOO!!!" " We got one Mack and we can’t go faster I'm topping the speed. We only got 5 miles tell we get there, I already radioed them and told them to get the ICU team ready and get the best tech." The ambulance pulls up to the hospital and there are over 20 doctors and nurse's waiting to help. they get Amelia out of the ambulance and into the hospital and up to the ICU and start to work on her the best they can. "Dammit do we have any info on her anyone?" "Sorry Dr Howard both her parents were killed on impact and all the info we can find is she has a Aunt in the U.S." "Your shitting me? Crap get me the hospital director and call the lawyer and tell him to meet me in the director's office quick. Keep that girl alive while I'm gone do whatever you can." Dr Howard runs as fast as he can to the director's office hoping they can save this girl. "Jean I need your help Sally is on her way too we need to make a call and now." "Shawn what have I told you about calling me Jean?" "Find out who Amelia Holloway's aunt is quick we don't got much time." "Was she the one that just came in?" "Yes, now hurry!" "Jean Shawn I'm here what did you want?" "Sally get a transfer order ready to move a patient though the portal to U.S." Both Sally and Jean scream what at the same time. "You’re kidding, right?" "No, I'm not now find her aunts number." "I already did once you said her last name, I knew who it was...." Sarah Holloway sat on the top floor of her building look at quarterly reports seeing a 7 increase in sales this quarter. "Miss Holloway, we have a hospital from Earth on the line. What do you want me to do?" "A hospital from Earth? put them through I'll take it in here." "Umm is this Sarah Holloway? "Yes, may I ask why you are calling?" The director sighs hoping this goes well. "Well I'm Director Jean I have my chef Doctor Shawn Howard and I also have our hospital lawyer Sally. We have a problem here and we need your help and it is a matter of life and death." Sarah starts to get really worried knowing what might be coming next. "Who is it? Who is in the hospital?" "It's your niece Amelia. She was in a drunk driving accident and sadly I'm sorry Miss Holloway. But she’s the only one out of both her parents and her." Sarah can help but break down crying knowing her only family may die. "Miss Holloway?" "It's fine tell me what needs to be done money is not a option ok?!?!?!" "Miss Holloway, we need you to sign some papers or give us a verbal ok while its recorded so we can send your niece to the U.S. to get help. Her only hope is the Nantes now." "DO IT NOW I DON'T CARE WHAT IS NEEDED OR HOW MUCH JUST DO IT!!" "Yes Miss Holloway goodbye for now." "You heard her Shawn get her to the portal now!" Shawn runs back to the ICU and gets ready for chaos. "EVERYONE LISTEN UP! Get her and everything we need we are running to the portal to get her to the hospital in U.S!" "Umm jean." "Yes, Sally I know I'm calling the other hospital now to give them the heads up and to get a team ready and normal Nantes." "I wish Amelia and miss Holloway the best of luck they will need it." "Me too Sally Me too." Howard and his team wait at the portal door for them to be given the go to push he through it. At last they are given the green light and they push her through to the other side hoping she may live but knowing she has at best a 10% chance to live. Everyone hopes she can come back and bury her parents soon. "Jessica tell the pilot up time to start the helicopter up now I'm going to the hospital by the portal and tell him there are no speed limits today." Jessica has never seen her boss like this and is scared but does what she says. "Yes boss" Jessica gives the pilot the heads up as Sarah leaves to head up to. "Joe top speed to the hospital now I don't care about any rules I'll fix it my niece might die so MOVIE IT." Joe knows he needs to go stop speed fearing the worse for Sarah's niece. "Yes, boss right away." Both Joe and Sarah head to the Hospital as Amelia gets taken inside to the waiting team of doctors trying to save her life.

We asked for it… (A Tantreem Tale) Chapter 1: Time to Celebrate Ashlee and Charlotte sat on their loveseat nervously looking into each other’s eyes. They are both dressed to impress in “club wear” as they plan on celebrating as soon as their guest leaves. They’ve been together for almost a year and as much as they have explored and “spiced” up their relationship, tonight is a huge step for them. “Feeling sexy baby?” Charlotte says with a giggle. “Maybe the plug is too much?” Ashlee says shifting in her seat, the feeling of the medium size princess plug giving her enough pressure (and pleasure) to cause her sex to spasm. “Maybe I better go take it out.” She says standing to her feet just as a the entry door buzzer alerts them that their guest has arrived. “Too late now baby.” Charlotte says laughing. Ashlee gives her girlfriend a little smirk and then laughs saying “Well honey.. Here we go!” They both quickly down their glasses of red wine just as their doorbell rings at their downtown condo. “It’s open!” Ashlee says having unlocked the door after buzzing their guest in downstairs. The door opens and both women stand to greet Margaret Silver, the premier “Nanny” in the ABDL scene in the area. She’s exactly as you’d envision. Tall, buxom, beautiful, with raven black hair and piercing green eyes. She’s wearing a 50’s throw back style dress that accentuates her curves, shows her cleavage and gives her a very “sexy momma” look. They offer her a glass of wine and the three ladies take their seats. “We’re excited to get to speak with you about this.” Charlotte begins and then goes into great detail explaining how Ashlee and her met, fell in love and how they both heard about the “scene” and started to explore the fetish online and a little bit of playing around with one another at home. Charlotte suddenly realizes she’s prattling on like a nervous school girl and then blushes refilling her own glass to break the awkward silence. Margaret smiles and then takes a file out of her large black tote and begins reading: “Charlotte, 24 years old, works as a manager in the local hospital, you say that your “play age” is 1 year old?” “Yes ma’am… I uh. I like the simplicity of that age.” “Good answer.” She says looking the pretty woman over. “Ashlee, you are 23 and work as a police officer. Your play age is 3.” “Yes. I don’t do the diaper thing, more of a “little” than an AB.” “We can work with that.” Margaret says closing the file. “Now girls. I am not some cheesy online mistress. When you agree to be in my care you *will* follow the rules, you will be exactly the *girls* that I direct you to be.” She glances at the dress Ashlee is wearing and raises a brow. “I noted that you two would like to be treated as children but you also get some sexual satisfaction out of this and want to be guaranteed “adult time” too.” “Yes Margaret.” The both say together. “Well for starters I think we should at least establish that we are NOT equals girls. You will not refer to your nanny by her first name. Understood?” “Yes ma’am.” They both reply “Better. Now. It looks as if everything is settled. I will move in here and will take you both under my charge as your Nanny and you will both be your “play age” with exception of when you are at work or when there is an agreed “Big Girl” time.” “That sounds great!” Ashlee gasps grabbing her lover’s hand. “Not so fast ladies. Now I understand that you have your “play age” in your mind but I intend to start you both off at 4 years old. We can make adjustments as time goes by. You could be 8.”she says to Charlotte, “and you could end up an infant.” She says to Ashlee. “Your behavior will determine that. Do you both understand?” “Yes ma’am.” “Good. Now then, stand up.” Both women stand up before their Nanny. “I am sending you both on a cruise for the next two weeks so that I can get things settled here. I will interview your parents, close friends, etc to get an idea of who you both are so that I can make your time as my girls the most rewarding.” “Our.. parents?” Charlotte practically whispers “Don’t worry, they won’t know why I’m meeting them. I’m a professional.” “Now Charlotte, you are the biggest so we will start with you. Take off all of your clothes.” Charlotte blushes and doesn’t move. “What is the issue dear?” “Well.. it’s just sudden…” she looks at Ashlee.. “And we thought we’d go out tonight to celebrate after…” “My child… I’m going to see you naked several times, this is no time to be shy. You are a baby and babies have no sense of modesty.” Margaret looks at her watch and then raises an eyebrow and glances towards the door. “Girls… We can do this my way, or no way at all.” She says standing and approaching Charlotte. “If you girls want to go out tonight to celebrate your new freedom under my care then I would suggest we actually agree that I’m taking you two on. If not then there is nothing to celebrate and you two can go back to wearing “cute” cotton panties pretending you are a *real* age player but really just posers.” “Please don’t go.” Charlotte stutters and then reaches for her zipper. Margaret softly slaps her hand away and then unzips her dress and lets it slip down her shoulders to the floor. She is wearing a sexy bra and panty set along with her heels. “My my. You are quite the woman aren’t you.” Margaret says as she slips off Charlotte’s bra revealing her firm breasts capped with silver dollar areola and stiff nipples. She then slides her panties down revealing a trim landing strip of light blonde hair. She has her steps out of her heels and Charlotte blushes again being the only naked woman in the room. Margaret instructs Ashlee to take the clothing and put them in the master bedroom. She then motions Charlotte closer. “What is this?” “M.. My pubic hair?” “So it is. We will discuss this later.” Ashlee enters the room and now it is her turn to “expose the goods” Ashlee is a couple inches shorter than Charlotte but her athletic frame is gorgeous. Natural C cups and toned abs and legs. Unlike her girlfriend, her sex is already bare. “Now this is more like it.” Margaret says reaching out and tapping the bare mound. “So tell me girls, who is the more dominant between the two of you?” Both women look at each other then back at Margaret. “One is ALWAYS the more dominant. You may not think about it, but one of you is the alpha of your relationship. It might be something small, such as.” She looks at Charlotte’s pubic mound “your hair down here. Your partner, whom we have established has the older “little” age is bare. Did she want it shaved or did you ask her to do it for you?” “Sh.. she asked me to remove it.” Ashlee offers. “There we go. So you used to have hair but your lover said to remove it and you did what you were told.” “I didn’t make her do it.” “Ashlee, did you want to have a bare slit or did you do it as instructed?” Ashlee looks at her girlfriend and then looks down at her bare sex.. “I kinda liked having some hair here.” She says tracing a small line from her labia “at least just a little.” “And now we have the truth. That wasn’t so hard now was it?” Margaret says with a smile. “Now Charlotte, as the dominant partner to this point I feel like we need to reverse that role from now on. Ashlee will be your big sister and you will be her little charge understood?” Margaret notes that there is a slight smile on Ashlee’s face at the announcement that she is the “big girl” in the relationship now. “Do you like that Ashlee? Like the idea that even though you are the smaller woman, you get to be the bigger girl?” Ashlee smiles and nods her head to the affirmative. “Very good. I think you will be a great big sister.” Margaret stands and refills both women’s glasses and tells them to go get their “best” little wear so that they can get started. As the women leave the room she takes two sets of vials out of her pocket and quickly pours them in the wine glasses… More to Come…

I've been posting mostly on Archive of Our Own because I like the formatting better, but I don't get as many responses there, and people here seem to prefer stories being posted directly instead of linked to. So I'm thinking of maybe posting stories here while they're being written, and then putting the finished story on AO3 later. Anyway, this story started out inspired by this short story on WarpMyMind, but it's ended up pretty different from its inspiration. Tanya Carissa and I were best friends, or at least so we told ourselves. Totally just friends, really close friends, and definitely both straight. She was my first kiss. We told ourselves we were practicing for our future boyfriends, but we liked kissing each other so much, we kept doing it. And we liked doing other things together, too. It didn’t occur to us to call it anything more than just friends having fun together. It also didn’t occur to us to consider it cheating, when we kept having fun together while we were dating guys. We went on like that throughout high school and into our twenties. We got a place together - to “save costs”, or so we said - and without really discussing it, my bedroom ended up being just the place I stored my stuff while Carissa and I shared her bed. But after a break up where my ex accused me of preferring Carissa to him and said "why don't you just date your girlfriend?", I began to seriously question my sexuality, and the true nature of my feelings for Carissa. When I finally decided to confess to Carissa and make it official, she was dating some guy named Scott. I didn't even consider that she might be serious about him, I just assumed that she was dating men because she thought she was supposed to, just like me. But when I came out, and asked for us to be exclusive, she told me she loved him. In fact, she'd been thinking about moving in with him. She loved me, too, she said, but she didn't want to disappoint her parents, and besides, she wanted children. Since she loved us both, she'd pick the one who could give her a better life. And so, I might have lost the love of my life, just when I realized that I loved her. But I wasn't going to give up so easily. Back when we were around 9 years old, we'd gone through the woods and found an old cave filled with strange markings. We spent most of our summer vacation exploring those caves. We were going into middle school, and we were worried that the new environment would change our friendship. So the day before school started, we met in those caves, with a knife I'd taken from home, and we pricked our fingers and mingled our blood, making a promise to never stop being best friends. I hoped that bringing Carissa back there would help remind her of how she felt about me. I talked her into going there with me, "one last time". There, I convinced her to have sex with me, “one last time”. When we both came in unison - a rarity for us, usually I took longer - I thought that surely, with this reminder, she’d realize that she couldn’t give me up. But then she got up. “I should get started packing.” She said, avoiding eye contact with me. She felt guilty, I realized, like a punch in the gut. She regretted it. “I’ll stay here a little longer.” I said. “You go on ahead.” When she left, I cried for awhile. And then I looked up, and realized the strange markings were starting to glow. “The promise is fulfilled,” a strange ethereal voice spoke in my head. I should have been afraid, but instead, I felt peace coming over me. “The gift will be given.” Scott Carissa and I were attracted to each other from the moment we met. We had a lot in common, and hit it off right away. A month later she moved into my place. Her friend Tanya helped her move in. Carissa had talked a lot about Tanya, and we'd met a few times. But this time, something was different. Carissa and Tanya had some sort of tension between them, and Tanya looked like she'd been crying. "Carissa, is everything OK between you and Tanya?" I asked her privately as Tanya was bringing in boxes. "Yeah, it's fine." Carissa said. "We had a dispute about some private matters, but it'll be fine. Tanya and I have a strong friendship." "I just feel kind of awkward. She seems like she's been crying." I said. "I know it's none of my business, but…" I stopped as Tanya pushed open the door with her knee. "Hey, Scott, where's your bedroom?" Tanya asked. That night, Carissa and I lay down in the same bed. It wasn't the first time she'd spent the night here, but it was different, knowing that she was here for good. I snuggled into her, my heart swelling in my chest. She fell asleep first, and I just lay there for a long time, enjoying her presence, until finally I fell asleep as well. My sleep was filled with strange dreams. I dreamt of Tanya and Carissa together, Tanya fingering Carissa while I watched, simultaneously jealous and aroused. And then Tanya turned and looked at me. "Shouldn't you have a diaper on?" She said, and I realized that I was peeing my pants. I tried to stop it, but it wouldn't stop. I was woken up by Carissa. "Hey hun, did you wet the bed?" I looked at her puzzled, then I realized that the wetness I'd felt in my dreams was still there. I sat up and pulled the covers off. "Oh, uh. Yeah I guess I did. That's weird. I never do that." "Hopefully it was just a one-off. Otherwise, we might have to get you some protection!" Carissa joked, and I blushed red at the thought, remembering my dream.

CHAPTER ONE PERSONAL LOG: Stardate 44317.8 Welcome to the USS Hyacinth, the oldest (and only) running Miranda-class vessel in all of Starfleet. Once upon a time it was a science vessel, built during an age when tensions with the klingons ran high. Now it’s little more than a cargo ship and personnel transport; easy assignment for an engineer straight out of the Academy. We’d just shipped out of Risa, the infamous pleasure planet; not that the crew collected any stories. We had a schedule to keep and no leave outstanding. What little we saw involved half-naked locals waving goodbye to our passengers. We ushered them aboard the away vessel and began our journey to the nearest star base. Not that I was bothered. Risa has its reputation for a reason, and brags billions of satisfied visitors, but that’s not me. Sex is great, but I’m just not a ‘Risa’ kind of girl. The things I want are… complicated. God, what I wouldn’t give for a working holodeck, and a night’s freedom from Starfleet protocol. Life aboard the Hyacinth comes with challenges, but rarely with difficulty. The ship itself is in good shape despite being over a century old. The crew, twenty five in total, are friendly enough, though we have little to talk about. By the time my shifts end I’m eager to return to my quarters, replicate a meal, snuggle my teddybear, and pass the time watching andorian melodramas. It gets lonely sometimes. We all get lonely, but the shape of my feelings aren’t the kind to be shared. I check in with a Starfleet counsellor every couple of weeks, but there are no practical outlets to meet this need. Three days into our journey to Star Base 12 and I received a call from one of the passengers. The replicator in her quarters had shorted out, and she was in desperate need of a raktajino. It was close to the end of my shift, but didn’t mind making the effort as the other ensign signed on. ‘Love Songs of the Forbidden Moon’ could wait. I moved to the passenger level, walked along the corridor, and pressed my thumb to the bell. The doors hissed open, and immediately I was dumbstruck. There in the center of the room stood a woman, naked as the day she was born, smiling without a care in the world. I covered my eyes. “Oh! I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have-” “No, no, don’t be silly,” she said. “Come in. You’re here to repair the replicator, yes?” “Yes, but… ma’am. You’re naked!” She hummed. “Yes, I’m aware. Nudity is nothing to be ashamed of.” My shoulders turtled to swallow my head. “I appreciate that, ma’am, but if it’s all the same to you I’d prefer if you wore clothes.” The passenger huffed. I listened as she sorted through her things and waited until she found adequate attire. When I dared to look, curious in spite of myself, she wore an incandescent blue gown that clung to her shape. Heavy breasts, round hips, she was the embodiment of a mythical goddess. I followed her body upward to the thick, scarlet curls that ran down her shoulders. She turned, persing her sharp and very full lips. “Is that better?” she asked. I nodded dumbly and collected myself. Yes, she was the most beautiful woman I’d seen in a long time, let alone stood near, but I was there to do a job. She was a passenger, not a potential date. Even so, what were the chances of… No. I wouldn’t go there. The replicator proved an easy fix. “One of the photon sequencers is misaligned,” I said, and crouched to reach the upper corner of the machine. One new micro-coupling and a psionic fixer later and it would be as good as new. It was the kind of work I could do in my sleep, or with an attractive distraction lingering in the room. She took a seat at a nearby table, and crossed one leg over the other. My heart beat faster. The smell of sex lingered from under her robe, conjuring memories of the last time I lay with a partner. It seemed forever ago, and my body ached for it. The sooner I could return to my quarters the better. “You didn’t tell me your name,” she said. “Ensign Morris, ma’am.” “Morris,” she hummed, her voice deep and smokey. “Do you have a first name, ensign?” I hesitated, but thought better than to catch her eye. “Sally… ma’am. And you?” Her deep forest eyes probed under the layers of my Starfleet uniform, prompting a shiver down my spine. She finally answered, “Artemis.” A goddess in body, and a goddess in name. How ironic that she should share a title with a patron of chastity. Her wild aura, however, seemed entirely apt. “Does it get lonely out here, Sally?” Her asking sent goosebumps running down my arms, not because there was anything wrong with the question, but because of how it called attention to my plight. Space, and the confines of a starship, were isolating at the best of times. But I didn’t tell her that. Instead we chatted about my home on Earth, just outside of Alberta, and my Mom’s ginger snap cookies that no machine could replicate. The hollow in my chest deepend, pining for the familiar, but work was there as welcome distraction. The photon sequencer snapped into line, and the job was done. I started to place my tools back into their box. “You’re human, yes?” As though being from Earth didn’t imply that. “Yes,” I said. “I find humans delightful,” she said. “You believe yourself the rulers of your emotions, but anyone with the mildest sense knows the undercurrents you suppress.” My body tensed further. “You’re betazoid.” She warmed like a breeze that filled the room. Thick plates of transparent aluminum shielded us from the void of space, so it had to be her. “Got it in one,” she said. When I moved to stand she placed a hand on my shoulder and with great care guided me down again. “I’d like you to stay on your knees a while, if that’s alright.” I should have been insulted. As an officer of Starfleet it was unbecoming to fall for the wiles of a passenger in transit. There were protocols about this sort of thing. And yet to do so would be bluster. She was a betazoid, an empath! She could sense the arousal in my belly, the spinning in my head, the deep desire inspired by a strong woman looming above. Her hand stroked my cheek like palm fronds in the wind, and she hushed. God help me, I curled into her touch. Starfleet be damned, she wrested authority from them with the smallest motion. “I… I…” Her voice softened, almost sang. “It’s alright, my girl. Don’t worry about a thing. I’ve got you.” She knew this was my weakness. The sex, the wanting, the throne she held by sitting above. Before I was even aware she held all of the cards, and was playing them to her advantage. Worse yet, I wanted her to. My body was a cacophony of desire hungry for sensation; for her to touch, to claim me, make me small, make me hers, to fill me, to hold me, to… to… I pulled away and snapped to my feet. Tears pricked my eyes, but they did not break my resolute stance as an officer of Starfleet. My shoulders stiffened and I started for the door, forgetting my toolbox as I did. “This can’t happen,” I said, telling myself as much as I did her. Artemis glided to her feet and smiled. Her understanding was like a beacon in the dark, begging me to fall. “You don’t have to be ashamed,” she said. “You’re not a little girl.” The words struck like a hammer. Why did she have to say that? The air left my lungs, and my body was on the verge of collapse. All I wanted was to scream and to cry, to find somewhere safe, but there was nowhere to turn. Her expression turned. The cold in my chest was hers as well. With painted shock she flew to me and wrapped her arms tight. Wide stretched loving hands cradled my back, running up and down in a soothing motion. “Except you are a little girl,” she gasped in realization, “and nobody has seen you in a very, very long time.” Tears rolled down my cheeks like boulders. Shame caught in my throat. I was small in her arms, afraid, without the disciplined Starfleet officer to protect me. All I had was this strange and sudden women whose song and whose hands knew where to go. Finally I held her back, shaking, clinging with all I had. “I’m sorry. I-I can’t…” “Shhhh.” Her digit stroked my brow, removing a strand of hair so she could see me fully. I didn’t want her to see. The thought turned my knees to jelly. If experience had taught me anything it was that little girls were difficult to love when their hearts sat in an adult body. Flashbacks of every confused lover flew across my senses. Some were angry, others so bewildered by the reality that they turned cold. Why should this be any different? Artemis swayed, and cooed, and sang. Her hands were like magic, weaving warmth with every turn. “It’s alright, babygirl,” she said. “I’ve got you. I’ll protect you.” No. I wasn’t a baby. I was an adult. Nobody could protect me. I had to protect myself. But her words shattered my cold ego. Once upon a time I thought someone so loving a fantasy; something that could at best be created on the holodeck. But there she was, flesh and blood, resting my head above the cradle of her breast. I cried, I cried, and I cried. Hot tears spilled off my cheeks and onto her skin. Artemis didn’t seem to mind at all, and encouraged these out of control feelings with a gentle tone. Somewhere in an ocean of sobs I stopped being Ensign Morris of the USS Hyacinth, and became Sally, the small child wandering the distant cosmos.