Little Sister Briana CH 40 (The Finale!) 11/07/21

[SolSombraYSoldados]

Briana is going to fix everything, you'll see!

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Chapter 17

 

Briana woke in her crib, from a troubling dream. She couldn't remember what had been happening, but somebody had been chasing her and – Melody as well? The last tattered images of the dream fled before her waking thoughts. That was sucky, because the dream seemed important. Melody hadn't wanted to talk to her about that bad day when Beatrix showed up, and nobody in the house wanted to talk about it either. Briana didn't want to let it go and her dreams seemed to agree with her. Not that there was anything to do about it in her crib.

It'd be easy enough to slide the side of the crib down and get up, but Briana didn't bother with that these days. Her diaper was soaked, as per usual, and Mom would be along soon anyway. All getting out of bed would accomplish is making her waddle or crawl in a wet diaper until she had to go back to her room for the changing table.

She squirmed into a more comfortable position, feeling the heavy diaper squish around her rear. Alanna, her favorite lioness stuffie, was at the ready to hold boredom at bay. It was still dark and honestly a little scary outside what with the wind making weird noises through the trees. Luckily Alanna was a VERY brave lion and wasn't bothered at all. Briana didn't want to disappoint her friend by being a crybaby so she put on a brave face while they played.

Disappoint her friend. Briana frowned and flopped over restlessly. That's what she'd done to Melody. More than disappointed. Melody had a really sad day because of Briana. The worst part was that lots of Melody's days seemed to be sad now.

"There has to be something I can do to fix it." Briana said to Alanna.

Alanna didn't reply (she never did), but she had a wise and comforting expression on her face. If Alanna believed in her, then Briana had to believe in herself. But how was she supposed to fix something when she didn't know what was broken?

"Up already?" Veronica's voice was like a warm, loving blanket to banish the cold, sad thoughts of the morning.

"Hi Mommy!" Briana sat up cross legged and never mind the clammy diaper.

"Hello BumbleBri!" Veronica said, in a way cuter tone than she would ever let most people hear. Only Dad and Briana were allowed to see Mom being so silly.

"BumbleBri?" Briana giggled.

"You like that one?" Veronica tucked her hair behind her ears in a way that Briana knew meant that she was nervous. She was wearing one of the jillion floor length black dresses she had. A lot of people found them intimidating (like Briana at first!), but all they really meant is that Mom wanted to be comfy.

"Yeah, it's super cute." Briana put her hands and chin on the crib's rail. "Mommy, I need a change. Bad."

"You always do in the mornings." Veronica kissed Briana on the head and pulled open the back of her diaper. "You're not messy back there, just wet. Good girl!"

Briana beamed at the praise, her face falling a little at Veronica's next statement.

"Let's get you your morning snack and then changed."

"But it's cold and gross." Briana pouted.

"The last three mornings you've wet again during your snack, and then your nice clean diaper isn't clean anymore." Veronica said, putting Briana back on her butt so she could lower the crib side.

"I won't this time!" Briana said, snatching up her lioness. "Alanna believes me."

"Does she now?" Veronica helped Briana down out of the crib. "Isn't Alanna a knight? She must be pretty sure if she's putting her honor on the line."

Briana briefly panicked, squeezing her legs together, though there was no warmth that would indicate she was wetting. "Well uh – she is. She knows I can do it."

"Alright, we can try it." Veronica said. "If you can manage it, then maybe it'll be time to start potty training."

Briana hesitated by the changing table, even though Veronica was motioning for her to climb up. Potty training was scary, she didn't want to disappoint more people by not being able to do it.

"Of course, if you're not ready, and you get your new diaper wet, you'll have to take Alanna's punishment." Veronica declared. "I'm not her mom so I can't discipline her."

"What punishment?" Briana asked, scrambling up on the changing table.

"Knights who are caught breaking their word are usually jailed or whipped." Veronica said. "You're not a knight, so it'd be a spanking or a big time out for you."

Briana bit her nip and nodded seriously at Veronica. "I won't let Alanna down."

Veronica smiled and stroked Briana's cheek. "I'm proud of you, standing up for your friend."

As Veronica tore the tapes on her diaper, Briana felt pressure building up in her chest. She had to say something about Melody. It wouldn't be right to stand up for Alanna and not Melody, especially since Melody's problems were Briana's fault.

"Mommy." Briana said, lifting her legs and catching her toes so that Veronica could wipe her bum. "There's something wrong with Melody. They're sad almost all the time now."

Veronica sighed, getting the wipes right up in Briana's tender spots with a little more force than Briana thought necessary. "I know sweetie. I'm helping them the best I can, but until they decide to accept more help we can't force anything on them."

"But – what if that horrible Beatrix person is hurting them?" Briana wrinkled her nose Veronica switched out the wipes for cold lotion.

"I assume that's the root of her current issues." Veronica said. "I agree that what she did was wrong, but as far as I know Beatrix hasn't done anything that would break the law or school policies. Until she does, I can't help unless Melody lets me."

"She probably is though! She's a really bad person." Even the soothing feeling of the baby powder on Briana's skin couldn't undo the butterflies in her tummy.

"I can't just go around accusing her of things or spying on her." Veronica said, pulling the fresh diaper snug on Briana and taping it up. "Darling, I know you feel guilty about what happened to Melody. The truth is that Beatrix is a very scary person who took advantage of you when you were too little to stop her. I entered a formal trespass order with the police and if she ever enters this house again I will happily have her arrested."

Veronica helped Briana down from the changing table and over to the big fuzzy armchair she'd added to Briana's room. Once Veronica was settled in, Briana obediently crawled into her mom's lap.

"In the meantime, we need Melody's cooperation to do anything more." Veronica shrugged off one her dress sleeves and unsnapped the cup on her maternity bra.

"But I want to help!" Briana protested.

"Then be a good baby, work on your potty training, and help out around the house. Everyone will have more time to help each other if you help too."

"That's not what I – " Briana found herself cut off as Veronica pressed Bri's lips against her breast.

With one last grumpy look, Briana relented. She didn't want to make a fuss while Mom was feeding her. There was something magical about it that made her feel so close to and loved by Veronica that she sometimes got a little teary-eyed.

Mom cried too sometimes, though the conversation this morning had put her in a less fun mood than usual. Briana closed her eyes and snuggled as close as she could, sucking gently and savoring the sweet milk filling her mouth.

Little by little she relaxed. When Veronica turned her around to nurse at the left breast she was nearly in a doze. What little attention she could spare she used to peek up at Mom. She was a lot happier too, which just soothed Briana even more.

The magic feeling, along with a soft song from Veronica, carried Briana off to the fantasy land where her stuffies could reply to her and move around without needing her help. The world was called Cloudland, because it was on the top, sunny side of the clouds. They had a castle there, and everybody was good friends together. Sure, there were some arguments about where to put the pond for the new mermaid stuffie, but everybody agreed that she needed one, they just disagreed on where it should go.

"Did you fall asleep sweetie?" Veronica asked, stroking Briana's hair.

"Hmm? No Mommy, I was in Cloudland."

"I see. Did they ever pick a spot for the pond?" Veronica had her bra and dress put back together and was maneuvering Briana up on her thigh for a horsey ride.

"Ugh, not yet!" Briana complained, taking Veronica's hands. "Arnold the Pangolin is being stubborn."

"Oh dear. That's community politics for you." Veronica said with a smile.

Veronica bounced her leg up and down, bouncing Briana along with. Bounce bounce bounce! Briana giggled and burped. Burps were the real reason for the horsey ride, but Briana liked to pretend that it was knight training so she could join Alanna on adventures in Cloudland.

Squish squish squish! Briana's diaper mushed warm against her crotch. Apparently satisfied that Briana was out of burps, Veronica brought the horsey ride to an end and guided Briana off her lap.

"Briana." Veronica said, her tone much less fun than before. Briana looked down to see that Veronica had her fingers in the crotch of Bri's diaper. "You're wet."

"I'm sorry!" Briana said frantically. "I didn't even notice, I swear!"

"I believe you," Veronica said, pulling Briana facedown across her lap. "But now Alanna is forsworn."

"I didn't mean it." Briana sniffled, wincing as her diaper was pulled down off her rear.

"I'm not spanking you because you couldn't tell if you needed to pee." Veronica said. "I'm spanking you because you made a promise involving someone else, and you knew you probably wouldn't be able to keep it."

Briana whimpered and hung her head. First Melody, now Alanna. She was making trouble for everybody.

Veronica's hand came down in a half-dozen quick swats. They left Briana's rear stinging, but even Briana had to admit the punishment was light. Not that she wanted more!

"I'm putting you back in your crib for a while." Veronica said, pulling Briana's diaper back up. "If you really need something, the baby monitor will be on, but no climbing out, not even to get a book or a toy."

"I get a spanking AND a time out?" Briana wailed, though she didn't resist as Veronica herded her back into the crib.

"Yes, and the only stuffie you get is Alanna." Veronica said, removing Arnold the Pangolin (who always had to be referred to by his full name), two kittens, and a rhinoceros named Daisy. "I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about."

"But what about breakfast?" Briana whined as Veronica lifted the crib side and locked it into place.

"You just had your snack, you'll be fine until Gary gets here."

"Gary is coming over?!"

"Yes, he's babysitting you today. Jane and I are doing Thanksgiving shopping for the house today. We're way behind, it can't wait any more."

"Okay I guess." Briana grumped and fell back on her padded butt.

"I'm so glad you agree with your punishment." Veronica said wryly. "Remember, no leaving your crib, or the next spanking will be with my hairbrush."

Briana winced and ducked her head. "Yes mommy."

Time out was boring. It was supposed to be boring, sure, but that was no reason for it to be so super awful stupid gross boring! Alanna wasn't really speaking to her right now, so they couldn't play much. Briana lay in her crib, occasionally drumming her heels against the mattress. She felt herself wet again, and resolved to try to pay more attention to when she had to go. Maybe that would help fix Alanna's honor.

After an impossible-seeming amount of time, her door opened. Briana hopped up instantly, throwing herself against the side of the crib. Her face lit up when she saw who it was.

"Gary!"

"Hey there Briana." Gary grinned back. He looked so good! All muscly and a little bit stubbly and that shirt was nice and tight across his chest.

"Ohmygod I'm so happy to see you." Briana bounced on her knees.

"I can see that." Gary laughed and freed Briana by lowering her crib's wall. "Does that have anything to do with you having been in time-out?"

As soon as the crib was open Briana rushed Gary, squealing in delight when he lifted her into his arms.

"Maybe a little!" Briana hugged Gary close. "But I missed you too, it's been like – super long."

"I missed you too, sweetie." Gary lowered his head and kissed her. Another magic feeling, different than the one with Mom, swept over Briana. Gary was so big and strong, so sturdy and he smelled so good. The kiss made Briana's heart race and diaper a little wetter than it already was.

"I hear you need breakfast, but first do you need a change?" Gary asked.

"Yes please." Briana wiggled cutely against Gary. "But Gary, can you help me with something please?"

"Anything hon." He set Briana down on the changing table.

"I wanna try to use the potty. Can you help me?"

"Sure, we can work on that." Gary's hands were nice and warm as he expertly changed Briana. "I'll start by taking you to the potty regularly, and we'll see if you can go. Also, tell me right away if you feel wet, okay?"

Briana nodded. "I will, promise!"

Gary and Casey were the only ones big enough to carry her around, so whenever they were sitting her Briana tried to walk as little as possible. Luckily Gary seemed to be in a mood to carry her, she didn't even have to ask to be picked up and carried downstairs.

The house was a whirlwind of activity. Veronica and Jane were nowhere to be seen, but Suzie and Erin were scrubbing the kitchen and bathroom respectively. Casey was singing to herself outside. From the glimpse Briana caught through a window, it looked like she was doing some gardening.

"We're not going to be in the way, are we?" Gary asked, setting Briana down in her high-chair.

"Naw, we're obviously going to use the kitchen between now and Thursday." Suzie said.

"Anything I can do to help?" Gary asked, as he checked the fridge.

"Babysitting her is a big help." Suzie said. "Just clean up your dishes and we're golden."

"Roger that." Gary produced eggs and milk from the fridge, as well as butter and bread from the counter. "You ready for French toast, Bri?"

"Really?!" Briana bounced in her chair.

"You better clean up the mess she's about to make." Suzie chuckled.

"I got it, no worries." Gary said. "Since I'm going to have to do that anyway, why don't you leave the floor for me? I'll mop it when we're done."

"Works for me, thanks man." Suzie left the mop in the corner and walked over to Briana. "Hey Bribri, how's our favorite baby this morning?"

"Pretty good." Briana said. She considered explaining the things that hadn't been good about the morning, but realized Suzie might be able to help her with her main problem. "Uh Suzie, do you know Beatrix? The scary lady that was here and yelled at me and Melody?"

"I didn't until that day." Suzie said. "I asked around a little after. She's doing an Econ masters, and I guess she thinks that being good looking makes her hot shit on toast."

Briana giggled at Suzie's use of the naughty word. Gary didn't seem to have noticed, but then again he wasn't babysitting Suzie, and was pretty busy cooking breakfast. "Does she live on campus?"

"No, she's off-campus, I don't know where." Suzie shrugged. "Why, you worried you're going to run into her?"

"I just want to help Melody." Briana said. "They're so sad all the time, and I think Beatrix is hurting them."

"I'm sure she's horrible to be around." Suzie said. "Not a lot you can do about people like that. Melody should just stay away from her, and report her for harassment if Beatrix won't leave her alone."

"But what if Melody won't do that?" Briana furrowed her brow. "We hafta help her."

"She's got to make decisions for herself." Suzie said. "Don't worry about it so much. We'll help her if she asks for it."

"Sometimes people can't ask for help though and that's the whole thing they need help with." Briana sighed. "Like me, before Mom helped me."

"You're a good kid." Suzie said, ruffling Briana's hair. "You let us help you though. Melody has to do the same."

"There has to be something we can do."

"Not everything works out like a cartoon episode hon. Sometimes all you can do is be there for your friend."

She's not just my friend, Briana wanted to say. Melody had always been super nice to her, and joined in on her games. They were getting help from Veronica, same as Briana, and wearing diapers too. It didn't seem right for Melody to just be a friend. They were family for sure.

Probably she should tell Suzie all that, Briana thought. But those words were full of scary emotions that made them hard to say. She ended up just giving Suzie a pleading look, hoping for a miracle where Suzie figured it all out somehow.

Unfortunately Briana was fresh out of miracles. What she got from Suzie was a pat on the cheek and a poke on the tummy, before her roommate headed out to run some errands. Hot on the heels of Suzie's exit was the arrival of the French toast, which left little time for more planning.

With a full tummy, freshly scrubbed face, and her clothes exchanged for ones that weren't saturated in syrup, Briana lounged in Gary's lap. He was encouraging her to nap, but full tummy or not, she needed to figure out how to help Melody.

"Gary, do you think we could go to campus sometime?"

"Like this?" Gary asked curiously. "You wouldn't be embarrassed?"

Briana considered. "I have clothes where my diaper doesn't show. If I was with you it would be okay."

"I'll see what your mom says." Gary said. "What do you want to see there?"

"I wanted to talk to Tamira." Briana said. "See my other friends too maybe."

"Is Tamira the one that babysat you once?"

"Yeah! She was super nice and good at it. Almost as good as you!" Briana grinned and sat up fully, wrapping her arms around Gary's neck.

"Well she might be a good one, but your other friends might not understand how little you are. It could be confusing for everybody."

"Can we just see her then?" Briana asked. "Ooh, or she could come babysit me."

Gary chuckled. "I'm not sure if she's up for doing that regularly. Veronica thinks it's a special thing for her and her boyfriend."

"No way, she totally liked babysitting me." Briana declared. Gary didn't look convinced, but at least he was open to taking her to see Tamira.

"Well, if you're not going to nap, let's do a check on the potty." Gary said.

He got up and got Briana into his arms in one smooth motion. Briana felt her cheeks go pink, that was hot! His legs looked bigger than before, almost too big for his pants.

"You've been working out, huh?" Briana asked, running her hands over Gary's bicep.

"Thanks for noticing." Gary beamed. "Yeah, I've really gotten into it lately."

"I like it, you can carry me super easy now."

Gary laughed. "That's not exactly the reason I'm doing it, but it's a good benefit."

With her diaper pulled down and her butt on the potty, Briana tried to make something happen. Gary waited, a lot more patiently than Briana was able to. After a good five minutes, which was a long dang time to be on the potty, Gary stood Briana up.

"No luck right now. That's okay." He deposited her on the changing table and discarded the unused diaper. "You want to try something special?"

"Hmm? Like what?" Briana asked, her eyes going wide when Gary held up a pullup.

"Those are big girl panties." Briana said cautiously. "If I have a big accident..."

"You're going to tell me as soon as you feel wet, remember?" Gary said. "But just in case..."

Briana felt a lotion-covered finger press against her anus, coating it and even pushing in a little. She took a deep breath, relaxing for the plug she knew was coming. Gary was taking his time, working the smooth metal in slow circles more than pressing it in.

Heat prickled across Briana's skin and raised all the little hairs up. Her hands wandered down to her breasts, kneading them gently.

"Gaaary." Briana whimpered.

"Did you think I wasn't going to give you at least one fun change?" Gary winked. "I take better care of my girl than that."

"Ah!" Briana gasped as the plug finally popped in. She had no respite, Gary's fingers were already sliding across her sex and sending tingles across her whole body.

"My sexy baby." Gary said lovingly, leaning down to kiss Briana.

She surrendered to the kiss the way she wanted to surrender every part of herself to him. It HAD been a long time since she'd seen him and she'd been feeling too little to take care of herself in that way. In no time at all she was gasping and clawing at the changing table while fireworks went off in her head.

Panting, Briana lay back to enjoy the feel of Gary gently stroking her belly as well as the occasional quick kiss. To her surprise, she didn't get a pullup or a diaper while she was cooling off. Instead Gary put her back on the potty and instructed her to push.

To Briana's delight, there was a little tinkling sound! She looked up at Gary with a glowing smile.

"I did it! I did it!"

"You sure did, good girl!" Gary gave her another big kiss, unbothered that she was sitting on the potty.

Once he had her cleaned up, Gary pulled a pullup up Briana's legs, even doing it when she was standing. She felt like a super big girl. As much as she could, she tried to clamp down on her crotch. Gary and Mom and Dad would be so super proud if she could get to the potty before she wet.

"Casey just sent me Tamira's number, I can ask her if we can come over if you want." Gary said.

"Yes please, you should meet her, she's super nice." Briana bounced on the balls of her feet, heedless of the fact that a pullup was all she was wearing.

"In the meantime, you should get dressed. Do you need help with that?"

Getting dressed on her own? Briana knew she'd done it plenty of times. Right now though she was concentrating so hard on not wetting her pants. Dressing sounded like way too much.

"Uh, maybe a little help?" She said.

"No worries hon. Come on."

In-between texts, Gary helped Briana pick out a long skirt, some warm tights, and a pretty blouse and sweater combination. He got her into them too, teasing her whenever she got too squirmy. Even though it wasn't super cold, Gary insisted on putting her in a warm woolen hat and mittens.

At this point Briana was over the moon to be seeing Tamira and going out with Gary, so she would have agreed to anything. Carefully keeping everything clenched, at least when she could remember, Briana let Gary bundle her into the back seat of his car.

As they drove, Briana kicked the empty passenger seat in front of her. "Gary, do you know Beatrix?"

"The lady you and Melody had a run-in with?" Gary asked. "Can't say I do. That's probably for the best. I don't think I'd be able to be polite to her."

"You don't hafta be polite to her." Briana said emphatically. "She's super mean."

"Yeah, but I might cross a line and get in trouble myself." Gary said with a bit of a growl in his voice.

"Mom said that she can't do anything about Beatrix unless she's breaking the law or school rules." Briana sighed. "But I bet she is! I mean, she was a super big liar when she was talking to me."

"Here we are." Gary said, pulling the car up into the dorm parking lot.

Briana noticed Gary's evasion, but he was being so nice to her that she didn't want to push it. Instead she dutifully followed him with her hand in his big strong one, even though it'd be way more fun if he carried her.

"Briana!" Tamira was as awesome as always, giving Briana a super big hug as soon as she came in the door. "You must be Gary."

"That's me." Gary said, shaking Tamira's hand. "Weird ask, but can I take Briana to the bathroom right away?"

"No problem, I get it." Tamira said, leading the way. She didn't leave the bathroom either, even when Gary pulled down Briana's tights and pullup and set her on the potty.

It could have been embarrassing, but it was a happy thing, Briana decided. It meant she could count on Tamira to take care of her. Plus, it meant she had been right and mom had been wrong. Tamira could totally be a babysitter!

"So how's she doing?" Tamira asked.

"She's working on potty-training right now." Gary said, petting Briana's head.

Which of course is what she was working on. Briana hastily tried to relax, now that Gary had reminded her why she was on the potty.

"That's wild. Cute, but wild." Tamira grinned. "So you two are uh..."

"Dating." Gary said firmly.

"Right on. I don't know if my boyfriend will ever get quiet the way Briana is, but so far we've had a lot of fun with this stuff."

"She's a bit of a special case, but you never know." Gary said. "Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like we've had a class together at some point."

"Yeah, you look familiar too." Tamira said. "Selective Microbe Breeding series?"

"Hmm, that could be..."

"I pottied!" Briana interrupted proudly.

"Good girl!" Gary chuckled.

He made sure she was done, then pulled Briana onto her feet and wiped her crotch gently. Tamira watched the whole process in fascination, raising her brows when she caught sight of the plug in Briana's rear.

"Can you watch her for two seconds?" Gary asked Tamira while he pulled her pullup and tights up. "I've been so focused on her that I didn't use the bathroom myself."

Tamira chuckled. "My pleasure."

Briana found herself tugged along by the hand to Tamira's living room. It didn't look like there were any toys or anything out, which was a little sad.

"Tamira, I need your help." Briana said.

"Oh? What's going on?"

"Do you know Beatrix?" When Tamira shook her head, Briana continued quickly. "She's this super mean person in the Econ department. She tricked me to get into my house, and she was super awful to Melody. I think she's doing bad stuff to Melody all the time, but nobody knows what."

"Melody is your roommate?" Tamira asked, rubbing her head when Briana nodded. "I mean, it sounds like it's Melody's thing to deal with."

"But she's like me!" Briana said desperately. "They wears diapers, and Mom, uh, Veronica is helping them out, just not as much as me. Everyone is waiting for them to tell them what they need, but I don't think they can."

Tamira sighed. "Don't you think Veronica probably knows best about this?"

"Usually, but sometimes she's wrong." Briana said. "Like she was wrong about you."

"Huh?"

"She said that you wouldn't want to babysit me, because it's just a thing for you and your boyfriend. But she doesn't know how nice you were to me that day, and today too. You'd totally be a good babysitter."

"I uh..." Tamira stared at Briana for a moment, a weird expression on her face paired with a flush in her cheeks. "Well, I guess you are right about that. I'd babysit you any time, cutie."

As Gary rejoined them, Briana found herself wrapped in a super fierce hug with Tamira. She grabbed her friend back, feeling the world become a little safer around her.

"I can't believe you two are so close, and I never met you before." Gary said, grabbing a seat on the couch.

"We've been friends for a while, but things kind of accelerated lately." Tamira said, disengaging from Briana to sit on the opposite side of the couch.

"She has a way of doing that to you."

Briana looked at the two of them hesitantly. It would have been so much easier if they had just sat next to each other, she could have been in both laps. Luckily Gary saved the day by motioning toward Tamira.

"Go ahead and sit with her hon, you and I are going to be hanging out all day."

Briana rushed over to Tamira and straddled her friend's lap, wrapping her arms around Tamira's neck.

"Well hi there!" Tamira chuckled and pulled Briana close. "I wish I'd known you were this snuggly a while ago. It would have been nice on those marathon study sessions."

"The temptation to take a picture is huge right now." Gary said.

"Ooh, totally do." Tamira said. "Just send it to me. I won't share it around and I'm sure that you won't either."

"Alright." Gary snapped a couple of shots, choosing the best and texting it to Tamira. He was about to put his phone away when something caught his eye and made him frown.

"Oh hell. Dr. Zafra is locked out of his office again. He wants me to come down there and unlock it for him." Gary shook his head. "I told him I had the whole day off today."

"Is he your advisor?" Tamira asked, wincing when Gary nodded. "You better go, you know how he gets. I'll watch Briana for you."

"I don't know." Gary said. "I don't think Veronica would like that, and she's not super happy with me as it is."

Briana frowned. Why would Mom be mad at Gary? One more thing she was going to have to fix. She had to do everything it seemed!

"I will text her myself. I'm not intimidated by her like the rest of ya'll. Any fire comes down, it'll come my way."

"So you say," Gary said, but he was already getting up and grabbing his coat. "I'll be back soon, I promise."

"Take your time, calm the old man down. Your baby girl will be just fine when you get back."

"Thanks Tamira!" Gary said, rushing out the door while texting his advisor.

"I've got you all to myself now!" Tamira said, rubbing noses with Briana. "What do you want to do?"

"We hafta save Melody." Resistance to intimidation or not, Tamira was obviously taken aback by the intensity of Briana's gaze.

"I'm not so sure about that. I was thinking more about playing with blocks, or working on your potty training."

"Tamira, this is important." Briana set her hands firmly on her friend's shoulders. "I know I'm really little, in the head. But that doesn't mean I don't know when something is wrong, or when it's important. Melody is like my friend. They're... they're like my sibiling."

"Please?" Briana begged. "Please help them? I can't do it alone. It's my fault that they're hurting, but I can't fix it."

Tamira sighed. "Okay, IF, and only if there's something I can do that doesn't also cause a problem."

"Thank you!" Tears in her eyes, Briana squeezed Tamira with all her might.

"Oof! You're welcome, you're welcome." Tamira pried Briana off of her and set her on the couch. "Let's figure out where we can start. Tell me what you know."

"Okay, well I was helping with some stuff and I heard a thing going off on Melody's computer, so I checked because it sounded like a bad thing." Tamira was giving her some side eye so Briana rushed forward. "She had like, a ton of messages from someone that sounded like they were in trouble. I replied but I totally told them I wasn't Melody. The person on the messages was Beatrix, and she lied to me a ton. She made me think that she was worried about Melody, and asked how to get to my house."

"Hold up." Tamira facepalmed. "Briana, you know that all of that was a bad idea, right?"

"Yeah, I know now!" Briana sighed in distress. "That's the whole point, this is my fault!"

"Okay, wow, you really are having some impairment issues. Go ahead, then what happened."

"So then Beatrix came over, and she pretended to be really nice but when I looked back on it, it was actually creepy. And then Melody got home and Beatrix turned into this horrible rage monster and started yelling. She showed Melody's girlfriend their diapers, and Melody had to tell her girlfriend to go away. Then there was more yelling, and finally Melody threw Beatrix out of the house."

Briana came to a stop, panting. Tamira was staring at her with wide eyes.

"Girl – this is some extremely hot tea." Tamira rubbed her eyes. "One thing first, Melody doesn't tell people that they wear diapers? They aren't 'out' as much as you are? Heck, you aren't really out either."

"No, it's a super big secret! They don't want anyone to know, it's super embarrassing."

Tamira gave Briana a stern look. "But you told me anyway?"

Briana whimpered and gulped. "Uh, I didn't think about that. I'm sorry! But it's super important to the story."

"Oh kiddo." Tamira pulled Briana's head into her lap. "So maybe Melody is worried that Beatrix will tell other people about their diapers, like they did with Melody's girlfriend?"

"Yeah, and I bet she's just being mean and nasty all the time to them." Briana said, curling up on the couch. "You weren't there, she was super scary and mean. She was so angry she didn't even look like a person anymore."

"I'm so sorry you had to see that Bri." Tamira stroked Briana's head gently. "I'm sorry Melody has to deal with it too. I don't care about any loud-mouthed bitches, but I know that's not everybody."

"So you'll help?" Briana asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'll help. Don't get too excited, I don't know what I can do. But I'll look into it, and if I see anything abusive, I will report it."

"She's blonde, and like, really pretty if you don't know how mean she is." Briana said. "She's in the Econ department and she does esports stuff with Melody."

"That might be enough to find her." Tamira said. "Beatrix is an unusual name."

"Will you tell me if you find anything out?" Briana asked.

"Of course hon. But you have to not go off half-cocked on this okay? You really shouldn't have told me about Melody's diapers."

"Okay, I'm sorry." Briana looked up at Tamira. "Do you hafta punish me?"

Tamira chuckled. "Well, I'm not your official babysitter, so we'll let it go this time. What kind of punishments do you get anyway?"

"Spankings." Briana said. "Or time out. Sometimes I get grounded from my phone."

"Veronica lets your babysitters spank you?"

"Yeah." Briana reflexively put a hand over her rear.

"Heh, maybe it helps. You do get pretty spun up."

"Do you spank your boyfriend?" Briana asked.

"Hmmm, not yet." Tamira was blushing again, no, it was the fun kind of hot cheeks, she was flushed.

"You should if he's naughty!" Briana said with a giggle.

"Oooh, and what if I tell him you said that?"

Briana hid her face in response.

"Haha, maybe he'll tell me to spank you."

Briana stuck her tongue out at Tamira. "Do you think I could play with him again?"

"I think we could do that. I'll ask him, okay?"

"Yay! Maybe we could do it at Thanksgiving!"

"Are we invited to your Thanksgiving?"

"You are now!" Briana doubled down in the face of Tamira's skeptical look. "You are so! I live in the house too and I can totally invite someone. Plus Mom said there was room for more."

"Okay, well, I'd like to come but I have to ask him about that too. And I don't know if he'd be okay being little around so many people."

"It could be a secret thing!" Briana said eagerly.

"We'll see. Just don't pout and whine if it doesn't happen, okay?"

"But it would be so cool!"

"Girl, let it go or I'll give you that spanking."

"I thought you said you weren't my official babysitter."

"Looks like I promoted myself." Tamira said firmly. "Now, let's put you back on the potty."

"But I don't hafta go." Briana said, snuggling into Tamira's lap as cutely as she could.

"Do not test me Bri." Tamira punctuated her words with a quick swat on Briana's rear.

"Ack, okay, I'm going!" Briana got up and scurried to the bathroom.

"Now I see why your mom uses spankings." Tamira said, following her in and pulling Briana's pullups down. "It works pretty good on you."

"No fair." Briana said, sitting down on the potty.

"Uh huh. It's almost lunch time. You want some chicken nuggets?"

"Oooh, yes please!"

Tamira laughed heartily. "That's what I thought. You stay there while I get them in the oven. If you manage to go potty you can have a cookie for dessert."

As Tamira left the bathroom Briana tried her hardest to go pee. While she waited, she imagined herself up to Cloudland. She had an apology to make to Alanna and wanted to show the lioness that she was finally starting to fix things.

 

 

[PastelConnection]

I'm so relieved Briana is on the job!? ...though i am sure things may not go as smoothly as planned...but she has to help Melody ?

[YourFNF]

Beatrix doesn't realize it but her bullshit is rapidly making enemies across campus and is probably going to put the entire local scene onto her bullshit. Can't wait to find out the consequences for her fucking around...

[SolSombraYSoldados]

On 8/18/2022 at 10:09 AM, PastelConnection said:

I'm so relieved Briana is on the job!? ...though i am sure things may not go as smoothly as planned...but she has to help Melody ?

Somebody has to help Melody, that's for sure! They sure aren't helping themself.

 

 

10 hours ago, YourFNF said:

Beatrix doesn't realize it but her bullshit is rapidly making enemies across campus and is probably going to put the entire local scene onto her bullshit. Can't wait to find out the consequences for her fucking around...

If Bea is really lucky, the worst thing that will happen to her is leaving Ardenthill as a place where nobody likes her.

I have a feeling it's not going to be that easy though...

[SolSombraYSoldados]

Revelations in this chapter!

-----

 

Chapter 18

 

"How would you say that things are going with the treatment?" Veronica asked Melody.

"Everything seems to be going good." Melody said with a shrug.

"Are you sure?" Veronica eyed Melody critically.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be? All my class and work stuff is getting done."

"As I recall, your meltdown that resulted in problems with school and work was just the trigger that got you to ask for help. It's not the core issue."

"Everything's fine." Melody sighed. They hated lying to Veronica, but they'd hate having diaper pictures plastered across the internet even more. Those would NEVER go away.

Veronica sighed as well. She focused an unrelenting gaze on Melody. "To be clear then, you're not engaging in any self-destructive behaviors, you're using the pullups you've been told to wear, exactly as you've been told to wear them, and there's nothing about your relationship with Beatrix that I need to know about?"

"I don't have a relationship with Beatrix." Melody said, which was true enough. Whatever messed up thing the two of them had, it wasn't something Melody wanted to call a relationship.

Veronica's mouth set in a disappointed line, crooking down at the corners. She wasn't buying it. Melody fidgeted in their chair. Pressure to come clean to Veronica was building up inside of them. They clamped down on that feeling.

Melody's eyes darted around the room as they fought to stay quiet. If they could just ride out this moment, they could get out of this uncomfortable moment with Veronica. If they could endure just a couple more weeks of Beatrix, she'd feel like she got her revenge, get bored, and drop it.

If Melody could just hold out a little longer, with all of it, then everything would be fine. They could 'graduate' from Veronica's program, put Beatrix behind them, and have a normal relationship with Rosa. Everything was fine. Everything was going to be fine. Soon.

"Melody." Veronica said tiredly. "This is disappointing. I think it is obvious that you're not being honest with me. Therapeutic treatment can't work if you're not engaged and honest."

"I'm not!" Melody protested. "Everything is fine. Five by five. Yeah."

"You're much stronger willed than Briana." Veronica shook her head. "At least in regards to hiding things. I'm not left with a lot of options here."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to give you a choice. Tell me the truth, exit the program, or accept a spanking. I really hope you'll choose the first one."

"I AM telling the truth." Melody protested, guiltily.

"Melody, the last time I checked your pullup you had obvious diaper rash all the way up your rear. How did that happen?"

"Uh, I don't know, I get all sweaty I guess..." Melody looked away.

"Little one." Veronica said, all patience gone from her voice, "Come over here and lie face down on my lap."

Melody flinched. A spanking? Really? They could just stop this whole ridiculous thing right now. But if they did there wouldn't be any more excuse for wearing the diapers that Beatrix insisted they wear.

Plus, Veronica's help was a big factor in stuff not falling apart. A lot of days Melody came home feeling drained and ugly after a session with Beatrix. Veronica's pushing and reminders were keeping her from dropping important assignments and jobs.

Hesitantly, Melody stood and walked over to Veronica. Before they could get up the nerve to do it themself, Veronica pulled them down over her lap. They felt their pants and pullup yanked down, exposing their red, rashy rear.

"Melody." Veronica exclaimed. "This diaper rash is even worse than I expected."

That was because Beatrix never bothered to use any of the lotion or powder, Melody thought. Plus they had to sit in their wet diapers for hours in class. The one time they'd complained about the rash, Bea had laughed and told them they deserved it.

None of that was something Melody could tell Veronica, so they just lay quietly over her lap, eyes closed.

"Nothing to say?" Veronica shook her head. "Then I think it really is time to move the program up to the next phase. You are going to be taken care of, if you like it or not."

"What does that – ow!" Melody cried out as the first slap hit her rear.

"Spanking first, then the rest of the changes." Veronica said firmly. She brought her hand down again and again. Quick slaps that stung and painted Melody's whole rear the color of their rash.

Gritting their teeth and breathing through their nose got Melody through the first half-dozen spanks. After that the real pain started. Veronica wasn't hitting any harder, but the guilt was. They were getting free rent for playing along with Veronica's program. She was really trying to help Melody too.

Melody whimpered, yelping a little in time to the smacks. It was humiliating in addition to the guilt. A reminder that they couldn't handle their life. Proof that they could even mess up getting help.

Twenty spanks in, tears were dripping down Melody's nose. At thirty, a genuine sob popped out involuntarily.

Veronica relented, gently stroking Melody's rear. "I'm sorry to have had to do this. I wish you would just talk to me so that we could resolve thing that way."

Getting nothing in response but sniffles, Veronica patted Melody's back. "Stand up, and leave your pants and pullup around your knees. Stand in the corner while I prepare the next bit."

Melody shuffled into the corner. Staring at the faux-Victorian wallpaper and feeling the sting on their rear, they had never felt like such a little kid. Not even when they'd been a little kid. Melody's mom hadn't spanked, and they'd certainly never been in a corner with a pullup around their knees.

Was there an opposite of the Success Kid meme? There would be now if someone took a picture, Melody thought. That thought brought Beatrix's pictures back to mind, making Melody clutch their gut in distress.

Rustling sounds and Veronica walking on the hardwood floor in her witchy boots were Melody's only clue to what was going on. When Veronica finally turned them around, Melody winced. A changing blanked was spread on the floor. There were bottles of baby products next to it, as well as a diaper and what looked like a booster pad.

"What?" Melody asked.

"To begin with, you're clearly wearing diapers during the day." Veronica said. "Don't argue with me, your rash extends up past the waistline of a pullup. If you're going to wear those, they're going to become part of the program."

Melody squirmed. It was embarrassing, but in a way it would solve some of their problems with Beatrix's demands as well.

"You'll be wearing them full time until I say otherwise or we have an honest breakthrough." Veronica crouched down and pulled down Melody's pullup and pants. "I'll be changing you into a fresh diaper each morning and in the evening. If you're wet during the day I'll change you then as well. You're not to do it yourself."

That might conflict with Beatrix's little game. Melody's heart raced anxiously. Maybe there was a way to fit both together. If they complained about something embarrassing Beatrix always wanted to do it more. It was one of the few ways that Melody had any control over the game, but it meant they had to make it more extreme.

"I'll also be applying medication for your rash." Veronica continued. "If I'm not able to clear it up, we'll get Erin involved, which will mean she'll be seeing you naked from the waist down."

Melody blushed, still silent. They would have to figure out a way to comply with Veronica. No way she wanted another person in on the program.

"That's all for now, for this next phase. Do you understand?"

"Um, yeah."

"You don't sound enthusiastic. How about you open up to me instead?" Veronica searched Melody's face, shrugging when they turned away.

"Alright. Lie down on the changing blanket."

Blushing, Melody lay down. They turned their head away from Veronica.

"I want you to understand that if this doesn't resolve the problems I'm seeing, it's not the end of the possibly restrictions by any means."

"What do you mean?"

"We haven't even gotten into your changes in emotional affect. Not to mention the fact that while it's true that you're keeping up on your responsibilities, you're also relying on me much more than you were just two weeks ago."

Melody bit their lip and closed their eyes. There was nothing to say that wouldn't be another lie, and they were sick of lying.

"If you continue this way or deteriorate, we'll move to more childish clothing and more monitoring. You're honestly not far away from sharing a babysitter with Briana."

"What!?" Melody's eyes snapped wide, they looked at Veronica in shock.

"I'm not saying you need it quite to the extent that she does." Veronica said, lifting one of Melody's leg and applying a thick rash cream. "But you'd need some monitoring and it'd be silly to have two separate babysitters."

Melody went scarlet and turned away again. They hadn't expected Veronica to go that far. There had to be a way out. Just a few more weeks, and Beatrix would be bored for sure. Then everything would be normal.

Veronica had nothing left to say as she powdered Melody and taped them into a thick diaper, complete with booster. Melody flexed their legs experimentally against the bulk and sighed. No more cute pants, maybe no more period-pants even. At least they still had some overalls from Jane's wardrobe update.

"Melody." Veronica said, scooting up by Melody's shoulders and stroking their hair. "I am really worried about you. You made great progress but you're backsliding fast. You started this program in a scary place."

"I'm sorry." Melody said softly. "I just can't – " They stopped themselves before any scary admissions could escape.

"I'm sorry too. For what's happening to you, and that you can't properly accept help." Veronica leaned down and kissed Melody on the forehead. "I care about you a great deal. Please let me help you before it's too late. Just – think about it."

Melody bit their lip and nodded slightly. It seemed to calm Veronica down a little.

"Go get yourself dressed and get to class." Veronica said. "I'm going to check in on you and your diaper at some point today."

"Th-thanks." Melody scooted out of the room, racing down the stairs as fast as they could. It didn't look like anyone had seen their mad, crinkly dash to their bedroom. With a sigh of relief, they threw on some overalls and grabbed their bag.

Today was going to be packed. Classes were piling on extra work due to the week being cut short. Melody was supposed to meet Beatrix and Rosa at school, and now Veronica too. Thanksgiving was going to be a welcome break, even if they had to spend it in a huge diaper.

Melody licked their lips and shivered at the little tingle between their legs. Maybe the diaper was even going to make Thanksgiving more fun. What would it be like to be babysat?

They let themself consider that only for a moment before banishing the thought in embarrassed horror. Of course they didn't want to be babysat. That was dumb, and so, so embarrassing. Anyway, there wasn't any more time for stupid out-of-the-shower shower-thoughts. Melody raced out the door to their car.

-----

As predicted, the day was a stressful mess. Melody was trying to concentrate on a test review when their bladder made itself known. Impatiently, they released, letting it flow into the bulk between their legs. It wasn't until the next review topic came up that Melody blushed, realizing that Beatrix hadn't demanded that they wet themselves today.

Oh well. Melody sighed. It wasn't as if they had time to find a bathroom between classes anyway. The booster pad had wicked away the moisture impressively, Melody couldn't even tell that they'd wet. It was convenient. Way too convenient. It made Melody want to wear a big diaper every day. Which would be hot.

No, not hot. Embarrassing, they reminded themself. Super embarrassing and would eventually get them caught by their girlfriend. Not an option.

Beatrix had to be having just as busy a week, but she still found time to harass Melody between classes. With a heavy heart, Melody presented themself in the small lab room Bea had ordered them to meet in. Beatrix was already there, wearing her one of her usual over-the-top outfits.

A red skirt cut up the side nearly to Bea's hip rode low on said hips. Her midriff was deliciously bare as her top was a white halter, apparently without a bra. A puffy jacket in black sat on one of the lab tables as Bea's only concession to the frigid fall weather.

"Dolly!" Beatrix said, with an odd, unfamiliar tone in her voice. "Lock the door behind you."

Melody braced themself for whatever madness Beatrix had cooked up today. Something about her eyes was even more manic than usual.

"First up, let's check to see if you're following orders." Beatrix stalked over and popped the snaps on Melody's overalls, letting them fall open to their waist. She peeked down and smiled.

"Good! You remembered that you always have to wear one of those." Beatrix smirked. "Did you use it?"

Melody blushed. They couldn't fool Beatrix with a lie any more than they could Veronica, and unlike V, getting caught in a lie by Bea would make her even more vicious than usual. "Yeah. Um, just a little."

"Haha, seriously?" Beatrix smiled broadly in an expression that would have been delight on anyone else. Her eyes were too wide, even dilated. The smile didn't fit the rest of her face.

"You didn't have to, but you did anyway? Was that for me? Did you do it because you know you're my little diaper dolly?"

"Uh – yes." Melody whispered. There was one kind of lie that Beatrix wouldn't catch, and that was when it was exactly what she wanted to hear.

"You're so fucking obedient." Beatrix said, grinning more genuinely now. She pushed Melody hard, up against the wall. "I've never had such a submissive toy."

Melody swallowed nervously and stayed quiet. They'd learned the hard way that it was best to just let Beatrix rant whenever she was spun up like this.

"You've got this whole butch thing going on." Beatrix ran her hands over Melody's hair.

The touch was tender, which was terrifying. Whatever Bea had planned, it was going to be some 4chan /b hell with all this buildup.

"Butch on girls is fucking stupid." Beatrix said, running her hands over Melody's face and shoulders. Her eyes followed her touches, apparently fascinated. "Somehow you are making it work. Makes sense, you got fashion so fucked it came out the other end and turned good."

Was – was that a compliment? A backhanded, Beatrix compliment sure, but it sounded like a real compliment. Butterflies whirled in Melody's stomach. What was going on?

"You even smell good today." Beatrix leaned in, nuzzling Melody's neck while Melody stood in rigid terror. "Maybe I shouldn't make you piss yourself all the time. You're showering now huh?"

Melody swallowed another lump in their throat. Her heart was picking up pace, and her nipples were up at attention. Thankfully they were trapped behind a thick sports bra and couldn't betray her reaction to Beatrix.

"Sports bra is working with the look, even if you do have nice tits." Beatrix ran her hands over Melody's chest, squeezing casually. "Maybe I should get you a chest binder, huh? I'm seeing some dress-up possibilities."

What the hell was going on? Melody shifted nervously, their diaper crinkling. It was too quiet to give them away in class or the halls, but it was plenty audible in this intimate scene. The reminder that they were padded combined with Beatrix's affectionate touches drove heat between Melody's legs.

That heat was nothing compared to Melody's reaction when Beatrix's lips pressed against theirs out of the blue. The kiss wasn't tender, but it wasn't brutal like previous ones had been either. It was passionate, even hungry. Melody had been kissed like that before, most recently by Rosa. Beatrix was more than into this, she was hot for Melody.

That realization lit a fire in Melody's brain. Melody feel kiss, neuron activation. The fire burned away all rational thought, using their ladyboner and embarrassment for fuel. A delicious soup of happy brain chemicals was left in its wake.

Through the fog of lust, Melody realized that they had their hands on Beatrix's chest. More than that, her halter had been swept aside, putting Melody in direct contact with those perfect breasts. Melody braced for an explosion of anger or at least sarcastic annoyance from Beatrix, but it never came. Bea moaned into the kiss like a teenager on her first makeout.

The next twinge was guilt. What would Rosa think if she saw Melody with Beatrix halfway down their throat? The feeling was too good though, Melody couldn't stop. Though they couldn't push their girlfriend out of their mind entirely, the guilt remained as a mere bit of heartburn.

They were trapped after all, right? They had to do anything Beatrix said, or wanted. If that thing happened to be galaxy brain level makeouts well, it was a hell of a lot better than being humiliated in a puddle of piss on a lecture hall table.

Beatrix broke the kiss, flushed and glorious. She was objectively, seriously beautiful. In the throes of passion her Hepburn-esque features were elevated to a work of art. Melody half expected things to take a nasty turn, but it still didn't come. Bea kissed them again, more slowly this time, savoring Melody's lips and tongue.

One of Bea's hands was wandering over Melody's side and back, the other was down the back of their diaper, grabbing their butt. Trembling with daring, Melody tweaked one of Beatrix's nipples and slid her other hand into the waistband of her skirt. Bea's only response was to moan in Melody's ear, and press the entire length of her body against Melody.

"Good idea." Beatrix said breathlessly, flexing her rear against Melody's hand. "But I have a better one."

Bea took Melody's wrist and pulled it around her front, sliding it under the slit in her skirt. Without preamble, she pressed Melody's hand against the damp fabric of her panties.

"Hold me up." Bea said, resting her arms on Melody's shoulders. "Touch me."

Melody trembled. This was a literal dream come true. Minus the diaper. They settled their forearm on Beatrix's lower back and found her folds with her other hand. She was slick and hot under Melody's fingers. It took only a brief touch at Bea's entrance before their finger was wet enough to glide across Bea's clit.

Beatrix panted, biting her lip and trembling in Melody's grasp. Whenever she couldn't bite back the moans she'd kiss Melody again, moaning through the tangle of their tongues. They were breathing each other's air. Their hearts thundered against each other, chests separated only by Melody's bra.

It was surprisingly quick. Melody cried out when Beatrix bit her lip. Bea was shaking all over, whimpering out little choaked moans. She let her legs give out, and Melody had no choice but to sink to the floor. They lay together in a curled up pile, Bea's face tucked into the curve of Melody's neck. Her breath was hot as she panted.

"Oh fuuuuuck." Beatrix smiled and stretched, pulling Melody's hand out of her panties.

She put Melody's wet finger to their lips, and they complied instantly, sucking it clean.

"Wow, who knew huh?" Beatrix sat smiling, flushed and radiant. It lasted for all of a minute before she hopped up and dusted off her skirt. "I needed that! I was stressed as shit."

Melody got hesitantly to her feet. Okay, so Bea had needed some stress relief. The embarrassing part of the game was going to start now.

"Anyway, I have to get to class." Beatrix shrugged on her coat and her designer satchel. "I'll see you tomorrow dolly. It'll have to be in the afternoon though. I'll text you what time, and where."

"Okay." Melody's voice was hushed, lusty. They were way past trying to conceal their arousal. There was no point after what had happened.

To Melody's shock, Beatrix leaned in for another kiss. This was even tender. "You're really worked up. It's cute. If you're still a good dolly, I'll take care of you next time. You know, after me." Beatrix winked. "We'll have more time tomorrow."

Melody watched Beatrix go in total confusion. There was no punishment. No humiliation. No blackmail, not even many orders given. They were left with the taste of Bea on their lips and a body that tingled from head to toe.

-----

There was no making sense of it. The only thing to do was to enjoy the feeling. Not the memory though. The memory was spicy, too-tinged with girlfriend betrayal. A long code review session in Melody's next class pushed that problem away, left them feeling merely happily amped. Didn't they deserve one happy afternoon, anyway?

It's a question that they should have asked Veronica. Walking into Veronica's beautiful, corner office, Melody had a lot of questions. What the hell reason did a graduate student have to get an office like this one? It wasn't big, but it had been remodeled recently, and it had windows. Big ones!

There were more relevant questions too, like what they were supposed to do with Beatrix now that the game had turned upside down. Now that she was acting like a second girlfriend. Well, female friend with benefits anyway.

Melody decided not to be Comrade Questions. They stood awkwardly on Veronica's fancy carpet and got a hug instead.

"Melody, you look a little better this afternoon." Veronica smiled, flicking her fingers through Melody's hair to fix the windblown bits.

"I guess so." Melody managed a small smile. Only they were suppressing a big one instead of forcing a little one this time.

"Good. I'm hoping that means that the changes are already helping." She guided Melody over to her desk It was teak, or mahogany or something. Expensive dark wood for sure.

"If I check your diaper, will I find that you used it?"

The question was so blunt, Melody had to blush. "Uh, a little."

"Really?" Veronica did that little eyebrow twitch that meant she was filing away an observation. "Well, we're not working on potty training you, so you're not in trouble for that. It does mean you're getting a change."

Melody squirmed. They didn't need potty training, it was just a busy day. Nevertheless, they let Veronica strip them out of the overalls and put them on a changing blanket on the floor.

"If you need to go more, you might as well do it now. I want to keep you as dry as possible during the day until that rash is gone."

Melody squirmed, shifting her legs further apart. The diaper crinkled quietly as they filled it. A lot of it was still being absorbed by the booster, but there was enough flow that some of it hit the diaper proper. Even with a full wetting, Melody didn't feel much liquid on her skin. The setup Veronica had put them in could hold a lot, easily a whole day's worth it seemed.

It wasn't sexy. It never was with Veronica. It still felt good though, to know that she was padded and wet. Comforting or soothing, or some other good -ing.

I have really turned my brain into a mass of spaghetti-code, Melody thought. This should be way weirder than it is. Wetting myself on my roommate's office floor should not pass an assert().

"That's a good Little One." Veronica said. "How is your day going?"

"Busy." Melody said, staring at the ceiling while Veronica tore the tapes off their diaper. It still felt weird to look at Veronica while she was changing them, at least.

"I bet." Veronica wiped Melody clean, really scrubbing with the wipes to get rid of all the wet and rash ointment before applying a fresh layer of the medicine.

"What else do you have for today?"

"Um, one more class and then I'm meeting Rosa." Melody said.

"Very good." Veronica slid a fresh diaper under Melody and dusted them generously with powder. "I want you to come home right away after that, unless you have some lab work that has to be done on campus."

"Uh, I don't." Melody said. "I'll come back after."

Veronica chuckled, pulling Melody's diaper closed with caring touches.

"You know that you need my help, right Little One?" Veronica asked, sitting back on her heels. "You'll let me spank you and put you in this big diaper because you don't want to step away from the program, but you won't let me in so we can do the real work."

"I won't judge you for whatever is going on. I will only help you, and care about you."

Melody sat up and looked sorrowfully at Veronica. Guilt was coming back, reinforced by more of that very-valid Rosa guilt. "I uh, I want to but I just can't."

"Melody." Veronica said, in a loving tone that took Melody's breath away. "I'll give you time if that's what you need. I won't let you fall, do you understand?"

"Yu-yeah." Melody turned away from the too-intense emotion, only to have Veronica caress their cheek and pull them back into eye contact.

"I need you to understand how earnestly I mean that." Veronica's gaze bore into Melody, filled with total sincerity. "I. Will. Not. Let. You. Fall."

"Oh." Melody's eyes were suddenly full of tears, mercifully blurring out the look that had shot straight to their heart. They fell forward into Veronica's arms. There were no sobs or even sniffles. Melody gently trembled, clinging to Veronica and being held in return. Tears poured continuously down their face, collecting in the crushed velvet shoulder of Veronica's shawl.

"Little one." Veronica said softly. "You are not alright."

"I know but..."

"Shhh." Veronica patted Melody's back. "I can see that it's hard. You don't have to tell me now. Can you promise to tell me later?"

"Yes. I c-can do that." Melody said softly and was rewarded by a warm squeeze.

"That's my good Melody." Veronica sat them back up and carefully wiped Melody's face with a handkerchief. "Are you going to be okay for your last class?"

Melody nodded. It was true too. Their heart felt a little lighter. Things didn't feel quite as doom-y as they had been.

"Do you want to stay here for a bit?"

"No uh, I got to move. My last class is across campus."

"Sorry for making you go so far out of your way." Veronica said. "But I thought you'd appreciate the discretion that a private space affords."

"Yeah um, thanks." Melody hopped up and scurried out of the room. They hesitated just for a moment at the door for a quick parting smile.

-----

Last class of the day had Rosa in it. Rosa who was not wearing model gear and didn't have one of the five most beautiful bodies on campus. Instead she was rough, still crazy hot, and actually cared. Stealing glances at their girlfriend during the review session, Melody drew comfort from the distinct lack of manic intensity. The smiles they got back were genuine, not plastered on like Patrick Bateman.

When class ended they walked together, arm in arm, because Rosa wasn't ashamed to be seen with Melody. She should be, Melody thought, trying to keep the guilt off her face while they cuddled and talked on a bench in the Quad.

Sooner than they wanted, Melody made her excuses and headed home. It was because Veronica had told them to come right home, of course. Melody wasn't avoiding her girlfriend. Doing that on top of cheat – having complicated makeouts with another girl would be really shitty. So it wasn't happening.

As soon as they could get out of the mandatory portion of her evening (chores, dinner, and diaper check), Melody retreated to their room. The plan was to do some quick overachiever homework and lose themself in a video game. Something single-player and full-screen that could be an escape for a few hours. Starting a new Elden Ring character would be the perfect thing.

Harri the Naturist Hand-axer was never to be born, however. Melody logged on to their computer to a pile of messages that were for once, not from Beatrix. Cute little quips from Rosa filled their DMs, every fourth one or so asking Melody to respond when they got a chance.

>>Ocarina – Hey Rosa, everything okay?

>>JStar – Hi hon!

>>JStar – Really glad you're online. Nothing's bad. Just wanted to chat.

>>Ocarina – Sorry things were short this afternoon. This week is crazy.

>>JStar – I get it, me too. I'm glad we could still meet.

>>Ocarina – Yeah. I miss you.

>>JStar – Aww! Really?

>>Ocarina – Yeah.

>>JStar – I was worried you were getting tired of me.

>>Ocarina – No! I like you. A lot. Really a lot.

>>JStar – I like you too. I worry sometimes though.

Oh boy. Here it goes. Melody thought. They hesitated for a bit before responding.

>>Ocarina – What about?

>>JStar – Sometimes you feel far away from me.

>>JStar – Or you get really flinchy when we're making out.

>>JStar – If I'm doing something wrong, you'd tell me, right?

>>Ocarina – I would. You're perfect. Sorry I'm being weird.

>>JStar – You don't have to apologize. Just talk to me.

>>Ocarina – About what?

>>JStar – Like, the makeouts are great. Really great.

>>JStar – But you always get flinchy when I try to go below the waist.

>>JStar – Is that a boundary? Is there something else going on?

>>JStar – I don't want to hurt you.

>>Ocarina – It's complicated. I guess it's a boundary for now. Not forever though.

 

>>JStar – Is it because you're wearing diapers?

Melody stared at the screen. They reached for the power button on their computer twice, and the close button on the Discord window once. They didn't close anything down, not from any determination but just from general confusion. Melody felt like a wild animal trapped between the desire to eat and something scary near the food, dancing back and forth senselessly.

>>JStar – You there? I'm sorry if that wasn't okay.

>>JStar – Melody?

>>Ocarina – I'm here.

>>JStar – Are you mad? I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be mean. I want to understand.

>>Ocarina – Are you talking about that day with Beatrix?

>>JStar – Hon, it's not just that day, right?

>>JStar – They're not exactly subtle, and we get really close when we're kissing.

Melody caught themself making a sort of keening, whining noise. Panic set their heart racing and their vision swimming.

>>JStar – Melody?

>>JStar – I'm not upset, or freaked.

>>JStar – I like you. A lot. I just think we should acknowledge it? Is that okay?

Melody's hands trembled on the keyboard. It took ages of backspacing typos to finally get a clean message out.

>>Ocarina – I know it's weird. I'm sorry.

>>JStar – You don't have to be sorry. You don't even have to explain.

>>JStar – Unless you want to.

>>Ocarina – It's a whole thing. I don't know how to explain.

>>JStar – Is it medical?

>>Ocarina – Not really. I can stop, maybe.

>>Ocarina – If you want to take a break until after we get back from Thanksgiving.

>>Ocarina – I could stop by then.

>>Ocarina – I think.

>>JStar – Melody, it doesn't bother me.

>>JStar – Please don't break up with me. Or shut me out over break.

>>JStar – Please?

Melody sighed. There may come a day when the Melodys of The West do not give in to a pretty girl saying please, they thought. But today was is not that day.

>>Ocarina – I didn't mean for you to find out.

>>JStar – Did you have one on during our first date?

>>Ocarina – yes

>>JStar – I didn't notice. It must be something important then.

>>JStar – Even if it's not medical or whatever. You don't have to stop.

>>JStar – I don't understand, but I'm not mad. I like you. This doesn't change that.

>>Ocarina – Why?

>>JStar – I don't know. It just doesn't. I like you.

>>Ocarina – So it's not anything that would keep you from renting a U-Haul?

>>JStar – Did you just ask me to move in with you?

>>Ocarina – I was making a joke. : /

>>JStar – U-Haul is still good to go.

>>Ocarina – Why are you so nice to me?

>>JStar – You're hot, dummy.

>>Ocarina – Simp

>>JStar – For you? Always.

Melody stared at the screen in wonder. Warm fuzzies filled their chest. Whatever they'd done, it was not enough to deserve this girlfriend. Especially with the Beatrix bullshit. Double-especially because of that.

>>Ocarina – Now what?

>>JStar – We can talk about it more here, or in person? If that's okay.

>>Ocarina – I guess so.

>>JStar – Is that really okay, or is that a soft-no?

>>Ocarina – It's really okay. I'm embarrassed.

>>JStar – You don't have to be embarrassed.

Melody hesitated. Were they really going to respond to that with – aw hell, looks like they were.

>>Ocarina – Sometimes I like to be embarrassed. It's a turn-on.

>>JStar – oh

Melody squirmed in their seat, rubbing their rear into their diaper. Their heart pounded anew.

>>JStar – Okay, now some stuff makes more sense.

>>JStar – That turn-on is not a problem, FYI

>>Ocarina – Do you like it?

>>JStar – I don't like being embarrassed.

>>JStar – But I like it sometimes if my girlfriend is.

>>JStar – When I'm topping.

Oh god. Melody's face flamed. They were nearly as hot between their legs as they had been making out with Beatrix.

>>Ocarina – oh fuck

>>JStar – That sounded good?

>>Ocarina – Um yes

>>JStar – Hot.

>>JStar – Can I see them?

>>Ocarina – Right now?

>>JStar – No, cutie. In-person.

>>Ocarina – That's embarrassing.

>>JStar – So we should be at my place, got it.

>>Ocarina – bitch

>>JStar – You love it.

>>Ocarina – Maybe. To both.

>>JStar – I'm excited.

>>Ocarina – Me too. I guess.

>>JStar – Melody? Thank you.

>>Ocarina – For?

>>JStar – Sharing something personal. Being honest with me.

Big oof. Melody felt the knife twist. Not that it was Rosa's fault, she didn't know about Melody's drama. That being the whole problem.

>>Ocarina – YW

>>Ocarina – I have to go. Homework. See you tomorrow?

>>JStar – Looking forward to it. ❤️

>>Ocarina - ❤️

Melody sat back from the computer and took a deep breath. Tomorrow just got way more complicated. Beatrix, Rosa, and Veronica meetings, on top of last day of classes before the break. Oh, and a ton of Thanksgiving prep because of course this house went all out for Thanksgiving.

Melody's eyes snapped wide as they remembered the thing they were supposed to have asked Rosa.

>>Ocarina – Hey real quick, want to come to Thanksgiving at my place?

>>Ocarina – It's a whole big thing here. All the food.

>>JStar – YES

>>JStar – Um, I mean yes.

>>Ocarina – Haha, awesome. I'll tell my roommates.

>>JStar – See you tomorrow, joyfriend.

>>Ocarina – Tomorrow, girlfriend.

[PastelConnection]

I WANT A SEXY DIAPER THANKGIVING!!!

That is all.

 

Lol, but seriously another great chapter. I eagerly await for Melody to spill the beans about Beatrix and get her away from the evil b-tch ?

[SolSombraYSoldados]

29 minutes ago, PastelConnection said:

I WANT A SEXY DIAPER THANKGIVING!!!

That is all.

 

I don't think it's one of the sexiest chapters, but a diaper Thanksgiving you shall have! This Thursday when the next chapter posts.

[YourFNF]

I can't really blame Melody for cheating considering the extortion makes it way to close to... rape... TBH but gods she really needs to tell her girlfriend and Veronica.

[SolSombraYSoldados]

1 hour ago, YourFNF said:

I can't really blame Melody for cheating considering the extortion makes it way to close to... rape... TBH but gods she really needs to tell her girlfriend and Veronica.

Mel's being too passive for sure. That in NO way excuses what Beatrix is doing, she's still 100% in the wrong.

Melody has a history with Beatrix (to be revealed later, probably should have been foreshadowed more by this point in the story) but they should still be doing more communicating at the very least.

[SolSombraYSoldados]

It's Thanksgiving! This chapter is very boring. It's about a normal family holiday with no drama or fuss whatsoever.

-----

Chapter 19
 

Thanksgiving was finally here! Briana was so excited; Veronica accused her of having already gotten into the cookies. Mom didn't understand. It was Thanksgiving. That meant amazing food, and a big party, and friends! Friends everywhere, all over the house.

When Jane told her how many people were going to be at dinner Briana had almost burst on the spot.

"Seventeen." Briana informed Alanna, her stuffed lioness. "That's how many people are going to be here."

Alanna understood how amazing that was, of course. She had some other stuff to say though, like how it was going to be extra hard for Briana to keep up her potty training when she was so excited. Briana pouted at her lion. Alanna was right, but that didn't mean she had to bring the mood down.

"It's okay." Briana assured Alanna, "I can do this. I'm a big girl now. See?"

Briana pulled up the cute skirt Mom had put her in and showed Alanna her pullups. (Yes they were dry!) Tucking Alanna under her arm, Briana checked herself out in the mirror. She was wearing a pale purple skirt, pleated and falling just over her calves. Her blouse was a very grownup black with a red heart on the chest.

Mom had helped her paint her nails purple, and even let her put some Chapstick on. The most grown up thing of all though was the silver chain with a garnet pendant around her neck. Even Briana's fiery hair was done up. It had grown long since Veronica had taken over as her mom. Suzie had styled it up for her in curls that were carefully held in place by violet-shaped barrettes.

"We got this, Alanna." Briana said. "For the honor of Cloudland!"

Now transformed into her knight persona, Briana flounced downstairs. Everything was so cool and special for the holiday. All the furniture was out of the big living room, replaced by a huge table. That table was decked out with pretty plates, crystal glasses, and Jane's best silverware. Orange, red, and brown flower arrangements contrasted perfectly with the cream colored tablecloth.

Briana inspected the place settings carefully. She'd been entrusted with most of the table setting. Everything was still in place. A few of the name cards had fallen over, but those were quickly set upright. Arranging the seating had been agonizing. Everybody should get to sit with their friends of course, but Briana had so many of them at this dinner. Who was she supposed to sit with? Gary, Tamira, Melody, Mom, Dad, Casey?

Eventually she decided on sitting next to Tamira, because she didn't know a lot of the people who would be here. On her other side she placed Melody's girlfriend, after a LOT of debating. She really wanted to sit next to Melody, but she also wanted to get to know Rosa. Melody would still be close enough, she thought.

Gary had to sit on the other side of Tamira, so he could be close too. After that the pieces mostly fell into place. The final hurdle was that Veronica insisted on sitting at the head of the table, and Jane at the other end. It still worked out, even if Suzie's friends got split up a little.

Alanna was not as interested in the seating arrangements as Briana had hoped she'd be. The lioness-knight reminded Briana that she had a duty. Tamira might have some information on how to help Melody.

"I know, Alanna." Briana said, exasperated. "I didn't forget."

Alanna had some more stuff to say about the last time Briana forgot things and besmirched her honor. Briana stuffed the lioness's head into her side to quiet her and went to find her mom.

"Can I do anything else to help?" Briana asked as she crossed into the kitchen.

Veronica looked over from her conversation with Jane, and smiled at Briana. Lots of people's kitchen would be in total chaos an hour before Thanksgiving dinner. Not Veronica's and Jane's! Everything was either done or finishing up in the oven. A few things were staying warm on the stove but most of the food was already in bowls and on plates, standing ready on the regular dining table.

"You look so darling!" Veronica said, leaning down to smooth Briana's shirt. Mom didn't have to lean down to fix her clothes, but Briana loved it when she did. It made the little-feelings all happy inside her. For a while she hadn't liked being the shortest one in the house, (shortest by far!) but now she loved it.

"Am I really pretty?" Briana did a twirl so her skirt would flare out.

"Prettiest little girl ever." Jane said with a smile.

Briana beamed. Alanna's nose pressing into her side reminded her to be a big girl. "Can I help?"

"You're such a good girl for asking." Veronica said. "Table looks good, food is mostly ready. You could pour water into the glasses if you want and if you're super careful."

"I can do it!" Briana declared. "I won't spill a drop."

"That'll be easier if Alanna supervises from in here." Jane said, holding out her hand.

Briana pouted, but she was a knight right now and couldn't refuse Dad's request, not when it made so much grownup-sense. With Alanna safely deposited in Jane's arms, Briana carried the heavy water pitcher back to the living room.

As she was pouring water (without a spill!), the door opened. Melody and Rosa stepped through, bundled up and stamping snow off their boots.

"Melody!" Briana exclaimed. She remembered to set the water pitcher down carefully and raced over to the new arrivals.

"Hey kiddo." Melody said, with a fond smile.

Melody was wearing diapers all the time now, and Briana was so happy. She really hoped they would get a chance to play together as Littles before the break was over. The only reason she figured they might not was that Melody was spending a lot of time with Rosa. That was okay, because Briana was super happy for that too.

"I'm Briana." She announced to Rosa, curtseying like the proper Knight she was.

"Hi, I'm Rosa." Rosa said. She wore a light coat even in the snow just like Casey did. Melody and Rosa were both dressed fancy, Melody in an almost-suit and Rosa wearing a really pretty dress that showed off her shoulders.

Rosa seemed pleased to be greeted, but maybe a little flustered too. That was okay, lots of people were nervous around knights. Briana would just have to make double-sure that Rosa had a good time.

"I'm so glad you came! Melody really likes you, they talk about you all the time. So it's great you could come to our dinner."

"Oookay that is a thing you just said." Melody said, blushing. They scooted Briana back toward the table. "We interrupted you in the middle of pouring water, right?"

"Right!" Briana hurried back to her task, tongue protruding slightly from her lips as she concentrated on pouring the water. She heard Rosa laugh behind her, which was a great sign for her having a good time.

The next one to arrive was Gary, just as Briana finished filling glasses. He was hardly in the door before Briana collided with him, squeezing him tightly.

"Gary!"

"Hey Bri." Gary laughed and scooped Briana up, kissing her tenderly on the lips. "Sorry I'm late."

"You're late? It's like, forty minutes until people are supposed to get here."

"Look at you keeping track of time." Gary smiled. "I'm your official-unofficial babysitter tonight. I was supposed to be here about a half hour ago to help you before the party."

"I didn't need help, I'm a big girl!" Briana said, holding her arms up in victory.

"I can see that. You look very pretty tonight."

Briana grinned, kissing Gary again. She wiggled until he set her down. "Suzie did my hair, and Mom did my nails, but I put the outfit together."

"You did a great job. Is there anything you're working on right now?"

"I just finished filling water glasses."

"Good girl." Gary took a quick look around the living room. It was clear for the moment. He flipped Briana's skirt up and peeked in front of her pullup. "Very good girl."

Briana beamed and nodded. "I'm doing really good right now."

"You're also pretty excited. I think this is a good time to get you on the potty, just in case, okay?"

Briana nodded, taking Gary's hand and letting herself be lead to the bathroom. Anything for him, especially if he was giving her such nice compliments. Gary helped her get her skirt up and her pullups down, and set her on the potty. She didn't think she had to go, but even with all her work that wasn't something she could always be sure about.

While they waited, Briana looked up at Gary, unselfconscious about her situation. "Gary, you're sitting next to Tamira and Casey."

"Did you do the seating chart?"

"Yeah!" Briana grinned. "I'm sorry I couldn't sit you next to me but I needed to sit next to Tamira on that side."

Gary laughed easily. He reached out to ruffle Briana's hair out of habit, but pulled back just in time to avoid messing up her fancy do.

"That's okay, I'm sure we'll spend plenty of time together tonight."

"Can you stay over?" Briana asked hopefully.

"I don't think so sweetie. This party is a big event for everybody here. I don't think they want to host overnight guests on top of that."

"Can I go home with you then?"

"Have you been missing me?"

"Lots!" Briana nodded. There was finally a tinkle in the potty under her, which was a relief for worries about staying dry at dinner. "I used to see you every day."

"I'm not sure if you can come over but I can ask, okay?"

Briana nodded. Even though she was sure she was done, she waited until Gary got her up and wiped her clean. He fixed her pullup with lots of flirty touches that made her really hope she could have a sleepover. A sexy sleepover. Briana giggled to herself.

When Gary whisked Briana off to her room, she began to suspect that Mom may have asked him to keep her out of the way. Ordinarily that would be an uncool-mom move, but right now it was resulting in awesome Gary time. Mom got a pass. (this time)

Sitting in her crib with the side down, Brian got to hear all about what was going on at school. Gary had it kind of tough, his advisor was dumping a ton of work on him.

"I know what could help." Briana said, trying and failing to conceal a grin.

"Oh? What's that?"

"You could take me to your place for the weekend!" Briana said, bouncing. "I know it'd be some work taking care of me, but you'd be on break, so you wouldn't have school stuff or work stuff."

"We could play pretend, and color, and eat all kinds of junk food." Briana said, then shifted her tone lower. "And I'd make sure you'd forget all about school for a while."

Gary blushed. Gary! Blushed! Briana's eyes sparkled to see him shifting with sudden nervous energy.

"Wow. Um, yeah, that could be pretty fantastic. We've never done anything long-term like that."

"You always take care of me so good Gary." Briana hopped out of her crib and pressed herself gently against him. "I could take care of you a little too."

"Huh." Gary grabbed his belt and adjusted his pants. "Yeah, let me talk to Veronica. I think this is something we have to work out."

Briana held out her arms. Gary obliged by picking her up. As soon as she was in his arms, she kissed him sweet and slow. That kiss went on for a while, until they both had nice pink cheeks.

"You are amazing." Gary said with a dreamy look on his face. "My Briana."

"Yours." Briana agreed, clinging close.

"All mine?" Gary asked curiously.

"All yours. Casey has a steady girlfriend." Briana wasn't sad at all, and she made sure her tone let Gary know.

"So for right now we are exclusive." Gary said, satisfied.

That didn't satisfy Briana though. She sat up a bit in Gary's arms to meet his eyes. "Gary, I don't know what my heart does. I'm not saying forever. But I feel stuff about you that I don't feel for anybody else."

"Yeah?" Gary searched Briana's eyes curiously.

"Yeah. I love Mom, and Dad, and – Melody, but it's family love." Briana kissed Gary again. "I love you different. Special."

"I love you too." Gary had to blink a few times to clear the shine from his eyes before he pulled Briana in for a long kiss.

Did it get more perfect than kissing Gary in a pretty dress, on a party day, with his hands on her butt? (It did not) Briana relaxed into the kiss and snuggled close to Gary for a long while after.

Finally, Gary cleared his throat and put Briana down gently. "Sounds like most people have arrived, we should head downstairs."

"You've gotten so strong." Briana said appreciatively, smoothing her skirt and taking Gary's hand. "You held me that whole time!"

"What do you think I've been working out for?" Gary chuckled.

Pink cheeked and feeling loved, Briana let Gary lead her out of her room and down the stairs. The soft rumble Gary had heard from her room was fun and boisterous up close. Everybody was standing around laughing and talking, with drinks and hors d'oeuvres in their hands.

Gary said something about going to get them drinks and food, which Briana acknowledged with a nod. She was off like a shot, excited to make sure that everyone was here.

Suzie and her friends were in a corner of the living room by the door, chatting away about theatre stuff. Maybe it was a good thing the table split them up a little. Briana stopped long enough to say hello and get a hug from Suzie before moving on.

Casey and her new girlfriend were like palate swaps of each other. Not really, of course, but from a distance you could see it. Almost the same haircut, nearly the same build, same big laugh. Casey was dark haired with light skin and liked to wear blues. Maryam had super bleached platinum hair with darker skin and liked to wear browns. They were the only ones dressed for the gym.

The two of them paused their discussion on who had the most soccer goals (apparently it mattered what league the goal was in) to say hi to Briana. She left the himbo giants behind in search of more friends.

Briana had said hi to everyone and was beginning to worry that Tamira wasn't going to show when she saw her friend exiting the bathroom. With a huge grin, she skipped over to Tamira and held out her skirt.

"Hi Tamira! I'm glad you're here! Do you like my outfit?"

"Hey cutie." Tamira said, giving Briana a proper look over. "You look great. And you sound really excited."

"Of course!" Briana said. "It's a huge party with food and all my friends. And there's PIE!"

Tamira laughed and hugged Briana. "Glad to hear it. Hey, I've never been to your house before. Mind giving me the tour?"

"Course!" Briana took Tamira's hand and flounced off. The kitchen was busy, with dinner about to start, so they went through that one fast. Briana stopped in the drawing room, showing off the TV, extra comfy couches, and her changing table.

"Wow, you've just got it out here in the open all the time?" Tamira asked.

"Yeah. Ooh, except, I'm working on potty training!" Briana said, pulling her skirt up. "See? Big girl undies."

Tamira blinked, seemed a little off-balance, but she recovered fast. "Yeah, they are. They look dry too, good job."

Briana beamed at the praise. "I still get diapers at night. Oh and uh, if I need to go to the potty can I ask you?"

Tamira raised her brows, "Ask me what?"

"Sometimes I need help." Briana said bashfully.

Tamira chuckled and stroked Briana's cheek. "This is a little crazy sometimes, but it's fun. You're feeling okay with everything?"

"Of course!" Briana said, leaning into the caress.

"I really should get you and my boyfriend together again."

"How come he's not here?"

"I told you sweetie. He flew back to see his family in Atlanta."

"Oh right." Briana pouted, though it was brief. "Okay, I can't show you everyone's room but I can show you mine upstairs!"

"Lead on." Tamira said with a smile.

Sadly, the room tour was fated not to happen. They emerged into the living room to see Veronica getting everyone up to the table. A bemused Gary wrangled Briana over to her place setting which already had her glass of sparkling cider and the cut fruit he'd picked up for her hors d'oeuvres.

Dinner began with a toast to friends, which Briana happily toasted with her bubbly. Then plates and bowls started passing, a dizzying dance of stoneware that left Briana wondering when they would actually eat.

Tamira and Rosa were both awesome, helping Briana get her plate loaded up, though Tamira ignored Briana when she said she didn't want salad. It was okay, she was a babysitter after all. Rosa helped her sneak extra cranberry sauce and candied yams so she picked up a ton of cool points on that one.

Finally, it was time to dig in! Briana wanted to join the conversation, especially with Rosa, but she needed to at least have a taste of everything first. Once she'd had a bit of each dish on her plate (and three of the yams), she turned to Rosa.

"Hey Rosa, how did you and Melody meet?"

"We have a class together." Rosa said. "It took a while of me hitting on them to notice, but they finally did."

"Babe!" Melody protested.

Briana grinned. "Cute! Have you been on lotsa dates?"

Rosa furrowed her brow a little. Briana realized she was slipping too much into little talk. She wished she had Alanna to remind her to be big.

"Uh, a few. It's been busy at school. We see each other a lot though. Are you at the college?"

"Yeah, Microbiology." Briana said, oblivious to the bit of cranberry sauce on her nose. "But I'm taking a break."

"Let me get that, sweetie." Tamira said, reaching over to wipe Bri's nose. "Tamira." She said in response to Rosa's look.

"Rosa. Are you and Briana..."

"No, I'm just a friend, and I watch out for her."

"Gary is my boyfriend." Briana said brightly, pointing him out.

Gary chuckled and waved. "Hi."

"You're friends with everybody here, huh?" Rosa asked.

"Mmm, not everybody. I don't know Suzie's friends very well, and Casey's girlfriend is pretty new." Briana squeezed Rosa's arm. "And I don't know you super well yet. That's why I wanted us to sit together."

"Huh? Why me?"

"Melody is my... is a... um, Melody is my good friend." Briana managed, then added hastily, "Not dating!"

"Hah, okay." Rosa seemed uncomfortable.

"They're important to me. A lot." Briana said, trying to be as big as she could to salvage the situation. "You seem important to them, so I want to be your friend."

"Shit, you are adorable." Rosa was smiling now, crisis averted! Melody looked like they wanted to crawl under the table, but Melody was always getting blushy about stuff.

"Thanks! You're in the same program as Melody?"

"Yeah, but our classes really only converge in one area." Rosa said. "Otherwise I would have snatched them up a long time ago."

"Are you two going to embarrass me the whole dinner?" Melody said, though they didn't look too upset about it.

"I hope so!" Briana and Rosa said in unison. They looked at each other and burst out laughing. Melody's bashful protests only made them laugh harder.

"I like you." Briana said, looking earnestly up at Rosa.

"Thanks." Rosa smiled gently. "I like you too. You're really sweet. More genuine than most people I meet."

That compliment warmed Briana all the way down to her toes. While she was distracted by warm fuzzies, Melody got their girlfriend's attention back.

With a happy sigh, Briana put serious attention to the matter of dinner. As the happy conversations rumbled around her, Briana cleaned her plate. (Except for the salad of course)

"You need to eat your salad, Bri." Tamira said, bumping her elbow against Briana.

"No I don't." Briana pouted. "You're not my babysitter."

"Oh yeah?" Tamira asked. "Who is?"

"Gary." Briana said, reaching for more yams.

"Gary, does Briana need to eat her salad?" Tamira asked.

A big Gary hand caught Briana's wrist and pulled it away from the yams. "Yes she does." He said.

Shocked, Briana felt her jaw drop. Gary was supposed to be the fun babysitter. "But, but Gaaary." She batted her lashes at him.

"If you want to spend a whole weekend with me, I'm going to have to be a little more strict." Gary said.

"Oooh, are you two doing that?" Tamira asked.

She put a fork in Briana's hand and maneuvered it into the salad. Briana resolved to be careful about asking Tamira to babysit. She was turning out to be way strict.

"I hope so. With Veronica's blessing." Gary said. "How are things going for you and Arthur?"

"Really well." Tamira smiled slyly. "Like, amazingly well. Mostly thanks to Briana here."

"Yeah?" Gary asked curiosly.

"She kind of kicked things into high gear for us." Tamira said. Catching Briana's curious look, Tamira added. "That day when you came over and played with Arthur."

"Oh yeah! She was super nice. I was really sad, and she helped me." Briana nodded to Gary.

"Hey, thank you for that. I knew Briana had an episode on campus but I didn't hear the details."

"It was my pleasure. She's darling, and a good friend." Tamira said.

"Briana." Veronica called from the head of the table. "Can you start clearing plates?"

"Yes Mom!" Briana hopped off her chair.

"I'll give you a hand." Tamira said, rising with her own plate in hand.

A few other people got up to help too, including Rosa and Melody, but Tamira was helping Briana specifically. It was a good thing too, Briana almost forgot to take the silverware out from between the plates she was stacking. With Tamira's help it was a way more manageable load.

After a couple of trips back and forth from the kitchen, Tamira pulled Briana aside. "Bri, I have some information on that thing you wanted to know."

"Really!" Briana threw herself into Tamira's arms. "Thank you!"

"Don't thank me yet, there isn't a ton of information. Nothing that proves Beatrix has done anything illegal or that breaks school rules."

"Can you show me what you have?"

Tamira nodded, taking out her phone and swiping through some screenshots. There was a picture of Beatrix (boo!), some information about her, and a picture of her house from Google Maps that showed the address.

Before she'd been little, Briana had been at the top of the Microbio program. One of the things that had kept her there was her ability to instantly memorize a chemical sequence or a configuration of molecules. Her vision focused in on the address and clicked the sequence into her memory.

Tamira kept swiping, revealing some chat logs, tweets, and other online stuff. "All of this stuff is her behaving badly, but it's just her being a huge bitch to people. Not something that gets anyone kicked out of school."

Briana drew herself up to her full five feet. She had her information, it was time for her to redeem herself as a knight.

"That's okay Tamira. Thank you for looking up that stuff for me."

"No problem hon. I'll let you know if I find anything bigger, but I wanted you to know I was working on it."

"You're a good friend." Briana hugged Tamira again. "You can babysit me any time, even if you are a strict babysitter."

Tamira laughed heartily. "Thanks for the endorsement. Speaking of strict, you better get back in the kitchen and finish helping."

Briana nodded and scooted like it was Dad herself that had told her to go.

Luckily the dishes didn't need to be washed, just stacked for now. The table had converted from dinner to desert. There was pie everywhere! Briana managed to score three kinds of pie and a huge pile of whipped cream before she was sent back to her seat. With only a quick look at the cookies, Briana devoured her pie.

Only a couple of bites in Gary put a napkin around her neck. It saved her shirt from the berry pie, but not her skirt. With all three pieces of pie down Briana was as full as she could remember being. She wanted more pie, and cookies, and those little candies down on the end of the table, but her tummy was not wiling to cooperate.

Instead she sat back and watched her friends. Everyone was having such a good time. There were grown-up drinks in almost everyone's hands, everyone was laughing or smiling. Briana caught sight of Rosa, who mimed something around her face.

Briana touched her face and came back with a hand slick with pie. She giggled and shrugged at Rosa.

"You're a bit of a mess honey." Veronica said, scrubbing Briana's face with a wet washcloth.

Mom was there! Briana grinned up at her. It had been a long busy day without much Mom time. Even better, Gary was standing next to her.

"Veronica approved our weekend." Gary said with a smile.

"Oh my gosh really?!" Briana hopped in her seat.

"Yes, really." Veronica crouched down, discreetly checking Briana's pullup. To her surprise and Briana's both, it was dry.

"You've been such a good, big girl tonight honey. I'm really proud of you." Veronica said.

Briana's grin was so big she thought her face might split. "Thanks mom. Oh and for the weekend!"

"Do you need to use the potty now?"

"Actually um, I'm full and kinda sleepy." Briana said. "I was going to ask Gary, but since I get a whole weekend with him, can Tamira put me to bed?"

"You want to go to bed?" Veronica said, surprise or suspicion in her voice.

"At least a nap?" Briana yawned (and she didn't have to fake it).

"Oh, you want to be up later when we play cards?" Veronica asked.

"Please mommy?" Briana asked. "I've been good."

"That should be fine. But we have to ask Tamira. If she is busy, Gary or I will take care of you, okay?"

"I'll ask her." Gary said, heading off.

Veronica nodded. She was about to say something else when Jane called from the kitchen.

"Ronnie, can you get another bottle of cognac from the basement?"

"I'm on it hon." She patted Briana's shoulder and swept away to the stairs.

Briana found Rosa in the crowd and tugged on her hand.

"Huh? Oh, hi Briana." Rosa said.

"Tamira is going to put me to bed, but I wanted to say thanks for coming again." Briana said.

"Put you to..." Rosa shook her head. "Right, cool. Uh, goodnight? And you're welcome."

"Goodnight!" Briana said brightly, giving Rosa a quick hug. Melody was making weird faces, but if they weren't going to say anything about it, they could talk to Briana about it later.

"Bedtime for Briana?" Tamira asked, taking Briana's hand.

"Yes please. And I can show you my room!"

Tamira was impressed by the room, Briana could tell. Heck, she was looking around with her mouth open like a fish.

"This – is your normal room?" Tamira asked. "You sleep here every night?"

"Yup!" Briana nodded emphatically. "Mom has it all fixed up for me."

"Wow, this is intense. Goals I guess." Tamira smiled.

"Do you know what stuff you hafta do to get me ready for bed?" Briana asked. Alanna was in her crib giving her an impatient look.

I know, I'm trying to get to bed! Briana thought at the lioness.

"I'm not sure, Gary didn't know exactly what Veronica does."

"I hafta brush my teeth." Briana said, feeling herself slip more and more little. "And jammies. And a diaper. Probably a big one tonight."

"Is that so?"

"I drank a whole bottle of cider." Briana said with a giggle.

"Fair enough, come on, let's get you set."

Tamira made Briana brush her own teeth, which Briana only let slide because she was on a deadline. There was a long wait on the potty too, though it turned out Briana did have to go so she couldn't protest that one too much.

At least Tamira knew to strip Briana's clothes off, and put her naked on the changing table. Her diapering skills were top notch, she must have really been practicing with Arthur. It was hard not to ask questions about how that was going, or about setting up a play date, but Briana persevered.

Once she was wrapped in warm pajamas and warmer blankets, Briana smiled sweetly at Tamira. "Thank you. You're a good babysitter."

"How are you this cute?" Tamira asked with a grin. "You need a bedtime story or anything?"

"That's okay." Briana said sleepily. "Maybe next time. You should go back to the party."

"What a considerate baby." Tamira said. "I'll see you if you wake up from your nap. Otherwise, I'll text you to set up something with Arthur, okay?"

"Yay!" Briana said, yawning again and closing her eyes.

"Night hon." Tamira chuckled one last time and turned off the lights on her way out.

Briana waited until a count of sixty, listening carefully for anyone else coming up the stairs. The only sounds were the party, still going strong. Gary and Mom were both distracted, good.

Quiet as a mouse, Briana climbed over the top of her crib and shimmied down to the floor. She shucked her pajamas and pulled on thick tights with her heaviest skirt over. Pants would have been nice but they weren't going to fit over her thickest diaper. A diaper that she was probably going to need before her quest was over.

Briana wiggled into a shirt and sweater. All her coats were downstairs, so she put a hoodie on over the sweater instead. Alanna fit snugly in the hoodie pocket. Her snow boots had made it upstairs and they were perfect for this. Finally a thick belt went loose over her skirt, and Briana thrust her plastic Sword of Protection into it.

"This is it, Alanna." Briana whispered. "We're going to save Melody."

The idea of running into Beatrix was scary, but not as scary as losing her honor, or letting Melody stay sad forever. Briana drew herself up, feeling the comforting weight of the sword at her hip. She drew the plastic blade and held it aloft.

"For the Honor of Cloudland!" It should have been shouted, but Briana had to settle for a whisper. Good enough for now.

With sword tucked back in her belt, Briana opened her window. The roof slanted away from it, covered in crunchy snow. Pretending she wasn't scared (knights are brave!) Briana climbed out the window and closed it behind her. One scooch at a time, she slid on her butt down to the gutter.

The cold metal of the gutter made Briana wish she'd brought gloves. It bit into her hands and bent alarmingly as she swung herself over. Luckily, icicles had been falling off the gutter all day with no more of a soft cracking sound than Briana made as she dropped. The snow below caught her and drove her breath out at the same time.

The sounds of happy friends drifted over Briana. Muffled by the windows and snow, they still called to her. She was a little scared now, even pretending to be brave. If she went back inside now she'd be in trouble, but just a little. Out in the snow was a lot more trouble and other scary things too.

Beatrix. Briana shuddered and pulled herself up out of the snow. She couldn't leave her sibling to face that monster alone. The monster she had brought into the house. Checking her sword and her lioness, Briana squared her shoulders.

Beatrix had to answer for her behavior, and stop hurting Melody. The quest couldn't end in failure. Briana wouldn't let it.

"Let's go, Alanna." Briana said, trudging into the snowy night with determined steps.

[diapernocturnus]

I've got a feeling someing bad is going to happen next

[PastelConnection]

Uh oh! Briana better be careful! I hope Bea doesn't hurt her ?...also what if Mom doesn't let her spend the weekend with Gary after this?. I'm so nervous about what will happen next!

[SolSombraYSoldados]

4 hours ago, diapernocturnus said:

I've got a feeling someing bad is going to happen next

 

3 hours ago, PastelConnection said:

Uh oh! Briana better be careful! I hope Bea doesn't hurt her ?...also what if Mom doesn't let her spend the weekend with Gary after this?. I'm so nervous about what will happen next!

 

At the VERY least Briana is in some serious trouble with her Mom. 
At the worst...

 

Briana has a good family that will have her back, so we won't think about that unless it happens!
 

Very scary times for a Little Girl though.

[diapernocturnus]

48 minutes ago, SolSombraYSoldados said:

 

 

At the VERY least Briana is in some serious trouble with her Mom. 
At the worst...

 

Briana has a good family that will have her back, so we won't think about that unless it happens!
 

Very scary times for a Little Girl though.

Okay I kinda "accidently" cheated and read ahead (Your website as awsome BTW). I can't belive that we aren't even halfway through yet.

Thank you this is such a great story. Its so well written I have't read a story this well written and detailed for a very long time it is up there with the greats of ABDL long form stories like Little Luzy, Who Is Mommy Violet, and Finding Jill

[dmavn]

33 minutes ago, diapernocturnus said:

 I can't belive that we aren't even halfway through yet.

umm thank god! <pout> i don want this to be over any time soon…

[SolSombraYSoldados]

12 hours ago, diapernocturnus said:

Okay I kinda "accidently" cheated and read ahead (Your website as awsome BTW). I can't belive that we aren't even halfway through yet.

Thanks for the website feedback! I don't usually get comments on it. That's probably a good thing, as I assume people would complain if they didn't like it, but still, it's good to hear you like the look / functionality.

We are just one chapter away from where I am going to split this huge book into two books.  At 200k words, it's a bit unwieldy. 

[kerry]

The only good thing about falling behind—I got Covid after a cruise—is that I have several chapters to read of my favorite stories! And this time that fact was SO important, as I would have been so upset to have to pause after either Beatrix chapter. God, I hate that girl...and I hate the character too. It's interesting: I disliked Gary at the start but you've brought him around, yet I don't think there is a single thing you could do to redeem Beatrix. She's just evil.

Anyway, I loved reading these chapters, especially the Thanksgiving one. Well, any chapter told entirely from Little Bri's perspective, I think, but this is definitely among the best. I can hardly wait to see what insane plan her little mind has hatched. And I hope that Beatrix doesn't get hold of her.

[SolSombraYSoldados]

2 hours ago, kerry said:

God, I hate that girl...and I hate the character too. It's interesting: I disliked Gary at the start but you've brought him around, yet I don't think there is a single thing you could do to redeem Beatrix. She's just evil.

Not everybody gets a redemption arc in my stories fo sho. Bea is bad news.

 

2 hours ago, kerry said:

Anyway, I loved reading these chapters, especially the Thanksgiving one. Well, any chapter told entirely from Little Bri's perspective, I think, but this is definitely among the best. I can hardly wait to see what insane plan her little mind has hatched. And I hope that Beatrix doesn't get hold of her.

The Thanksgiving chapters, the one posted now and the next one are a couple of my favorites. Little Bri chapters are always fun and magical to write. ❤️

[Little_Pooh_Abbeh]

Also having read ahead, I've got 2 chapters left and this is the greatest ABDL set of stories I've read in YEARS. I remember a mention about a second sequel, and I hope that still happens, I don't wanna quit these amazingly written characters.

[SolSombraYSoldados]

12 hours ago, Little_Pooh_Abbeh said:

Also having read ahead, I've got 2 chapters left and this is the greatest ABDL set of stories I've read in YEARS. I remember a mention about a second sequel, and I hope that still happens, I don't wanna quit these amazingly written characters.

There will be another series with these characters coming out sometime in 2023. So there will be a bit of a wait, but they will return for sure.

[SolSombraYSoldados]

Thanksgiving from Melody's perspective. Also, I guess there might be some kind of unresolved issue from the last chapter?

-----

 

Chapter 20

It was getting hard to be a Scrooge these days. Melody liked to think that they were too cool for celebrations and parties and normie holiday stuff. Sitting on their girlfriend's lap, with a glass of limoncello in their hand and full of food, they were willing to admit that they were wrong. There might be something to this whole found-family and friends holiday thing after all.

Everyone was gathered in the drawing room, which was crowded with people and furniture both. When the living room had been cleared for the table, Casey and Jane had put as much seating as they could fit in the drawing room. It was a good call, though Melody wished they'd removed the changing table. That had been a fun thing to have Rosa see. The most Melody had been able to make themself say about it was that it wasn't theirs.

When Melody had first sat on Rosa's lap a few people had teased them. Leaning against Rosa was comfy, warm, and worth every friendly joke. Besides, Rosa knew that embarrassment was a turn on for them now so – she'd probably just use that against them later.

The thought made Melody squirm, which in turn prompted Rosa to wrap her arm around Mel's waist. That was a nice serotonin hit. Melody calmed immediately, laying their head on Rosa's shoulder.

"You getting sleepy babe?" Rosa asked quietly.

"Naw." Melody shamelessly nuzzled Rosa's shoulder. "This feels good."

Rosa made a happy sound and stroked Mel's back. It did feel good, especially now that the diaper was out of the – diaper bag? That analogy worked way too well for Melody's comfort. In any case, it was nice to not have to constantly worry that Rosa would find out every time she touched Melody or leaned against them. There's no way they'd be sitting in her lap if the secret hadn't come out.

Casey dropped into the armchair next to Rosa and Melody with a mighty thump. "Hi Mel. Hey Rosa, Casey."

"Rosa." She smiled. "You're one of the roommates right?"

"Yeah." Casey nodded. "Maryam and I have a bet on what sport you play. Wanna settle it for us?"

"Derby." Rosa said with a laugh.

"I knew it! In your face Mar!"

"Shut up, you only won that because you said it first and I had to pick another one." Maryam walked up behind Casey and sort of loomed there.

"Naw, I picked it because those are serious Derby hips on Rosa."

"Hey!" Melody glared at Casey. "She's mine."

That got a good laugh out of Casey and Maryam, but a kiss on Melody's cheek from Rosa.

"That's sweet. Are you jealous, babe?"

"I don't like to share." Melody said

"Me either." Rosa squeezed Melody tightly.

What am I making Rosa do, if not share? Melody asked themself, taking the evening's first stab of guilt to the heart. But, I don't have a choice. Right?

"So when's the wedding?" Maryam teased. Melody responded good-naturedly with a single finger.

"Speaking of sports." Rosa said, mercifully shifting the topic, "Let me guess Casey, you play literally all of them."

"That's not true!" Casey protested. "I don't play cricket."

"Only because there isn't a women's team in the area." Maryam leaned on Casey's chair and kissed the top of her head.

Melody giggled. "Cricket? That's the ONE sport you don't play? You do everything else, even super obscure stuff like..."

"Jai alai?" Rosa completed Melody's question.

"Uh actually I do." Casey said bashfully.

"No shit?" Maryam came around the side of Casey's chair with a big grin on her face. "Dude there's a Fronton in Newport."

"Really? We gotta go!"

"Yeah!"

Melody giggled helplessly at the himbos and sipped their drink.

"You're not sporty, huh Melody?" Maryam asked, taking the laughter with good grace.

"Excuse me, I have my L sticker and therefore I sport." Melody said. "But I do e-sports."

Maryam looked skeptical.

"They're super good at it." Rosa said proudly.

"Really?" Maryam said, skepticism fading in favor of curiosity.

Melody blushed and shrugged. "I have 5.5k DotA2 MMR. When I'm actually training."

"What does that mean?" Casey asked for herself and her girlfriend.

"It means they're just below the rank where they stop using ratings and actually count down from the top player in the world." Rosa beamed.

"No shit?" Maryam seemed impressed. Apparently being sufficiently competitive outweighed the lack of physical activity.

"Yeah. But like, it burns so much time to compete at that level. It's not worth it unless you go pro."

"That's super cool." Casey said, Maryam nodding agreement. "Plus it obviously impressed your girlfriend so that's a big plus."

Melody chuckled and fiddled with their hair. "Thanks."

"I'm convinced." Maryam said with a grin. "You're an official sporty dyke."

Melody winced. "I know I dress butch now but can we not do the d-word?"

"Sorry!" Maryam said quickly. "I use it for myself and I forget sometimes."

"No it's cool." Melody said equally quickly. "I'm not trying to police the word, I just don't want it as a label for me."

"Fair play." Maryam nodded.

"Hey Maryam." Casey said. "Your drink is empty."

"So's yours." Maryam said with a sly smile.

"Let's get after it!" Casey hopped up with a terrifying level of energy after the huge meal. She waved to Melody and Rosa as Maryam linked arms with her and dragged her off to the kitchen.

"I like your roommates." Rosa said with a chuckle.

"Do not go full himbo on me." Melody said, snuggling back into Rosa.

"Don't worry, I'm still a nerd. I write code. Beep boop."

"Dork." Melody laughed.

They sat quietly for a bit. It was heavenly. Melody had never felt so comfortable before. Not in their social life, not with a girlfriend, not even in their own skin. Even the stupid diaper was contributing to the general feeling of goodness.

"I know I said this before, but I really love how confidant you are now." Rosa said.

"Huh? What brought that on?"

"You straight-up confronted Maryam about the label she used. You were nice, but firm. It was great."

"Part of that is changing my look. My gender expression." Melody from even two months ago would have gagged on the words gender expression. Melody from two months ago was kind of dumb.

"It did you a lot of good." Rosa nodded. "And it's hot."

Melody smiled. "Part of it is you."

"Really?" Rosa craned her head to look at Melody.

"Yeah. You called me handsome. You believed in me. You've been super understanding even with my really weird stuff."

"I think you're amazing." Rosa said. She sounded totally sincere.

Normally this kind of heart to heart would have Melody squirming or sarcastically quipping. Maybe it was the food baby in their belly or the alcohol, but either way they were just mellow enough to take it at face value.

"I really do. You're not just handsome. You're really, kind of scary smart. A hard worker too. You have your own consulting business. I don't know what I'm going to do for work when I get out of school, but you could drop out today and be fine for money. Like, do you even have loans?"

"Not anymore." Melody admitted. That was a new development. They'd been close to finishing off their loans, but Veronica's offer to drop rent had been a huge boost to get over the last of their balance.

"See? That's awesome." Rosa kissed Melody sweetly, mingling the taste of her brandy with Melody's limoncello.

"You know uh, if you did have a hard time after graduation, I'd uh – take care of you." Melody said, finding something interesting on the carpet to stare at.

"You want to be my sugar-parent?" Rosa asked, only half-teasing. "I'll be okay, you don't have to do that."

"I know you will, but if there was like, a hump to get over. I know from friends that sometimes it's rough right when the payments start coming due." Melody kicked her feet and tunneled her vision in on the carpet pattern. "I would like taking care of you."

Rosa's hug was fierce enough to drive the breath out of Melody. "I really appreciate that. I want to take care of you too."

"I'd like that." Melody said quietly, cuddling close to Rosa.

"Speaking of taking care of people – what's up with your roommate?"

"Briana?"

"Yeah."

Melody sighed. "It is a whole complicated thing. I'm not sure how much I'm even supposed to say, except that Veronica left the changing table out in this room so I guess it's all on the table?"

"That's hers?"

"Yeah. She uh, is pretty much always wearing diapers. Uses them and stuff."

"Like you?" Rosa ventured in a whisper.

"No." Melody squirmed. "It's different. I don't... it's a different thing."

"I'm sorry if this is the wrong time." Rosa said. "I just don't understand."

Melody looked around. Everyone was winding down into quiet conversations in twos, threes, and fours. The super sports duo were nowhere to be seen, probably burning off energy with a barefoot snowball fight or something. They certainly couldn't hear anyone else's conversation, so no one should be able to hear theirs.

"I can try to explain." Melody said softly. "What do you want to know?"

"Does it turn you on?"

Right to the jugular. She really is Jaguar Star. Melody thought ruefully. "Yeah, it does."

"Just because it's embarrassing or...?"

"I don't – I can't really answer that. It's all mixed up together. But I do uh," Melody buried her face in Rosa's shoulder.

Rosa said nothing, just let Melody finish her sentence, or not while stroking Mel's hair.

"I use them, sometimes. Uh, just for one thing."

That's a thing they'd said to their girlfriend now. It would be super convenient if the ground would open up under them and swallow them up. Or maybe the sun could explode and just erase the whole world. Either one would work.

"Hmm." Rosa said. There was a long pause. "I've never done um – watersports stuff?"

"We don't have to." Melody said. "We super don't have to if you don't like it."

"I didn't say that." Rosa said. "I'm just processing. So what do you like to do with um – another person?"

"I don't know." Melody said. "I really don't. It's new for me. This whole thing."

"Is there a reason you started wearing them around me, before we talked about any of this?"

"Are you mad?" Melody winced.

"No, hon, I'm not." Rosa stroked Melody's head. "Caught off guard? Yeah. Not mad. Processing."

"There's a reason but it is weird. Like, even weirder than me wearing them." Melody said, hoping Rosa would take the warning.

"I want to hear it. I want to be in on the Melody news."

"Ugh, okay. Um, there's some backstory."

Rosa waited patiently. They both took a sip of their drinks, sat quietly for a bit while Melody worked up their courage.

"There was a thing that happened. I kind of got assaulted." Melody shied away from the spicey feeling of that word.

Not really assaulted. Not exactly. That's the word that Rosa will need to understand, but it wasn't – couldn't have been assault. They decided not to use the word again.

"The day I was here?"

"No uh, way earlier and uh, way worse."

"Melody." Rosa said, holding her close.

"Don't start with that." Melody said. "You'll make me cry and I won't be able to finish."

"Okay, okay." Rosa took a deep breath and went back to stroking Melody's hair.

"Anyway uh, it was a really hard day. Kinda bad, and things had been bad for a while." Melody sighed. "I uh, sorta passed out when I came home."

Rosa made a concerned noise but managed to keep it just to a noise. Melody took a deep breath, pausing before she continued.

"Part of the whole bad thing was uh – me finding out that I like wearing – this stuff." Melody said in a whisper. "Veronica is in psych and she volunteered to untangle my crazy head. Part of it is imposing structure around um – when I wear them. Right now it's all the time."

Melody let out a big breath with a shudder. "So uh – that's the whole long story. That's why I had them on around you."

"This bad thing." Rosa said softly, carefully, "Was with Beatrix?"

"Yeah." Melody felt Rosa's whole body tense, and actually heard her teeth grinding.

When she spoke, Rosa's voice wasn't angry, which was a relief. Melody wasn't sure they could take angry with all the other scary emotions right now.

"I'm so sorry hon." Rosa hugged Melody carefully. "I – I really care about you."

"I feel it." Melody said softly, shuddering again. She tucked herself as closely into Rosa as she could. "It's great. It helps."

"I think I mostly get it now." Rosa said. "I'm sorry I dredged all that up."

"No, it's okay. It actually feels a little better to have told you stuff."

"Okay." Rosa held Melody tightly and kissed their forehead. "Look um, if you don't want to do stuff with the diapers, we don't have to. We can just pretend they aren't there. I didn't realize how much was going on."

Melody sighed. "I kind-of do though."

"You set the pace. Whatever you want, babe." Rosa said. There was another long pause, then a sort of change in the tension in Rosa's body. She felt more relaxed, like the mood was lightening.

"Okay, I can't help it, I have to ask." Rosa asked with a mischievous tone. "Does it bother you when I call you babe – or do you like it? Should I call you baby?"

"Oh god, what are you doing?" Melody flushed all the way down their neck, burying their face in Rosa's shoulder. "Stop it."

"You're that embarrassed?" Rosa giggled. "Which means you're also just about as turned on?"

"Rosa you're terrible. Worst girlfriend ever." Melody said, muffled by Rosa's dress.

Am I suddenly horny as hell? Do I want Rosa's hand down the front of my diaper? Yes to both things. Is it fair? Obviously not.

"I'll let up, for now." Rosa patted Melody's butt, quite deliberately Melody was sure. "But I think if we can tease about it, it'll be okay."

"Ugh. Maybe. Okay." Melody peered up at Rosa, squirming at their girlfriend's broad smile.

Veronica came striding into the room. She'd left at some point with Jane, Melody remembered, but now she looked upset. Frowning, Melody sat up.

"Everyone, I'm very sorry to interrupt your evening, but we have an emergency. Briana is missing." Veronica had her cool and in-control thing going on, but there was an edge to it. She was wound tight, like she might shatter at any moment.

"Missing?" Gary stood up, dumping his cookie plate on the floor.

"I don't know why, but it looks like she went out her window and off the roof. On purpose. Her footsteps lead away from the house. I need help looking for her."

Melody hopped up, swaying as the full extent of their buzzed state made itself known. "Uh, I don't think I can drive right now, but I'll get my coat and start looking."

"Thank you Melody." Veronica said gratefully. "I'm sorry to ask this of you all. All of you know something about how Briana is a little different, but most of you don't know the full picture. She is an adult, but isn't thinking like one at the moment. There is a real danger that she could hurt herself, or even – even get too cold in the snow and..."

"That's not going to happen." Jane squeezed Veronica's shoulder, already dressed in a thick coat and boots. "I'm good to drive, Ronnie and I will be on the streets and she'll be on her phone. You should all have her number. Text her if you find out anything. Please don't call unless you actually find Briana. We'll be fielding a lot of messages."

"Maryam and I will check the arboretum." Casey said. "I found her there once, and I know a couple of other panic-places she goes on campus."

"Are you okay to drive?" Gary asked.

"It's a seven minute run there." Maryam said, shrugging on a light jacket. "We got this."

Seven minutes to run to campus sounded – fast. Thank goodness for sporty girls. Melody thought to themself.

"Well I'm sober." Gary said. "I can take one person, I'm here in my pickup."

"All yours, G-Man." Suzie said, hopping up from the couch.

Suzie's friends were gone, some time during her long conversation with Rosa, Melody realized. Who else wasn't here? Briana's friend was gone too, Tammy or something?

Everyone made their way to the living room to pick up their coats and boots. Casey and Maryam were already out the door, running fast. Erin and her girlfriend were the next ones out, Erin's keys jingling in her hand.

"Lots of people with cars." Melody said. "Rosa and I can check around the neighborhood."

"Thank you Melody." The desperate gratitude in Veronica's voice was hard to hear.

As vehicles rumbled to life in the driveway, Melody retrieved a sweater and some leggings for Rosa from her room. Rosa put them on gratefully and they both bundled into coats, hats, and gloves.

"Was there anything that gave an idea of why she snuck out?" Melody asked. "Or something besides footprints for a guess where she went?"

"I searched her room." Veronica said. "Her phone was still there. She took her stuffed lion, and I'm not sure what else. There weren't any clues that I could see."

"Okay, we'll start looking." Melody flashed an encouraging smile at Veronica and headed out the door.

Briana's footprints were easy to find. There was a Briana-sized crater in the snow under her window, along with a trail of footprints. Melody followed them down the lawn to the sidewalk, Rosa in tow.

At the sidewalk things started to get complicated. Using her phone as a flashlight, Melody tried to identify which of the dozens of imprints in the snow belonged to Briana. Luckily her prints were recent, and her feet very small.

"Everyone is really freaked." Rosa said. "Does Briana have some kind of mental issue?"

"Yeah uh, there's a lot more going on with her than the diaper thing." Melody said. "Best thing to do is to pretend that there's a six year old missing, because that's about where Bri's head is at."

"Oh my god." Rosa froze in place with that revelation, catching back up to Melody with a few jogging steps.

"I'm sure we can find her." Rosa said. It was meant to be reassuring, but even the minor uncertainty in that statement made Melody's stomach churn.

"We have to. We HAVE to find her." Melody could feel panic building up in her chest.

It was pure luck that Briana had decided to walk on the grass for a bit, and even more luck that Melody was able to spot where she'd crossed the street. The other side of the street was a parking lot, and that's where the luck ran out.

The 7-11 was still open and there were cars and people coming in and out regularly. A mass of tire tracks and footprints obliterated any trace of Briana's steps.

"Briana!" Melody shouted at the top of her lungs. "BRIANA!"

Rosa jogged back from inside the convenience store. "She's not in there."

"She can't be lost." Melody said frantically. "We have to find her. Please Bri, don't be lost or hurt."

"Hey, hon, it's okay, there are tons of people looking for her. We're going to find her." Rosa gripped Melody's shoulders gently.

"You don't understand." Melody stared at Rosa with wild eyes. "She was the first person in the house I made friends with. She never judged me, for anything. If it hadn't have been for her I never would have – I would have just stayed in my room – I wouldn't have you."

Rosa pulled Melody close. The emotional roller coaster that Melody had been on all evening reached it's peak. They sobbed, hard, into their girlfriend's shoulder.

"I love that stupid, ditzy bitch. She's like my little sister."

"Oh honey." Rosa held Melody close. "I got you. And you got her. Come on, it's big brain time. Where would Briana go?"

"It doesn't make sense. She doesn't have any reason to just ditch. Everyone she knew was at the..."

Melody looked up at Rosa. "Tammy. No, not Tammy, T something. Fuckin' T-whatever, Briana's friend."

"Tamira I think?"

"YES." Melody broke away from Rosa and grabbed her phone. "I'm telling Veronica to call Tamira."

"You think she went to visit a friend?" Rosa still sounded confused.

"It's a whole thing, she's like a baby a lot of the time. Veronica is literally her mom. Takes care of her just like a mom would. When Veronica is busy or isn't around someone has to babysit her."

"Woah. That's uh, where that diaper game ended up?"

"What?" Melody blushed. "No uh, it doesn't have to go like that. There's a whole community, it's a thing on the internet. But uh, Briana is extreme."

"Veronica is on the phone with the cops but Jane gave me Tamira's number." Melody set it dialing without hesitation.

"Hi Tamira. It's Melody from dinner tonight, don't hang up."

"Hi Melody, this is a surprise, what's going on?" Tamira sounded a bit put-off by the sudden stranger call.

Melody could feel their limbs shaking. "No time for small talk, something crazy happened. Briana is missing."

"Missing? What do you mean?"

"I mean she snuck out of her room, off the roof, and we don't know if she's freezing to death or what out here." Melody said, panic flooding their tone. Rosa made a calm down motion. It was a good idea, but not one Melody was sure they could make happen.

"Oh. OH. So she's really, like really not able to be an adult right now?" Tamira sounded like she got it, maybe. There was more concern in her voice than there had been with Rosa at first. Melody gave thanks that they wouldn't have to explain Briana's mental state again.

"You got it. I take it she's not there with you? We can't figure out where she would go."

"I don't know where she'd go either. She was supposed to have a big sleepover with Gary. She wouldn't leave the house and miss out on that."

"Something was apparently important enough to make her jump off a roof." Melody said, exasperated.

"I can't think of what unless. Oh god."

"WHAT." Melody barked at the phone.

"I think maybe – oh fuck. I think she might have gone to confront Beatrix."

Melody stared at their phone like it had become a live snake. "Fucking BEATRIX? Why?"

"She uh, asked me to dig up some information on Beatrix for her." Tamira said. "Said she wanted to make things right after what happened at your house. I didn't come up with anything though, just some basic twitter receipts that wouldn't get anyone arrested."

"Did you show her Bea's address?" Melody asked, forgetting that they were using Beatrix's nickname in front of their girlfriend.

"For like four seconds." Tamira said. "She's probably just trying to find Beatrix on campus somewhere."

"No, she can reason better than that, even if it's all through the lens of being a kid. How did she act when you showed her that stuff?"

"I don't know, puffed out her chest and got kind of serious I guess?"

"Fuck. Okay, that's where she is."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah." Melody was. They had spent a lot of time with Briana, and it was exactly the kind of thing that big-hearted kid would do. That Briana could memorize an address on the fly didn't surprise them, the kid wasn't dumb.

"Hey, Tamira, thanks. I'm going to hang up and call Veronica now."

"I'm sorry, I had no idea this would happen." Tamira sounded remorseful, but Melody had no time for any of that touchy-feely crap.

"Bye." Melody closed the call.

"You seriously think she's at Beatrix's house?" Rosa asked with wide eyes.

"Bri's not so good at giving up on stuff." Melody said.

"She must really care about you." Rosa smiled. "Where's Beatrix live?"

"Too far from here to walk." Melody shook their head. "Briana has to be frozen if she walked that far."

As if to underscore Melody's point, snow began to swirl down, carried on a cutting wind. Rosa stood by in supportive concern while Melody dialed Veronica's number.

"Melody!" Veronica said in desperation. "You found her?"

"I know where she is." Melody said. "Beatrix's house."

"What? How? Why?"

"Tamira told me that Briana decided she had to fix what happened between me and Bea at the house." Melody tried their best to keep the emotion out of their voice. Veronica needed facts to act on, not their baggage. "She asked Tamira to look up dirt on Bea, or something?"

"And she DID?" The fury in Veronica's tone was not something Melody ever wanted to be the target of.

"I guess she did. Including Bea's address." Melody sighed. "I'll text it to you so you can put it in Maps. I can't think of anything else that would make Briana climb out a second story window in the snow."

"You're right, thank you Melody." Veronica's voice was trembling. "Send me that address as soon as we're off the phone. I'll let you know when I find her."

"I'm going to start walking that direction just in case." Melody said. "Maybe she stopped on the way or something. I – I'm not going to let anything happen to her."

"I love you, Melody." Veronica said gratefully.

"Uh... th-thanks." Melody squirmed. There was not room for another big emotion tonight. "I'm sending you that address. Good luck."

The moment they ended the call, Melody's fingers flew across her phone's keyboard. They sighed with relief when the message was marked as sent.

"I don't know if you caught that, but I'm going to walk the route in case Briana stopped somewhere or uh, you know, something happened before she could get there. If you need to go home..."

"Which way do we go?" Rosa asked.

Melody smiled gratefully. "Down Main, we'll turn right at Spruce."

Rosa took Melody's hand in a tight grip and strode along at their side.

-----

It was so cold. Briana hadn't expected it to be this cold. She really wished she'd been able to grab her coat from the downstairs. Some mittens would be nice too. It'd been a while since she had much feeling in her fingers. Her back was especially bad too. The hoodie had gotten damp when she landed in the snow and now it was covered in ice crystals.

She peered at the street sign in front of her. Just one more block to go. Without her phone (dumb!) she had no way to know what time it was. The walk had been long enough that she'd wet twice. Each time had made some nice warmth, but now her diaper was cold and clammy.

"B-beatrix had b-better be there." Briana told Alanna through chattering teeth.

Alanna was worried about the cold. That made sense, lions were from Africa. Briana tucked the lioness a little further inside her hoodie pocket. Her lioness had additional worries about the lack of a plan for when Briana found Beatrix.

"I'll tell her that she has to tell me what she's doing." Briana said, trudging forward into a sudden wind-driven snow flurry. Alanna's only response to THAT was a skeptical snort.

"If she doesn't tell me, then I'll challenge her to a duel." Briana declared, patting the hilt of her plastic sword.

That answer seemed to satisfy Alanna. The lioness liked duels, she was good at them after all. If only it wasn't such a long journey to get to the duel. Briana slipped on the sidewalk for the tenth or so time, freshly scraping her hands and bruising her knee.

Tears sprung immediately to her eyes. She took a moment to cry and collect herself. All around her were cozy houses. Most of them were dark but a few had lights on and lots of cars parked in front of them. Those people had phones. Briana knew they'd probably call her mom if she asked.

But then the quest would be a failure, and Melody would be sad forever. Gritting her teeth, Briana climbed to her feet, shivering down her entire body. Alanna was warning her that her fingers had turned blue.

"It doesn't matter." Briana said. "I'm a knight. I have to do this." Alanna was worried, but supportive. She always supported Briana, eventually.

When Briana finally made it to the house she had to double-check the address. Not because she'd forgotten it, or had trouble reading it, but because she was so disappointed at what she'd found.

The house was dark, no cars in the driveway. Of course, Beatrix was evil. Evil people don't host Thanksgiving. They couldn't make a house full of light and laughter and good food. Beatrix had to go somewhere else and leech off those people's happy night. Like a joy-vampire. Briana cursed her stupidity.

She stared at the house for a while. It was so sad. Like every year in foster care, or the orphanages. Assuming there even was a Thanksgiving, it was never at home. There wasn't enough love at home to make a Thanksgiving, or a Christmas. Briana always had to go somewhere else.

"Now I have a home with love in it." Briana told Alanna. "Melody is part of that home. We have to help them."

Briana rose to the full height of her pixie-like frame. Her teeth were chattering constantly now and her body wouldn't stop shivering. She couldn't feel her hands at all. With Melody's face in her mind, Briana drew her sword. It took her a moment to make her hand close around the handle. With some work, she held it aloft.

"FOR THE HONOR OF CLOUDLAND!" Briana's voice rang across the driveway.

The invocation gave her the strength to approach the house. It looked pretty well locked up, but you never knew. One by one, Briana tried the windows on the house. The third one was the charm.

It was a nightmare of sharp ice and physical effort to pull herself up and through the open window. Her arms burned and almost gave out on her. Halfway in, she balanced her belly on the windowsill.

She tried to tip gracefully in and fell unceremoniously through. A bedside table came up in her vision way too fast. There was a bright pain in her forehead. Briana's vision was nothing but stars.

Time was already a big unknown. However long she lay on the floor, bleeding and crying, Briana wasn't sure. The sheer drafty cold coming through the window was what eventually got her up. It was warmer in the house but cooling off fast. With a grunt, Briana managed to slam the window closed.

Something was warm in her diaper. Briana gingerly touched the wound on her head and dizzily tried to take stock. After a few moments, she wished she hadn't. As out of it as she was, the effort of closing the window had pushed a little number two out.

"So much for potty training." Briana wanted to cry again, but was too exhausted to do it. At least Alanna had the good graces to not mention the honor problems in failing her potty training.

Squishing unpleasantly, Briana explored the house. It looked like several people lived there, but her worries about finding the right room were unfounded. It was super, double obvious which room was Beatrix's.

Expensive stuff was all over the place, sitting out to be as on-display as possible. There were a lot of mirrors in the room. The Evil Queen from Snow White had nothing on Beatrix. Melody's nemesis even had a mirror on the ceiling over her bed!

Briana limped over to Beatrix's computer. She was ready to try guessing passwords like "Beatrix" or "Beautiful" but she didn't have to. Moving the mouse removed the screensaver and gave her access to the desktop.

Things were finally going Briana's way, even if sitting in her mess at Beatrix's desk was pretty gross. The computer's files were hyper-organized. Totally devoid of shame, Beatrix had a folder labeled "Blackmail – Melody".

With trembling fingers, Briana opened the folder. What she saw set her crying anew. Pictures of Melody in baby clothes, in a diaper, naked. Her sibling looked SO SAD in all of them. How could Beatrix not look at those pictures and feel terrible?

There was more too. Some small video files that Briana didn't have the heart to open. A word document with the same name as the folder. Briana shook her head in disgust. A quick search of the desk revealed a thumb drive labeled "Reports – Econ 522". Popping it into the computer showed it had plenty of space, there were just a few Excel files on a drive with dozens of gigabytes of space.

The entire blackmail folder copied to the thumb drive in pretty quick order. Briana left the folder selected and hovered her finger over the delete key. It would be great to destroy the evidence, but what if Beatrix had a backup? Looking more closely at the pictures, Briana realized they'd been taken on a phone. Not just that, but downloaded from a cloud service.

There wouldn't be any way to destroy the pictures for good. Briana's shoulders slumped. Still, she had the proof she needed. She might be little-brained and have a big lump on her head, but she knew this was go to the police type stuff.

"BRIANA!" Her name shouted outside made Briana literally jump out of the chair and crash to the floor.

"BRIANA, ARE YOU IN THERE?" Someone was pounding on the front door.

Briana froze in terror. Was Beatrix here? All bravado about dueling Beatrix fled out of her head in the face of a real physical conflict.

"BRIANA, ANSWER ME IF YOU'RE THERE!"

Of course, it was Mom. Beatrix wouldn't bang on the door, she'd just come in. It hadn't sounded like Mom at first. It was way too frantic. Briana's stomach churned, threatening to push the rest of the mess into her diaper.

She was in big, big trouble.

Hastily, Briana closed the folders, leaving the computer at a blank desktop again. She yanked the thumb drive out of the computer and shoved it into her hoodie pocket.

"BRIANA!"

"I'm here!" Briana yelled, hurrying toward the front door.

"Briana, is that you?" Mom sounded even more frantic, if that was possible. "Open the door, come out of there right now!"

Trouble or no, Briana was ready for this whole nightmare to end. The quest was over, successful even. She was hurt, shivering, and her hands were tingling unpleasantly. Her heart was torn in two for Melody. Briana needed her mommy, right now.

It took just a few moments of fumbling with the locks to get the door open. Veronica yanked Briana through the door and into her arms like she was teleporting the girl. Briana clung tightly to her.

"I'm going to close this up from the inside." Dad said. "No reason to let anyone know that our little girl spiced up her Thanksgiving with B&E."

"Thank you Jane." Veronica said.

Somehow, Veronica hoisted Briana up in her arms. It was a shock. Mom never picked her up, she just wasn't strong enough. Tonight Mom was strong enough not to just pick Briana up, but to carry her all the way to the car and set her in the back seat.

Buckled up and with Veronica next to her, Briana shivered. The car was running, the heater going, but she was cold inside her bones. All the way inside her chest, she was worryingly cold.

Veronica looked up from her phone as she finished a text. "I just let Melody and the others know that you're safe. Everyone was really worried for you. Melody especially."

That was a good feeling, but bad at the same time. Briana hadn't been trying to make people worried.

Jane climbed into the driver's seat and slammed her door closed. "Let's get out of here."

"What were you doing in there?" Veronica said. "We have a LOT to talk about tonight but what made you break into a house?"

"I got it!" Briana said triumphantly, grabbing the thumb drive and holding it up "I found the proof that Beatrix is bad!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Pictures Mom! Really bad, illegal pictures of Melody."

Veronica's eyes hardened. Briana could tell that this particular anger was not directed at her. It was for Beatrix.

"What kind of pictures?" Veronica asked, as Jane pulled away from Beatrix's house.

"Melody um, naked and in diapers and stuff." Briana bit her lip as the hurt for her sibling came back. "They look so sad in them Mom, it's really bad!"

Veronica sighed. "Briana, my darling. I know what you were trying to do, but we can't use those pictures unless Melody says she didn't want them taken."

"They're in a folder literally labeled Blackmail mom!"

"It's not illegal to name a folder blackmail." Veronica rubbed her nose. "Beatrix would also say that we named the folder that."

"But it's called that on her computer."

"She could change it, and anyway, we can't get access to her computer without a warrant. To get that we'd have to explain that you broke into her house. It would be a lot easier to send you to jail over that than to convict Beatrix."

Briana felt hot behind her eyes. "But, but I did it. I finished the quest. I s-saved Melody."

"I..." Veronica took a deep breath. "Your intentions were good but honey, this is why I asked you to let me and Melody handle it. Without their cooperation there is no case. Now you're potentially in trouble too."

"But I saved them." Briana blubbered. "I had to. They can't be sad forever. They're my sibling. My big sibling. Please Mommy. Pleaaaase. They have to be okay."

Mom had no reassurances for her. The rest of the car ride was quiet, except for Briana's crying. Gary and a couple other people were at the house when they got home, but it was mostly empty. All the happy laughing and warm Thanksgiving was gone.

Veronica permitted only a few quick hugs before taking Briana up to her room. She carefully washed the cut on Briana's forehead while Jane checked Bri's extremities and got her out of the wet clothes.

"Are you going to yell at me?" Briana said. She deserved it, was ready for it even.

"No." Veronica said tiredly. "This is too big for that."

Briana gulped. "What do you mean?"

"I'm so upset with you Briana. I..." Her fingers trembled and she took a step away, letting Jane finish applying the bandage to Briana's cut.

"We were all out in the snow looking for you. We didn't know what had happened, if you were safe, if you were freezing in the snow." Veronica wrapped her arms around herself, shaking all over now.

"Then we found you – you broke into a house. If the police had found you..." Veronica's voice cracked. "Briana, they could take you away from me."

A howl broke out of Briana. She sobbed uncontrollably as Veronica fell to her knees and grabbed her.

"Never again." Veronica shuddered. "Never again, promise me. Don't ever run away again Briana. I can't bear to lose you."

"I'm sorry mama. I'm sorry." Briana rocked back and forth, sobbing apologies over and over again. Jane leaned in to hold them both, strong arms steady as a rock. But even Dad's breathing was rough, there were tears on her cheeks too.

"I need a minute." Veronica said when Briana's sobs finally wound down.

"Go ahead." Jane said gently.

Veronica kissed Briana and slipped out of the room.

"She'll be right back." Jane said, pre-empting Briana's concerns. "She just needs to blow her nose."

"I'm sorry daddy." Briana sniffled.

"I know." Jane said kindly. "Let's finish getting you cleaned up."

Dad didn't usually lift her either, though she'd done it before. She did this time, hefting Briana up and onto her changing table.

"You're a mess kiddo." Jane said as she tore Briana's diaper open.

"I messed up my potty training."

"That doesn't matter tonight." Jane shook her head. "Briana, I need you to really listen to me for a minute, okay?"

"Yes Daddy."

"Your mom and I love you very much. We are here to help you, and protect you." Jane wiped away the mess and wet on Briana as she talked with her usual methodical care. "I'm proud that you care about Melody so much. I'm proud that you love your family."

"But you need to come to us for help with grown up things." Jane dumped the diaper into the pail, immediately improving the smell in the room. "Part of being a family is working together and relying on each other. I need you to do that with us. Tell us what you want to do to help people. We will make sure you can do it safely."

Briana took a deep, rattling breath. "I understand. I will. Thanks Dad."

"I love you so much." Jane leaned down and kissed Briana on the cheek, fiercely.

"I love you too." Briana's heart felt leaden, she'd caused so much pain for people she loved so much.

"You are grounded." Jane said, calmly but firmly as she put a fresh diaper under Briana. "And potty training is suspended."

"C-can I still stay the weekend with Gary?" Briana asked with a trembling lip.

"Absolutely not." Jane said.

Briana sniffled and her breath caught in her chest, but she didn't cry. It hurt to lose the weekend with Gary, but she knew she deserved it.

"When I say grounded, I don't mean just to the house. You are grounded to your room until Mom or I say otherwise. We will bring your playpen in here tomorrow morning, and you'll go between your crib and your playpen unless we take you somewhere else in the house."

"But, I'll be all alone." Briana whimpered, unable to hold tears back at that one.

"We'll have someone with you a lot of the time, but sometimes it will just be the baby monitor." Jane said, pulling the tapes tight and crisp across Briana's diaper.

"Don't leave me alone." Briana sobbed.

"This is a punishment, Briana." Jane said softly. Veronica joined her and nodded her agreement.

"You can and I'm sure will have visitors, but we need to impress on you how serious this is." Veronica said.

"Mommy!" Briana wailed.

"I will be here every morning when you wake up, and tuck you into bed every night, unless Dad does." Veronica said gently. "You'll see me during the day too."

"Lets get you into your pajamas." Jane said, bringing Briana's thickest, fuzziest unicorn pjs.

Briana managed to get her crying under control while she was put to bed, but just barely. She'd resigned herself to crying all night; when Veronica sat down on the edge of Briana's crib and pulled her dress off her shoulders.

"It's been so busy today, you haven't gotten any snacks." Veronica said lovingly. "How about some warm milk to give you sweet dreams?"

Briana nodded desperately. Jane sat on the other end of the crib, propping Briana up into a lounging posture. Veronica scooted in and brought her breast to Briana's lips.

Closing her eyes and gently sucking on Veronica's nipple drove the horrors of the night out of Briana's mind. By the time she'd finished off both breasts she was sleepy and limp. Exhaustion like she hadn't known in years sapped everything from her. Briana was asleep as soon as she was tucked in, before Veronica even raised her crib bars.

 

((Side Note: I launched my second ebook today, and I'm so super excited about it! Check it out if you like stories about cute ABs!))

[PastelConnection]

? I found you on DA and read ahead 9 chapters?. I'm mad that I have no self control, but I am excited to see where everything is going.

[SolSombraYSoldados]

12 minutes ago, PastelConnection said:

? I found you on DA and read ahead 9 chapters?. I'm mad that I have no self control, but I am excited to see where everything is going.

It's even further ahead on my archive!   Save that one for Friday night or something.

[PastelConnection]

7 minutes ago, SolSombraYSoldados said:

It's even further ahead on my archive!   Save that one for Friday night or something.

Hahaha! I definitely will be checking that out ?

[YourFNF]

On 8/25/2022 at 11:12 AM, SolSombraYSoldados said:

The idea of running into Beatrix was scary, but not as scary as losing her honor, or letting Melody stay sad forever. Briana drew herself up, feeling the comforting weight of the sword at her hip. She drew the plastic blade and held it aloft.

Oh gods.... Honey no! I knew her judgement and decision making was compromised but.... Briana is full on can't differentiate fantasy and reality...

On 8/25/2022 at 8:46 PM, SolSombraYSoldados said:

At the worst...

 

She could get herself killed or... Worse...

Cops getting involved if she does something stupid would an absolute nightmare and likely traumatize the poor girl, although small mercy at least that would likely end a "grippy socks adventure" rather than hard prison time.

On 8/29/2022 at 11:59 AM, SolSombraYSoldados said:

"That's not going to happen." Jane squeezed Veronica's shoulder, already dressed in a thick coat and boots. "I'm good to drive, Ronnie and I will be on the streets and she'll be on her phone. You should all have her number. Text her if you find out anything. Please don't call unless you actually find Briana. We'll be fielding a lot of messages."

*pulls on my heavy coat as  I go to get my field aid kit and optics from the car. I also quietly and discreetly put my G-20 in it's holster on under it just in case*