Siblings Second Chance (priv with Transpikachu)

[transpikachu]

"Uh, probably?" Avery frowned as he tried to think on that. "I mean, if we can do it ourselves, I don't see why not. Not like they probably want to change us, right? They've already gone through that." Just.....hopefully their soon to be little kid hands could actually do said job. Because...well. Toddlers tended to have a clumsy and awkward grip, right? That might be a problem. Shoot, maybe he should've learned how to do all of this before hand. Bleh. Oh well, he'll figure it out and then help Ellie. 

Avery ordered a spicy Italian sub himself, just in case he suddenly couldn't stand spice in the future, before getting Momma her usual favorite; turkey and chicken with extra lettuce and mayo. Made sure to grab himself a soda too, again, just in case it was suddenly a forbidden drink for baby teeth filled mouths.... once they had the food bagged, he began walking with Ellie back to the port to meet up with their mom. "Ferry should be here soon..."

[LilGirlLya]

"Yeah..." Ellie replied, "'lets just, lets take it slow on the way back." Ellie and Avery made the walk back at a leisurely pace. As they got closer they could see the boat approaching port. They met up with Momma and handed off her sandwich and all three started eating before boarding. Ellie's nerves killed her appetite but she pushed through, enjoying every last spicy, messy bite. When it was their turn, Momma drove the car on board and the boat was away shortly after.

Ellie got out to stretch her legs but she knew the ride wouldn't be very long. There seemed to be an awful lot of families with kids taking the ferry and conspicuously, she and Avery were the only two she saw that looked any older than a kindergartener. Walking around she caught a few looks and whispers and she wondered if any of these kids might be in a class with her. It was a weird thing to wonder about kids seemingly so much younger but Ellie had no idea how old any of them actually were.

"They look happy at least," Ellie mused, looking over the railing and preferring to spend the hour long voyage trying to see if she could spot any whales in the Sound. It wasn't long before she saw an island with a port coming into view.

[transpikachu]

"Yeah....." Avery frowned, glancing as a blonde toddler shrieked with joy as she chased around a black haired boy around the same age. "....Don't see anyone crying or looking particularly regretful..." If anything, they did seem happy. Very fun filled. And jeez, some of these kids might be older than him really....how weird. "...People here probably don't have a lot of new babies, huh. It's just their older kids." Now that was something to think about as the ferry docked at the port. Huh. Least the island was nice looking....

"Alright, guys." Ivy tracked down her two as the boat docked, having decided to give them as much space and free time as she could. "Let's get ready to go, alright? We'll heading right to the clinic after this to meet up with Mom. Do both of you feel okay?" She's just checking them discreetly. Making sure neither of them were going to get suddenly hit with last minute panic. 

[LilGirlLya]

Ellie took a deep breath and nodded, "ready as I'll ever be."  What else could she say? She was never going to be ready for this but with Avery's help she'd gotten past the bargaining and depression stage and finally arrived at acceptance. What she was surrounded by on the deck was going to be her life for a few years. Ellie felt a deep loss thinking about all the normal teenage stuff she wouldn't be able to do but tried to stay positive like Avery. Even if she was losing one set of formative experiences, she'd be trading it for another. "Can I go to the bathroom first though?" Ellie caught Ivy's eyebrow shooting up, "Momma," she groaned, "I promise I'm not going to lock myself in the bathroom and refuse to come out." That seemed to be enough. Ellie hardly even had to go and the dingy, 'well-used' ladies toilets of the ferry weren't a great last memory to go into this with, but she had no idea how long it might be until she got to go on her own again.

Once she was finished, Ellie met back up with her family and piled into the back seat of the car. It was fewer than 15 minutes and they were in the parking lot.

[transpikachu]

Avery choose to avoid the likely...very disgusting men's bathroom and instead spent his time browsing through his phone. Wasn't exactly sure if he'd be allowed social media after this so....one last look through. And then it was into the car! This time he did choose the shotgun seat, though he kept shooting Ellie reassuring looks. Even as easygoing as he usually was, he was starting to get nervous himself. It wouldn't hurt, right? But he couldn't ask that! So he choose to distract himself until they reached the parking lot. "Hm. We're here." He leaned back in his seat, glancing out the window at the clinic. Looked....nice. Kinda like somewhere you would bring a little kid to the doctor's. 

"Okay. Ready?" Ivy tried to give them both a reassuring smile, patting Avery on the shoulder before reaching back to squeeze Ellie's hand. "Let's go find Mom, hm? She's probably been here for awhile now!"

[LilGirlLya]

Jess sat in the lobby of the doctor's office filling out seemingly endless pieces of paperwork. Complete medical histories on both kids, allergies, waivers, it just seemed like so much but then again, even if they'd been doing it for over a decade, nanomedicine was still cutting edge stuff. Nanosurgery on a scale that it could complete deage a human body and restore the brain's capacity for rapid knowledge accumulation? That wasn't even science fiction, that was science fantasy! And yet, here she was signing the endless forms so each of her kids could undergo it.

Jess' phone buzzed, they were here. Fortunately Jess was just about finished with the paperwork. She got up out of the nice leather waiting room chair and walked up to the window, handing over each piece of information.

"Fantastic," the receptionist said as the forms were handed over. A thought came over Jess.

"Excuse me, this might be a weird request, I don't know but," Jess pulled out her phone and the receptionist gave a knowing smile. "could you do a picture of us before the kids go in?"

"Absolutely, I can. Believe me, you aren't the first to ask."

 

Ellie followed close to her Momma and brother into the waiting room, Jess smiled as they came in.

"Safe trip?" Jess asked, to a murmuring chorus of 'yeahs'. "OK, let's get some pictures before you go in. I want one of all of us, then Momma and me with each of you, then just the two of you. Come on, come on, the doctor will be here any minute!"

 

[transpikachu]

"Always with the pictures." Avery mumbled, but didn't protest. Last photo of them as regular teenagers after all. So he smiled nice and big with the four of them, and with each individual photo with their moms. Then it was just him and Ellie. They had a lot of pictures of just the two of them, from the very first one of him as a round faced toddler "holding" a newborn Ellie wrapped in a blue blanket. Bet that was going to be one of the first to go up on the wall again. Always was. But he smiled, wrapping his arm around Ellie. "...What you wanna bet they insist on another one of these come tomorrow?" He whispered to her, trying to get a grin out of her as well.

"What pretty and handsome kids we have." Ivy mused, stepping back so the final photo could be taken. "No silly faces, Avery! Okay-and no bunny ears either, please be serious! Doctor is going to be walking in any moment." But there...and snap! Last photo they'd have of their teenage children...

[LilGirlLya]

"Yeah, probably," Ellie wryly remarked, though a part of her did think at least seeing "baby pictures" wouldn't give her dysphoria anymore now that the little boy and the little girl in them would be reversed.

"Don't mind me," the door opened as Ivy was snapping the last photo, a nurse popped her head out into the lobby "Palmer-Kelly family. Avery? Ellie? Dr. Lee is ready for you both, she stood aside and opened the door for the two siblings. Mom and..mom," she somewhat awkwardly said,  "this procedure is going to take about 2 hours or so, give or take. If you'd like there are some shops nearby, Wren and Wabbit boutique nearby has some very nice stuff for them to have on their first night, or there's the Gibbs Island general store a block north of here. They'll sell a 'first nights' kit to you at a good price if you just want the basics for now.

"Ivy and I will talk it over," Jess assured nurse, "Well, see you on the other side kids, Jess gave each of her teenagers one last hug before they vanished down the corridor.

Ellie stayed close to Avery until they came to the back of the hall. Some basic weights and measurements were gotten for both but then it was time to separate. Ellie looked at her brother as he was for the last time and said the only thing that came to mind, "love you, Avery."

The inside of the room had a doctor's bench sized for adults. She half expected children's murals but instead the walls were soft pastels. The lighting was dim and relaxing ocean sounds were playing over a speaker. After a few minutes alone she heard a knock on the door.

"Ellie Palmer-Kelly? I'm Doctor Lee, nice to meet you." Dr. Lee was handsome with a brilliant smile and he stuck out his hand for Ellie to shake.

"Nice to meet you." she responded,  she could feel her anxiety rise as another person came in with equipment.

"This is my assistant Chloe, she went through this process about five or six years ago when she was about your age, now she's almost just finished her training to be our new pediatrics doctor here for kids like you."

"Hi Ellie, I just met you brother just a little bit ago," the aspiring doctor also stuck out her hand for a shake. Ellie couldn't get over how much smaller than her Chloe was, she was at most five even and Ellie heard a strange crinkle with every step Chloe took. 

"Now Ellie, what's about to happen is Chloe and I are going to start a line into your arm. It will be a four step process, the first will introduce a general anesthetic, the second will be the nanites, those are what's going to do all of the work here. Then we're going to start you on fluids to keep you hydrated and maintain your electrolyte balance, you're going to be losing a lot of mass and fluid but this will keep you stable. Finally, the last injection is to wake you back up. Now, you're going to feel a pinch" Ellie did as the needle was inserted into her arm. "There we are, do me a favor Ellie and count back from a hundred."

"One hundred, ninety-nine, nintetyninetynine" Ellie was fast asleep. 

[transpikachu]

"Love you." Avery responded back, giving Ellie one last grab of the hand. "It'll be fine, don't you worry! I'll see you in a little bit, sis!" Well. Probably in a few hours, but the reassuring still counted. Avery didn't have to wait long at all in the nice pastel room, which was wonderful for his building nerves. Least it didn't last long at all....And Doctor Lee was nice. Even if he was pretty sure Chloe was for sure wearing a diaper....that....that might be a bad sign. But! But, hey. She had to only be in her early twenties (maybe even nineteen or so) and she was already working in a real clinic! Most people had to go to school for years before that came close to happening. .....It had to be worth it....He tried to hold on that feeling as the needle was inserted and as he drifted off into that deep sleep....

"Oh, I'm so nervous..." Ivy frowned, holding Jess's hand tightly as they exited the clinic to wait for what was probably going to be one of the longest two hours of her life. "...Shopping then, hm? ...We might as well pick up this first night kit. They'd obviously know what we should expect." Hopefully something to get the kids all nice and settled for the first night in their new deaged bodies...

[LilGirlLya]

"Me too, hon" Jess pulled Ivy in for a hug, "Me too. If you're only nervous then you're doing better than me."

"Yeah, might as well." Jess agreed, regaining her composure. "We can get them the rest of their stuff tomorrow." Despite the short distance they opted to take the car for ease of getting the new supplies. During the drive Jess looked over to Ivy, "how are you liking the town so far?" She asked, "It's sort of quaint, you know? Very small town but in a good way?" Her last sentence inadvertently came out like a question, Jess really wanted Ivy to be happy. The kids too, given all that everyone was sacrificing so she could take the job. The thought alone of Ivy as some board house wife broke her heart.

The general store seemed pretty busy, but given the time of day Jess wondered if it could just be the aftermath of a shift at the Institute letting out. A sort of micro-rush hour. Inside they were directed to a service counter when asking about the first night boxes. There Ivy and Jess were given surveys to fill out so the attendant could put something together. The survey not only got physical information and gender identity but also asked about favorite colors, textures, animals, and several other various preferences. Jess filled out Ellie's and gave Avery's to Ivy.

[transpikachu]

"It's sweet. I bet it's somewhere you know all your neighbors. Can ask them to watch your dog or pick your mail up." Ivy noted as she glanced out the window where a man and presumingly his wife were pulling along a wagon with two towheaded toddlers plopped inside. Looked like they were keeping themselves busy with some type of fast paced hand clapping game. Couldn't get a good enough look at it as they passed by though. Looked happy though. "..I'm very excited for the house too! All those pictures of the kitchen, I know I'm going to have fun getting it all made-up. I just hope the kids like their rooms...even if they can't really paint it until we own the place..."

The general store also seemed lovely! Basic essentials, must be nice to quick daily runs when needed. The questionnaire was so thoughtful too! The island really did seem so caring about how the kids here were treated, and if they were comfortable and happy. Questions were easy too! Avery's tastes had been pretty consistent his whole life. Even before he'd came out, even a toddler, he was very sure about what he liked. Favorite colors, dark green and cobalt blue. Hated anything itchy or too scratchy, especially if someone scrapped it against something else. Hated that sound! And animals well.....Avery had been wanting a dog since he could ask for one; though the poor kid had a nasty allergy to them. Other questions were just as easy, their Avery had always been so easygoing. "Oh, remember when Ellie was about three, and all she wanted was to dress exactly like Avery? We ended up getting those cute little matching sweaters..." Just a sweet memory to think about.

[LilGirlLya]

"Yeah, I was thinking about that when we were still weighing out on coming. Given how many of the scientists here have families, the kids will also probably have neighbors to play with too." Jess looked over at Ivy to see if that got any reaction from her. With Ivy not having to go back to working and switching into more of a housewife role for the next few years, Jess wondered how Ivy would respond to having a neighborhood horde of toddlers run through if Ellie and Avery made a lot of new friends.

Jess smiled at the memory of that. "I do," she shook her head with a grin still on her face, "you ever think 'we should have known?'" Jess and Ivy poked around for a while, given that it was a general store they had a little bit of everything. One thing that would take some time to get used to the lack of any big brands or chain places. Everything was some little mom and pop, though Jess couldn't help but wonder how much help they were getting from the Institute. She did find it amusing given who had his name on a brick in the lobby of the Clarke Institute main campus that she couldn't get Amazon delivery.

She did recall mentioning that on her interview to one of the head researchers. It was hard to forget Dr. Teal, six eight in heels isn't a common site after all. It was the weirdest thing because she seemed so confused at first when Jess mentioned how weird it was there was no Amazon on the island.

There were a few cute odds and ends for the house they picked up before checking back in on the boxes. Each "box" could more accurately be described as about a 2 by 1.5 foot tote. Both had some things in common, a box will an assembly required bed rail was the biggest individual package inside, beside it was what Jess had been bracing for but wasn't entirely real until she saw it. A small package of 10, size 5 diapers. They both also had a Blu-Ray cartoon inside, "Naomi and Oliver's First Night!" Jess had never heard of Naomi and Oliver before?

Ellie's box also had some things customized for her, Jess had mentioned that Ellie's favorite color was lilac there was a soft, fuzzy fleece blanket in one corner and under it she found a small, lavender pacifier, a small stuffed unicorn, and a cute, toddler sized footed sleeper. It was pink with white striping on the arms and legs, on the chest in white letters with blue accents it read "My First Night!"

[transpikachu]

Ivy smiled at that, glancing at a few of the other customers as they walked by. "I think that'll be lovely. Neither of them were ever the type to be super outgoing with tons of friends." One of the reasons she suspected Avery agreed to the move so easily. "I think it'll be nice if they make some fellow little friends. Run around outside in the backyard, go over to each others houses for lunch. It'll be good for them. ...And I suppose we should have known. But...well. A lot of kids are just tomboys and like more typical girly things too....that's what I always assumed. But we know now, that's what matters." And they can spoil both the kids a little bit...it wouldn't hurt them. Get them some of the toys and clothes they had never gotten before. 

One of the things Ivy was sure to grab was a pack of sippy cups, containing three of them. She had a feeling Ellie might struggle more than Ellie, but she made sure to grab a green one just to be sure. A cute purple one, a green one, and then a more basic clear one. Avoided any of the ones with any too cutesy or babyish designs, they could see about those tomorrow. "Naomi and Oliver...." Ivy commented, reading the back of the case. "Must be one of those educational cartoons, maybe it only airs in this area? Seems cute though."

And oh...oh, the box was adorable! Yep. Getting a lot of pictures from this. Avery's was about the same as Ellie's, though obviously the sleeper was a bit bigger. Cute blue with the same white letters, and pink accents. "Aw. Getting them matching pajamas....I missed when we could get away with that. Get too old and insist on just wearing a t-shirt to bed." She shook her head in good humor, observing the green dog stuffie. Perfectly sized for pre-schooler hands. "Anything else do you think we should grab?"

[LilGirlLya]

"I hope you make some friends too, hon. Wouldn't want you changing every rugrat the kiddos bring home all by yourself." Jess teased.

"Must be," Jess mused at Ivy's comment on the cartoon. It was weird, the proportions of the characters seemed off, but maybe that was just the art style? "We're near the border, Canadian maybe? Could be a Naomi and Olivier? Well, we may find out later."

"You know, I think we're probably good. It's probably close to time to get on back anyway. We've got the basics, anything else we can pick up when we take them out tomorrow. Oh! Tomorrow, they have jammies but not any clothes. Hey hon, I'll go through the line and pay for all of this if you can just run and maybe find them something to wear tomorrow when we take them out for actual shopping?" Jess made her way through the checkout and the cashier rang her and a returning Ivy up one after the other. It was then a quick haul of their stuff into the car.

"Anything else you might want to look for or scope out before we head back?"

 

* * * * *

Ellie could hear voices but everything was surreal and dreamlike, she opened her eyes just a little to find herself looking up at a bright light with a little mobile delicately spinning from it. She could hear a gentle twinkling before closing her eyes again.

"Oh, she's waking up." Ellie heard a voice but it she couldn't remember who it was. "The reversal agent is working. Get her height and weight please?"

"Sure Dr.", another voice, "41 inches, 36 pounds. Another success."

"Fantastic, I'm going to go check on her brother. If you could start getting her ready for discharge."

[transpikachu]

"Oh! Good point! Can't believe we forgot!" Ivy blinked, giving Jess a quick squeeze of the hand before hurrying to the clothing section. Not too much here, clearly this wasn't a store that had a wide variety of clothing. But she was about to grab each kids two pairs of clothing. Because you never wanted to trust a toddler with just one change of clothes. For Ellie, a cute purple dress that was just above knee height that was decorated with the typical little girl flowers, and then a simple pink shirt and purple shorts in case she wanted to go play. Avery was easy as well, two shirts (one green with dinosaurs, and one fire red engine red with a Dalmatian on the front), and then a choice of either shorts or pants if it got a bit chilly. And sneakers for both, though she was really hoping she got the sizing right. Hard to remember your toddler's shoe size years later! She even doubled back quickly to grab two pacifier clips in case the kids did get very attached to theirs. Then she was meeting back up with Jess, handing over the selection to the cashier. "Here we go! Figured we should stick with easy to move around for now, but I didn't want them to be uncomfortable either." And back to the car!

"Hm, maybe we should just pick up something easy for their stomachs to eat in case they end up feeling icky after everything?" Ivy suggested. "I doubt they're going to be that hungry....so maybe just some nice comfort snacks."

 

[LilGirlLya]

"Yeah, good idea. Maybe some ginger ale, graham crackers that sort of thing?" As they got back on the road something occured to Jess, "Oh, hell. Hey babe? Guess what we both forgot?" Jess gestured to the back seat, "car seats." Jess just signed and shook her head, "I knew we'd forget something. Maybe we can just take the bus into town tomorrow with them, or one of us can go out later once we've got them in bed? One of us will just have to let them lap sit in the back. You've had them all day, I can take over if you want to drive home?"

Jess and Ivy found a small corner gas station and pulled in. Jess stretched when she got out, 'oof, I'm getting old. Too much car time today." Jess started to fill up the car while Ivy started on the snack run.

[transpikachu]

"Car seats!" Ivy slapped her head. "Jeez! You'd think that's something they'd remind you of. But maybe it's better if we wait till we see their size? We don't want to get them car seats they aren't secure in. Lap sitting it is...hope you can hold them both!" And hopefully no one judges them on it...at least it'll be a somewhat short ride? But yes, snack run. Simple things, ginger ale and a bottle of low sugar apple juice. Goldfish and graham crackers, even grabbed a bottle of children's liquid Motrin just in case. They should be prepared! Jeez, they'd have to fully stock up on new medication, huh? Something to remember for tomorrow.

====
Avery wrinkled his nose as he slowly woke up, blearily staring up the ceiling. ...Mobile? That light was very bright...enough that he rubbed at his eyes with...a very small hand! Very small! Right! Oh, right! Still very much hazy, he tried to sit up, trying to get a good look around the room. Was it over? It actually worked??

[LilGirlLya]

Ellie found herself groggily coming to a second time, this time rather than seeing just the articulated lamp and mobile above her, she saw two tiny feet eclipsing the light.

"Wah?" she sleepy slurred out. Ellie reflexively whined and tried to pull away when she felt a cold, damp touch between her legs. That's when she realized those were her feet she was looking up at. Ellie felt awful, her body ached and her mouth was dry. She had a headache and she could feel and smell dried sweat on her body. It felt like how she imagined not showering for days would feel. Just sticky and gross. Ellie felt her legs get lowered and in her exhaustion she closed her eyes again, trying to drift back to sleep. Then something was pulled towards her tummy and around the sides of her hips. It felt like she was wearing a pillow. Ellie hazily giggled at the thought of that.

"Rise and shine, Ellie" a woman cooed to her. Ellie opened her eyes to see Chloe, the Doctor's aide. "You did great princess. We're almost all done. Lets get you set up so we can get a gown on you. Ellie looked down and was astounded, she had to still be asleep. Gone was her skinny, teenage body and in it's place was a chubby little toddler's tummy. Her eyes went wide to see the diaper already wrapped around her. Weak and sore, Ellie got only start to softly cry. It was over.

"Hey, hey, hey, no more tears sweetie. Shoosh..." Chloe brushed her hair with a free hand while awkwardly getting her into a paper gown. "Your mommies are going to be ready for you soon, your big brother is waking up too. You'll all be back together and headed home." Ellie continued to whimper out little tears, getting her a caring smile from Chloe. "It's OK little one, it's OK. Your mommies are doing this because they love you very much. They just want what's best for you. Everyone here in town does. I'm only a little bit older than you and I'm about to finish my PhD. Just imagine what you can do. You've got a brand new life ahead of you."

# # # # #

"Hey there Sport," Dr. Lee spoke as Avery came too. "Take it easy, don't strain yourself. You may want to stay laying down for a bit. You lost a lot of body mass." The doctor put a stethoscope onto Avery's chest and started taking post rejuvenation vitals. "Everything looks good. Got your measurements as 113 centimeters and about 42 pounds. We'll keep that IV line for now to let you get your fluids back. Now, I'm going to do something that you probably aren't thrilled about but I think you're going to find isn't a big deal at all." Dr. Lee spread out a plain, white diaper onto the table and with practiced movement hoisted Avery's feet and slid it under his bottom, wiping him clean and then bringing it up and taping it snugly around Avery's hips. "There we go, now the next 12-24 hours may be dodgy, but then you'll see continence return. As old as you are you might retain it but I would guess within the next few days that's going to diminish. After about a week you should have a good idea what your potty training situation will be. I wouldn't worry too much about it though, most of the kids here are in some form of protection."

[transpikachu]

"Is Ellie okay?" Avery croaked out first as he laid back down. And...wow. Wow, yeah. The voice was a shock, back to being all high pitched. He frowned, unable to help a little squirm as the man diapered him. Must be part of how hazy he felt that he didn't protest beyond a small whine. "It feels like a pillow is under my butt." He noted, rubbing his eye again. Bleh, he felt nasty. Like he'd abruptly woke up from a restless nap. Felt all sweaty and tired too. "What about Ellie? Can I see Ellie? She's probably really worried, she gets scared really easy. And if our moms aren't here yet, she needs me." He tried to insist. Though he felt far too icky to try sitting back up again at the moment. 42 pounds....jeez! He was tiny! 

[LilGirlLya]

"Woah, easy there. She's awake. There's no reason we can't take you to her if that's what you want but you'll need to relax and let me help you." Dr. Lee told Avery. He helped Avery get dressed in a basic, paper gown and scooped up the little boy, sitting him down into a tiny wheelchair. "Alright big guy, let's go see your sister, I'm going to need you to hold onto that IV stand though. Don't want that coming out until you're nice and rehydrated."

Ellie was sobbing, she hurt all over, she was tired, she felt gross, and with the transformation it all just emotionally came to a head. She hated how much like an actual toddler she sounded like. She was frighteningly aware of how helpless and alone she was right now and just wanted her moms or her-"

"Knock, knock," Dr. Lee opened the door and then wheeled in Avery. He was so small! Still, beneath the baby fat and the toddler cheeks and the shock of messy, matted hair there was her brother.

"AVERY!" Ellie called out, reaching for him, it was only Chloe's quick action that prevented Ellie from tumbling down off the table.

"Easy princess," Chloe tried to calm Ellie, "He's not going anywhere but you can't get up either. We'll get you transitioned into a wheelchair too. Your mommies will probably be here any minute and we can bring them back so they can take you both home. You both have had a long day." she cooed.

# # # # #

As soon as Jess and Ivy entered the lobby the receptionist called out for them.

"Palmer-Kelly family? Both your kids have finished. The doctor and his assistant are just getting everything ready for you to come back and see them.

[transpikachu]

"Ellie!" Avery tried to jump up as well, and was promptly nudged back in his chair. Fine, he'll continue holding the stupid IV stand. Even if the needle in his arm kinda hurt, and he felt cranky and bad-and Ellie was crying! That was the worst part! Look at her, she was so tiny now...she looked like an actual little toddler! So little, little chubby fingers and hands. "It's okay, Ellie, see? I'm here, you don't gotta cry. I'm okay, so you're okay! Don't be sad!" He's getting right into trying to cheer up his baby sister, giving her a goofy smile. "Look, you'll get a nice wheelchair too and then we can get out of here, alright?"

=====
"Are they okay?" Ivy asked in a worried tone as she glanced at the door to the back. "...It went okay, then? Nothing's wrong?" She knew that was very unlikely but still....she squeezed Jess's hand tightly. "I hope they aren't scared or upset..."

[LilGirlLya]

"The process isn't an easy one but they both made it through just fine. Let me just let the doctor know you're here and we can get you all reunited." the receptionist told the two moms.

# # # # #

Jess and Ivy were lead back through the corridors and into a smaller room. It wasn't an exam room, more like a scaled down version of the waiting room, with a few chairs inside, most adult sized but some more appropriate for little children. Soft, calming music played over the speakers as they both found a seat, with the promise that the kids would be brought in shortly.

 # # # # #

Doctor Lee took Avery's wheelchair and Chloe pushed Ellie's out of the procedure rooms and down the halls. Being with Avery had helped Ellie calm down a bit. Now that she had her brother, she just wanted to reunite with her parents and get as far away from here as possible. Doctor Lee opened the door and wheeled Avery in first, Chloe followed with Ellie.

"Moms!" Ellie called out. Jess was astounded by what she saw. Aside from the longer hair, Ellie looked just like she would have looked as a four year old. Jess was across the room in an instant and scooped up both her kids i her arms. Her babies, babies again. Both were a bit big to hip carry them at the same time so after a kiss on the head she passed Avery over to Ivy. Ellie's little legs reflexively wrapped tight to Jess' hips.

"Doctor, before we begin the consult I need to...attend to something." Chloe said with a small blush.

"Go ahead, we'll get started and you can join us in a bit." Chloe nodded and quickly left the room, gently crinkling the whole way. "Well family, everything was a success. Lets just make sure we all have a good idea of how the next few days are going to go. Any questions before we start?

[transpikachu]

"Hiya." Avery blinked up at his mom, before he was passed over to Momma. Ellie still seemed kinda nervous and upset so he's doing his best to stay calm. Stay cool, and then Ellie would too. That and he felt much too tired to really put up a major reaction, just resting his head down on Momma's shoulder. "We can get out of the wheelchair and away from the IV thing soon, right?" He asked the doctor, giving Chloe a curious look as she walked away. Huh. He'd been kinda thinking that was a rumor, that some kids even after they grew "up" again still had to wear diapers or pull-ups. Weird....but it seemed rude to bring anything up. So...he'll stay quiet.

"Oh, look at you two..." Ivy murmured in quiet awe, gently holding Avery. His hair was so light again! And looked soft too, the very light and soft hair only babies and toddlers had, the kind that made parents sad every haircut. She shook her head, adjusting her hold on Avery so he could rest easier. She wouldn't be surprised if one or both of the kids conked out on the ride home, carseats or no carseats. "Is here any side effects or aftereffects we should be looking out for after all this? Nausea or any aches?" She asked, just to be sure. Kids did tend to get achy or cranky even after a mild shot....and this was a whole different ballpark, even with all this new technology.  

[LilGirlLya]

"Oh, actually we can probably get those out as soon as Chloe gets back with some bandaids. Probably should have taken care of this before I brought you out, huh?" Dr. Lee took a seat in one of the leather chairs.

"How you feeling kiddo?" Jess whispered to Ellie, giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead. Seeing her daughter so small and needy kindled a protective feeling Jess hadn't felt as strongly or acutely since the night Ellie became Ellie.

"I'm hurting..." Ellie whined. Her whole body ached and her head hurt even with more fluids in her. Add in how yucky she felt from being sweat soaked and Ellie just wanted to be comforted. It was over at least and now that she was back with her family, she felt a bit more secure than she did alone in the doctors office.

"Oh...poor baby" Jess murmured, kissing Ellie's head again while gently rubbing her back through the paper gown. Jess didn't need to see the diaper to know Ellie was already padded.

"The process is a lot to go through. Each child loses several biohazard bags worth of body mass but rest assured the first 12-24 hours are the worst. I'd recommend treating with children's painkillers and fluids. They can eat so long as it's relatively light to prevent vomiting. Both kids are also going to be incontinent for this period. The pattern we usually see is about 12-24 hours of diaper dependency, then a return to an ability to control their bladder and bowels as the last of the excess body mass transits the body. This tends to diminish as the body adjusts and stabilize at around a week to two weeks. After that point you should have an idea if each is going to retain their potty training long term. Over the same period the cognitive effects will appear as well. You'll see grater creativity and complex thought and increased knowledge retention but you'll also see a return to some more juvenile behaviors. The important thing to note is they'll still have the same personalities, likes, and interests. Does anyone have any questions?"

[transpikachu]

"Oh, Ellie, it's okay, baby." Ivy frowned, shifting Avery so she could run a quick hand through the girl's hair. "When we get home, we can draw you a bath, would you like that? A nice warm bath to get rid of those aches and make you feel nice and fresh, okay, sweetheart?" Nice warm bath, right into their pjs with a sippy cup of fluids. Some crackers too going off by what the doctor was saying. She nodded, making a mental note of it all. "I already got some children's Motrin.... is just water okay or should one of us stop and pick up something like Pedialyte?" That might be good. Sometimes kids were fussy about just water...and she was fairly certain you could even buy popsicles made of Pedialyte now.

"It's okay, El." Avery tried to reassure her again, though he was cut off by a yawn. He rubbed his eye with a fist, sitting up a little more in Momma's grasp. "See? We'll feel better by the morning or afternoon probably. I'll even let you take the first shower or bath so you can hog the hot water like you always do." Little tease to maybe cheer her up, get things back to normal. A lot of what the doctor was saying was going over his head, though he did try to listen so he could fill his sister in later. Had a feeling Ellie wasn't too focused right now. Even if he wasn't sure what a "cognitive effect" was. "What kind of juvenile behaviors, huh?"