Hiking to a New Life (Chapter 39 posted 4-27-24)

[Kat5]

10 hours ago, SGTbaby said:

So sweet and awesome! I do also admit I am glad you put the date in the chapter. That was awesome and you could tell the genuineness of his feelings. Looking forward to more!

I'm going to be honest about this: I've only been a member here for a couple of weeks, despite reading stories here passively for years.

I had to have some help to figure it how to rename the title thing. So thank you to April for the help! Because I may be many things, but I am not very clever. 

(I'm not even sure that I'm more than legally literate.)

(That last part was a joke. I make fun of myself sometimes.)

Edited October 29, 2023 by Kat5
Edited because if typos in the line making fun of myself for typos. (And then edited again because autocowreck got me in the reason for the edit.)

[BabySofia]

I've worked countless hours for the last two months, so I've seen this but not had a chance to actually truly read/catch up. I really like where you're taking this! Looking forward to seeing what you do with this tale! 🙂

[Kat5]

1 hour ago, BabySofia said:

I've worked countless hours for the last two months, so I've seen this but not had a chance to actually truly read/catch up. I really like where you're taking this! Looking forward to seeing what you do with this tale! 🙂

Thank you very much! You might have seen in another comment I explained my concept for this. Sort of a ground level view showing both sides of a relationship. I have a list of plot points to cover and then sort of tie it all up with a neat little bow.

I am very much enjoying this writing project.

[SGTbaby]

11 hours ago, Kat5 said:

I'm going to be honest about this: I've only been a member here for a couple of weeks, despite reading stories here passively for years.

I had to have some help to figure it how to rename the title thing. So thank you to April for the help! Because I may be many things, but I am not very clever. 

(I'm not even sure that I'm more than legally literate.)

(That last part was a joke. I make fun of myself sometimes.)

 

You are doing great so far in my opinion. The story is coming along nicely. You seem very literate tomebut I make fun of myself a lot as well. I just meant the comment about dating the title as it makes it easier to keep track of but I am happy to read this regardless. Thoroughly enjoying this story!

[Kat5]

Chapter Sixteen:

 

Amanda walked out of the nursery reading the instructions on the can thoroughly as she followed Miss Kassia back to her office. As she walked through the door, Director Kassia shut the door behind her.

 

The director now motioned back toward the seat without bothering to say a word.

 

Amanda immediately returned to her seat with the diaper bag on the floor by her, still holding the little tin.

 

Now it was her turn to be quizzed. And the tone in Director Kassia's voice was ice cold and matter of fact.

 

She started “So to begin, what is that tin?”

 

Amanda simply held it up “This is some anxiety medication for littles that he was prescribed by the doctor immediately before we came here.”

 

“And why does he need anxiety medication?”

 

“He has has several full blown panic attacks since I found him, the doctor used this to stop one during the checkup. And if he is going to be without me in the room, I'd rather be prepared. Just in case.”

 

She nodded, but her tone remained the same cold tone that seemed unnerving. “Little John is safe with Abigail. She is not a nurse, however.”

 

Amanda did a double take and asked “She's not??”

 

Now with a low smirk that did not touch the rest of her face, Kassia added “No, Miss Taylor. Abigail is a Child Psychologist. And she specializes in littles. Momentarily we will be able to watch as she interviews him. But first let us discuss yourself.”

 

Amanda nodded as calmly as she could manage while being watched by those piercing blue eyes. Has Kassia even blinked yet? “What would you like to know.”

 

She motioned to the manila envelope. “I see that you chose to take him to the doctor before coming here. That was very responsible. I approve. Next, I have read the contract with the research group. Explain.”

 

Amanda nodded, and then straightened her back and shoulders before explaining in with her best in public amazon voice. “I work as, among other things, an editor for scientific journals and study groups. One such group is a collection of the foremost experts on littles that have come through a rift. Once I knew that John had come through a rift I chose to contact them so that they could give me a heads up about any health conditions that may arise. My number one priority with John is his health and safety. Nothing else matters compared to that.”

 

Director Kassia nodded. “And what drove you to allow them to study him directly?”

 

Amanda now pulled out her phone and brought up the chat app and offered the phone to the Director. “I was asked if I would be willing to allow John to participate in the research. I am assured that a first hand report from myself, as well as him taking cognitive tests disguised as games on a tablet at least one hour a week, combined with notes on how he reacts to regular every day life in our dimension will help them prepare to help new littles and keep them safe and healthy as well.”

 

Director Kassia looked at the phone, but did not make a move to take it. “Miss Taylor, I will be blunt with you. There are many amazons that use hypnosis and surgery to control their adopted littles. It is my belief that every single one of these amazons is weaker than the littles that they control. Any little that we have brought in here under even the most narrowly unusual circumstance is taken to Doctor Abigail and checked out. This is our standard procedure, and if I have my way, every adoption center in Libertalia will have this same procedure within a few years.”

 

Amanda smiled at her now “That is great! I absolutely do not approve of mentally altering a little. They will grow into their roles as either infants or toddlers based on how they were meant to be. All littles have it within them. And I refuse to force any little into a role they were not destined for. If John develops more like a toddler, then I will love him as I would a toddler. If he regresses further on his own, then I shall love him as he becomes.”

 

Director Kassia seemed carved from stone. Completely unmoved.

 

Amanda stammered slightly “I mean to say that I also hate hypnosis.”

 

Finally the Director nodded. “And you have the utmost faith that this research group will not attempt any such hypnosis?”

 

Now Amanda confidently held up one finger and scrolled to the part where she confirmed exactly that with the researcher, and had told them that at any sign that he was uncomfortable, she would be removing him immediately. “Here, please read this. I asked them exactly that.”

 

Director Kassia only now took the offered phone and read not only that part, but the entire conversation lightning fast. Less than a minute and she was sliding the phone back.

 

“Now Miss Taylor. This is the second most organized adoption that I have ever seen. Please explain how you seem to have known every single nook and cranny of our policies, and managed to fill out every single box correctly to streamline the adoption process.”

 

Now Amanda got to smile “My life long friend Catherine came to my house as soon as she could to bring me supplies for him and helped me organize everything.”

 

With just a tiny smirk, Director Kassia nodded “I am quite familiar with Catherine Onasis. She is the rep that makes sure that several important facilities in our region are always topped up on supplies and everything that they need to take care of their little patients. She's a very serious person, which I can appreciate. I have only praises to share about her ability to focus calmly on a task. Her adoption of her little girl was my distinct pleasure to oversee myself only three months ago. In fact, she had a tin of anxiety medicine exactly like the one you have there. The parallels between that meeting and this one are uncanny.”

 

With a nod, Amanda confirmed “Catherine and I have been friends since elementary school.”

 

And right back came the ice sculpture. “Moving on, I have read all of your notes. While I applaud your ability to track these interactions, I must say that there is one thing that I despise among Amazonians.”

 

“And what is that?”

 

“Impulsiveness.”

 

Amanda leaned in a bit. “Impulsiveness?”

 

“Yes Miss Taylor. We get new parents in her every day that have just decided on a whim to adopt a little. They have not prepared at all, they do not know their new littles likes and dislikes, they have no bed for them, nor bottles and food. They simply give in to the amazonian impulse to nurture. I find this unacceptable. Have you arranged for a full compliment of furniture so that you can best provide for your soon to be adopted child?”

 

Amanda straightened proudly “Yes Ma'am, I have. After leaving here I have prearranged an appointment with Littles R Us, and arranged to pay for all of the furniture for his room outright. As well, I have reserved a delivery crew and agreed to pay their … costly same day delivery and set up fee.”

 

“And when is this appointment scheduled?”

 

Amanda spared a glance at the clock on the bookshelf an then returned Director Kassia's gaze, no longer intimidated. She would have her son, and he would be safe with her. “Our appointment is two hours and twenty five minutes from now. It is my intent to take my son from here to get some lunch, and then allow him to pick colors that he likes at the store. All going well, he should be napping comfortably in his playpen by the time the delivery crew arrives.”

 

Finally Director Kassia leaned forward. “Two remaining items, Miss Taylor.”

 

“Anything.”

 

With a tone just barely tinged with malice, Director Kassia explained “You have my word that if that child wanders off and gets lost in the woods while in your care, you will find yourself adopted by the the next morning.”

 

Amanda nodded. She felt her chest tighten up a bit at the open threat, but stayed outwardly calm. “My fence latches are high, my Collie is professionally trained to protect littles, and he has a wrist band with GPS coming in the mail tomorrow.”

 

With an affirmative nod, the Director pulled a remote from her desk drawer and pointed it at a screen on the wall. “And the second thing is that we will watch his interview together.”

 

Amanda turned in her seat and smiled at the sight of John pulling at a plastic container of fruit. As he accepted help, she could hear him through the speakers saying “I feel like I was set up to learn a lesson.”

 

Now that she was looking at a little instead of an amazon, even Director Kassia smiled a little, commenting “That one is perceptive.”

 

They watched together as he parroted 'not your fault' and Director Kassia added to her previous statement “... but impulsive."

 

As they listened to John explain who Xerxes was, Amanda whispered “I have a video of him climbing the dog to reach the door handle. Even though the dog was never going to let him through the door.”

 

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Director hold up a finger “You will show me that video before we go in there.”

 

Amanda simply nodded while watching the screen.

 

When the Psychologist disguised as a nurse asked what he thought about her, Amanda couldn't help nervously balling up her left hand and holding it up to her mouth nervously.

 

As John started holding up fingers as he counted she whispered “That cheeky little boy is copying me!”

 

Then she added “Awww”

 

And then Amanda added another “Oh baby, you'll get all the snuggles”

 

And by the end of his list she was tearing up and wiping her eyes “You adorable rambling rascal. I'm going to plant you SO many strawberries.”

 

Amanda looked over and realized that at no point had the director been watching the screen. She was listening and watching … her.

 

Amanda tried not to laugh as she wiped her eyes “I'm sorry. It's just too cute. So will I be able to adopt him?”

 

And now for the first time in the entire hour, Director Kassia openly smirked. It wasn't even an unsettling smirk, it was a genuine smirk.

 

“That young man was named was named John Taylor before you left the lobby. Catherine called me. The research team called me. And I have a message from the office of my own family doctor. If Doctor Galanis says you'll be a good mother, then you will be a good mother.”

 

Amanda bounced in her seat “Oh Goddess, I need a hug.”

 

“I'm not hugging you. You save that hug for your son.”

 

Amanda bounded out of her seat and started for the door.

 

And then she heard someone clearing her throat behind her. “Miss Taylor.”

 

She stopped and spun around. “Yes Ma'am?”

 

“You are not excused yet.”

 

She looked confused “I'm not?”

 

Director Kassia shook her head “You promised to show me cute videos.”

 

Bouncing in place, Amanda pulled out her phone and went to the side of her desk and showed the Director the video of John climbing the dog to reach the door handle, then sliding down and being bowled over by the ballistic tail. She stole a glance at the Director and noticed that her jaw was clenched tight and her hand was over her mouth in an effort to suppress a laugh. She had impressive self control, to say the least.

 

So next Amanda flipped over and showed her the video of John handing an acorn directly to a squirrel.

 

The Director whispered “That has to be fake.”

 

Amanda got to shake her head “No Ma'am. He named it Steve.”

 

That got the tiniest of eye rolls “He's a dork.”

 

Amanda beaned and slipped her phone back into the diaper bag, declaring “But he's MY dork. And if you will excuse me, I am going to hug my son.”

 

Director Kassia stood up and cut her off “Please allow me the pleasure of giving you a dramatic entrance. It is the one pleasure I allow myself."

 

And now again Amanda followed the Director across the hallway and watched her take a deep breath before grabbing the handle and swinging the door opening. She had a perfect view of the Director stepping into the doorway with her hands on her hips and declaring “Young Man.” like he was in trouble.

 

She whispered “Oh that's so mean.”

 

Apparently that made her drop the angry act and the Director then smiled and declared “Young Man, I present to you, your new, legal Mommy”

 

As she stepped out of the way, Amanda bounded in. She waited too long, her baby was getting hugs NOW. She stepped into the doorway, spotted him and made it to him in two big strides.

 

She immediately scooped him up and lifted her right up to her chest and wrapped him up in the biggest hug she could manage, being careful to squeeze him into her without hurting him. When he hugged her around her neck she couldn't help just giving him a big kiss on the cheek and then resting her cheek against the side of his face.

 

Goddess, this hug lasted forever, but not forever enough.

 

Finally she whispered to him “You did so great, I knew you would!”

 

He looked at her with his eyebrows furrowed, he looked so confused. And he asked her “What do you mean, I didn't do anything?”

 

She laughed “Oh my sweet innocent John. You were being interviewed. We saw the whole thing from the office. They had to make sure that you actually came through a rift and not a runaway from some other country or something.”

 

She watched him turn and look directly at the black box on the counter and mumble “Oh that's sneaky.”

 

She heard from her left “Most littles never notice the box.”

 

Amanda turned to smile at her “Apparently my little John is a perceptive rascal.”

 

Director Kassia cleared her throat behind them now to get their attention.

 

Once Amanda (And John) were both looking at her “Miss Taylor, your paperwork will be at the front desk. I will include a coupon for Littles R Us that will help with the delivery cost. There will be an inspector with the crew, and you will be inspected again one week later, as well as at least one more inspection if deemed necessary.”

 

Amanda smiled at her and said “Thank you very much for your help!”

 

Director Kassia shook her head “No thanks required. But remember our talk. You only have one opportunity.”

 

Amanda nodded solemnly. “I won't disappoint you, Miss Kassia.”

 

Director Kassia nodded to Amanda. Then looked at John “And you, little man. You take good care of Steve and Xerxes.”

 

John looked at her slack jawed and blushing. Then looked up at Amanda. “You showed her the videos!”

 

Amanda just patted him on the bottom while saying “Yes Baby, I … oh, someone needs a change before we leave. May we use this changing table?”

 

Director Kassia nodded “That is quite fine. I will return to work. Nurse Abigail, I leave them in your hands.” And with that she nodded and walked back out of the nursery and back toward her office.

 

'Nurse' Abigail smiled and offered “Would you like for me to change him while you go to the front desk and get your paperwork?”

 

Amanda looked down at John and asked “Would you like for Nurse Abigail to change you into a fresh diaper?” only to see him trying to hide behind her leg again. “John?”

 

He shook his head, and his face was turning beet red. He was embarrassed.

 

“Nurse Abigail, I think that maybe John is a little shy about someone else changing his diapers right now.” Amanda explained quietly.

 

Nurse Abigail smiled down at John while speaking to Amanda “Little John here still has a lot to learn about our dimension. Would you trust me with the task? I'd like to speak with him about healthy habits.”

 

Amanda turned and knelt down now, looking John in the eyes. “John, Nurse Abigail knows a whole lot about people your size and I bet that she can help you learn a lot. I'm going to trust her to take care of you, and you should also trust her. Do you understand?”

 

John just shook his head no, slowly inching backwards. So Amanda scooped him up into another hug and whispered “You'll be okay. I believe in you.”

 

With that she stood up and smiled to Nurse Abigail “I shouldn't be but a few minutes.”

 

Nurse Abigail nodded “I'll take your diaper bag and when you get back I'll have talked to him about healthy coping mechanisms for his panic attacks.”

 

Amanda happily handed it over with a “Thank you very much, if it will help him with his panic attacks, even a little, then it will be great for him.”

 

She spared him a glance and wanted to stay with him, but knew that for his own good, she needed to trust him with the Child Psychologist. So she turned and left without another word so that she wouldn't give in and stay.

 

Turning left and going down the main hall, she made it into the lobby and saw that there was a line at the desk. So while standing in line, she started looking around the lobby, trying to imagine what her new son would see. Not the amazons and people her size, but the other littles.

 

Some were in strollers, several were on the floor crying. Obviously the ones crying were sad because they didn't realize that they were going to be cared for. Maybe that was part of what had scared John so much?

 

She stepped forward in line and tried to imagine herself looking up at the chairs and feeling sort of helpless. It didn't really make sense to her, but she was trying to see the world from a completely different view.

 

Shaking her head at the absurdity of littles not wanting the help that they need, she stepped up to the counter, and asked the receptionist “May I have my papers for Amanda Taylor?”

 

“Oh yes Ma'am! Here we have your folder. It has his temporary social security card, date of birth is listed as today, and your official one will be delivered to your home. It is supposed to be one week, but honestly they get backed up and it's been three to four some times. Don't worry if it takes a while, it is absolutely coming. Also the Director told me to put this coupon for Littles R Us in there for you. I've only seen that once or twice, so I think she likes you and your son!”

 

Amanda's right eyebrow went up a bit as she was told that the Director must like her, while remembering the very clearly expressed threats that she herself would be forced into adoption if she messed up.

 

“Oh … Well. I ...”

 

The receptionist gave her a knowing smile, then whispered “Don't worry, she only threatens the ones she likes. The rest she just sends LPS to inspect them without warning.”

 

Amanda leaned in and whispered back “Does she mean the threats?”

 

The brunette behind the counter nodded “Every single word. I know of one woman that had her little taken away and she has been in diapers for two years.”

 

Amanda nodded slowly...

 

“Don't worry Ma'am, Miss Kassia loves littles and wants them to be safe. She's the most dedicated woman in the world. Just take care of your little and pass the LPS inspections and you'll be fine.”

 

Amanda smiled now “Thank you very much! And I hope that you have a wonderful day!”

 

The return smile and “You too, Ma'am”

 

She took the envelope an slipped back into the hallway toward the Nursery. Once there she knocked gently on the door.

 

“Come in.”

 

She opened the door and peeked inside to see Nurse Abigail with her back to the door, standing in front of the changing table. She was speaking

 

“So remember, your stuffy will help you with your anxiety. I want you to hold onto it for an entire month for me. Especially while you're snuggling your Momma or Xerxes, okay?”

 

Amanda could hear a “Yeth Mamm” coming from the other side of Nurse Abigail.

 

“And if I you feel yourself start to spiral or your hands start shaking, what is the absolute first thing you're going to do for soothing?”

 

And now she could hear “Gwab my pacifiew.”

 

Amanda could see the woman nodding to the little in front of her. And finally the Nurse stepped off to one side so that she could get a look.

 

There on the changing table, sitting up and facing the door was her little John, still in his shortalls and t shirt under it. But now he had a pacifier in his mouth with a blue strap clipped to his shirt under the strap for the shortalls.

 

And he was holding a stuffed animal shaped like a big black puppy.

 

She wanted to clap at how cute he looked holding is stuffie, but she didn't know if that would make him nervous. So she settled for walking over to him with a great big smile.

 

John just sat there with his head resting on top of the stuffed puppy, his eyes up and locked with Amanda's.

 

After a moment, Nurse Abigail broke the silence. “John, would you like to tell your Mommy the name of your new puppy?”

 

He looked down shyly and looked like he was squeezing the puppy to his chest nervously as he answered. “Wupewt”

 

Amanda felt her entire body tense up at how cute it was to hear him say it like that. But after a moment he pushed the pacy out of his mouth with his tongue and said “His name is Rupert.”

 

With a little laugh, Amanda stepped closer and leaned down to hug him on the table. “Well, I'm happy to meet the newest member of our family.”

 

Nurse Abigail continued. “John here has obviously had several environmental stressors he has been ignoring for years and has never learned healthy coping mechanisms, or sought professional help. I'm willing to bed that he has also not had any medical, vision, or dental checkups in quite some time either.”

 

John looked over at Nurse Abigail now, looking positively betrayed, and he said “No!”

 

Amanda leaned down in front of him now and asked “No you have not have any medical visits?”

 

John stared at her for several moments … and finally he reached over and popped the pacifier back into his mouth. Nurse Abigail immediately said “That's not soothing, that's deflection.”

 

John now rolled his eyes sarcastically, leaning further back and flopping onto the changing table with his arms spread out haphazardly.

 

Nurse Abigail nodded “Uh huh. Playing dead doesn't make it go away. Miss Taylor, you may find that you have your work cut out for you gently dissuading a certain sassy little boy.”

 

“I'w am aduww” he protested from the table.

 

“One certain sassy little adult.”

 

John held up one finger and proclaimed “ I'm not thaththy”

 

Nurse Abigail chuckled now “Miss Taylor, I believe that it is probably best to bundle this one up and take him for lunch before he gets himself spanked.”

 

Amanda winked and nodded “Yes Nurse Abigail, I do believe that my son is asking to be spanked.” only to hear a sudden and loud series of crinkling sound.

 

And by the time Amanda looked over to the changing table, John was sitting cross legged with his back upright, and his butt was pressed back against the wall. He was clutching his new puppy to his chest.

 

The Nurse then chimed in “Remember, have him hold his stuffie during snuggle time or nap time. Pacy a well. He has no healthy coping mechanisms and it will take a few months to develop a healthy association with his stuffie and being snuggled. The positive association with the pacifier will come later, of course.”

 

Amanda nodded “Yes Ma'am, that stuffie will rarely leave his side for one month and he will have that pacy in his mouth at nap time and snuggle time. I'll make absolutely sure of it.”

 

She now turned and reached out toward her little, saying only “Up.” and he scooted sort of awkwardly on the changing table and held up his arms. Good, he seemed to want to behave after the threat of spanking and his pep talk from the child psychologist.

 

Amanda happily picked him up and scooted him around onto her left hip, and slung the diaper bag up onto her right shoulder. She then looked at John and said “Make sure to thank Nurse Abigail for her help.”

 

John let his pacifier fall and dangle from the strap, then looked over and said very politely “Thank you Nurse Abigail.”

 

That earned him a pat on the head from the Nurse, and a reassuring “You'll do fine in our dimension. Just make sure to listen to your new Mommy.”

 

John just nodded awkwardly. Amanda said one more thank you and then set out into the hallway, hung a left and strolled proudly through the lobby with her new son.

 

He was officially hers. Every fiber of her being screamed to baby him. And maybe she would. A little. But for now, food.

 

Amanda went out to the car and awkwardly fumbled a bit for her keys in the diaper bag, but managed to get the door open, the diaper bag on the floor in front of the carseat and John slide into the carseat in a couple of relatively smooth motions.

 

“Okay John, we're going to go get some lunch and then YOU get to help pick out your own furniture, isn't that exciting?”

 

He thought about it an then nodded “I only had a couple of things before. So … yeah! It kind of is!”

 

She gave him a reassuring smile “Then no matter what they have, you can pick any of it. Mommy's already made arrangements to help pay for it and have it delivered same day.”

 

As she reached under him to pull out the straps he kind of whined “Do you have to use all of the straps?”

 

“If I don't buckle you in and we get pulled over, it's little endangerment. And even if it were not, you would still be getting buckled in safely, Mister.”

 

She locked eyes with him, but after a moment he sighed and mumbled “Yes Ma'am.” and with two quick clicks, the five point harness was latched in place and Amanda was on her way to the drivers side.

 

Sliding in, she looked up at the mirror to see him eyeing the stuffie like it was up to something.

 

“Okay John, we're going to get lunch. Do you want some chicken, or a little burger?” she asked.

 

THAT got his attention, as he looked up at the mirror immediately “I would like some chicken, please!”

 

“Then we're going to go to get some fast food! I don't do that very often, since I seldom come to town. I think I'll have a spicy chicken sandwich myself.”

 

And with that, she put the car in gear, backed out of the spot, and was back on the highway in moments. She stole a quick glance up to see Rupert was now at Johns feet and he was trying to look anywhere but at the stuffed puppy. He'll get used to it.

 

Now that they were in the city, it wasn't long before she was pulling into MacDunnels, a popular fast food restaurant known for having a menu for children and littles.

 

Parking and walking around, she unbuckled John and asked “Do you want to leave Rupert so he stays clean?” He nodded, so she just picked him up and stood him next to her.

 

She slung the diaper bag and took his hand. It was getting to be lunch time, so there was a bit of a line. She squinted at the menu and then asked “Okay, Sweety. Do you want a littles meal, or do you think you can handle a kids meal?”

 

He looked up at the menu “Can I order from the adult menu?”

 

“Can you eat ghost peppers?” She asked.

 

He stared “You can't be serious.”

 

She smiled “I am quite serious.”

 

He sighed “Okay, may I please have the umm... chicken tender meal? The four piece?”

 

She smirked “Oh, someone has a big appetite.”

 

He looked confused “They're just little tenders.”

 

Amanda just patted him on the head and stepped up to the register now that it was their turn. The amazon behind the counter smiled down at John “Well hello little boy! Don't you look look adorable today.”

 

Amanda looked down as she felt his hand squeezing her fingers a bit harder than a moment ago. She smiled at the cashier “He's a bit shy. He was just adopted today!”

 

The cashier did a little clap! “Well, I know a little boy that's going to get a surprise toy in his meal. What will you be having today.”

 

Amanda answered for him “Yes, He would like a four piece tender meal off of the kids menu.”

 

The cashier smiled down at John “Ohhh, someone's going to try to be a big eater. Drink and side?”

 

She looked down to see that John was distracted again looking around the room. Probably looking at the other littles. “He's distracted, so how about fries and an apple juice. And I would just like a ghost pepper chicken sandwich with extra sauce on the side to dip some chicken tenders in. Just in case someone needs help eating them.”

 

The cashier gave her a wink, and took her payment. She stepped out of the way, still holing Johns hand and looked now to try to follow his eyes to see what he was looking at. She followed his eyes to see that he was staring at some littles over by the playground.

 

So she leaned down and whispered “We don't have much time, but after we eat, do you want to go play with the other littles?”

 

John just whispered back “Why are none of them wearing pants?”

 

Amanda had to think about it for a moment because it was just a normal question “Littles don't have to wear pants. As long as you're wearing a diaper, you can run around all you want.”

 

She noticed his hands were starting to shake.... and said quietly to herself “Oh no” and she leans and took his pacy and held it up to his mouth and simply commanded “Open.”

 

He didn't immediately respond, so she use her other hand and gently took his chin with thumb and forefinger and turned his head so that he had to look at her.

 

She repeated herself calmly. “Open.”

 

This time he opened his mouth and she slid the pacy in. He stood there so she used a finger to push his jaw back up and then gently moved it back and forth with her finger until he got the message and started sucking on it on his own. He was still breathing a bit fast, but he was now looking at her. So she placed her hand on top of his head and left it there while she stood up and looked over at the counter.

 

The cashier said “Miss, your order is ready.”

 

Amanda thanked the cashier and took the tray with one hand and steered John by turning him using her hand on his head and then gave him a pat on the back “C'mon.”

 

Once she got to a table she slid the tray onto it and lead him with her to get a child seat. It was one of those cheap wooden seats that never gets wiped down often enough.

 

As she lifted him up and slid his feet in she whispered “These seats are hard. So you're about to be grateful for having your own padding.” And then she made sure to slide him up to the table right next to her and facing -away- from the playground so that he wouldn't be distracted.

 

Removing her sandwich, and more importantly her dip cup of ghost pepper sauce, she slid the tray in front of John and watched him, making no effort to hide her grin.

 

It took him fifteen full seconds before he came to his senses and looked down. He spit his pacy out and asked, a bit too loudly for being in public. “What the heck? That's not a chicken tender!”

 

She just nodded “That's a chicken tender.”

 

“But that ...” He picked one up with two hands. “If you can pick it up with two hands, it is most certainly not a chicken tender.”

 

With a laugh she took it from him and started ripping it into manageable chunks for him. “And there you go! You now have eight appropriately sized chicken tenders!”

 

He rolled his eyes at her now. “Oh God. I'm telling on you to Aunt Cat.”

 

She peeled the top off of the ranch cup for him and slid it in front of him, then slid it over in front of him. “Please do, she'll be proud.”

 

John tried to twist around to look behind him awkwardly an when he failed he turned back to his food and sighed “I recently lost my appetite.”

 

With a shake of her head, she said “Well, you better find it, Mister. After this we're getting you a bedroom set, and maybe a little desk and a chair. Would you like two chairs so that you and Kate can sit together?”

 

He just nodded as he dipped a piece of chicken into the ranch and tried it. After chewing for a moment he finally said “I don't know if I love it because it tastes good, or hate it because it's freakishly big.”

 

Amanda just laughed and picked up her ghost pepper chicken sandwich. “It's meant for amazon kids up to twice your size. Now eat up, Momma is going to drink this ghost pepper sauce straight."

[Guilend]

53 minutes ago, Kat5 said:

The brunette behind the counter nodded “Every single word. I know of one woman that had her little taken away and she has been in diapers for two years.”

The part where she is threatened with adoption and this part are my favorite so far lol.

I am curious as how an adopted Amazon is treated in this world. Are they treated as babies, toddlers or like teenagers that aren't potty trained or in potty training? Are they treated like it's a punishment, like are they shamed, have extra humiliation. How does the general public view and treat adopted Amazon's?

I was scared that the video of him on the dogs back would get her into trouble and seen as neglect since some could argue that he was in a dangerous situation and all she did was film it.

I'm surprised the boss lady spoke so highly of Cat. Apparently Cat is totally different, either around certain people or certain situations like work. The lady made her sound way more grown up lol. I'm also surprised the boss lady didn't comment on Amanda's giddiness or whatever you call how she was acting when she got excited about the adoption being approved lol.

[Kat5]

50 minutes ago, Guilend said:

am curious as how an adopted Amazon is treated in this world

I will leave that to more talented authors than I to determine.

51 minutes ago, Guilend said:

I'm also surprised the boss lady didn't comment on Amanda's giddiness or whatever you call how she was acting when she got excited about the adoption being approved lol.

Director Kassia said that she hates impulsive Amazon's, but she very much loves Littles. So someone being excited about the adoption just shows that they love their little. Kassia wanted proof that she was going to take good care of her little. Once she had that. She felt free to enjoy the moment.

[SGTbaby]

I love the secret nature of the adoption director. I imagine she might ask to see the reports for her own curiosity and follow up. The shopping trip sounds interesting and I see some panic attacks happening there as well. Great chapter!

[dmavn]

I would do and give up everything to be able to trade places with john.. Not that i have much to give up…

[Guilend]

I'd give up everything to be an Amazon woman bent over the directors knee getting spanked for something lol.

[dlgore]

Thanks for the great story so far

[Kat5]

Chapter Seventeen:

 

John sat holding a piece of ripped up chicken and staring at an amazon sipping from a cup of dip. Not only did she look to be enjoying it, but the nearly ten foot tall giant looked like she would be purring if she could.

 

He purposefully tried to not look behind him at the people his size hanging around the play area with no pants on. Instead he looked at the dip cup of that looked like honey mustard. He dipped his bit of chicken in it and took a bite, purposefully not looking at the toy that was in with his meal as well. Some sort of burger robot the size of his hand. It was neat, but he wasn't in the mood for it just now.

 

“Huh. At least they're generous with the honey. It's a bit sweet for honey mustard, but it's really good. Hey, is that REALLY ghost pepper sauce?”

 

He could see her giving him the side eye for a moment before saying “Okay. Do not touch it, only smell it. Okay?”

 

So he just nodded and she held the cup out toward him, looking like she was prepared to pull it back at a moments notice. Peering down into the cup, he squinted “That looks like just a bunch of purreed ...” and then he took a little smell. Immediately his eyes were watering and he was leaning back.

 

“Ugh. I like spicy food, but that's just unreal!”

 

Amanda just shrugged “Littles like sweet stuff, Amazons like spicy stuff. I think maybe it just takes a stronger taste for our taste buds.”

 

John ate in silence for a while. He wasn't sure if he was in shock over the fact that people his size run around half naked, the fact that he was watching a giant drink sauce that would make him pray for death, or if he was still processing being adopted.

 

He was pretty sure it was all three, and frankly it was too much to process at once. So it just … couldn't process at all. Eventually he saw a massive hand wave up and down in front of him and shook his head.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I said are you getting full? You finished one chicken strip and spaced out staring at the honey mustard. Do you want to pack the rest up for a snack later?”

 

John looked down at his hands with a bit of oil on them from the chicken. He didn't really remember finishing anything “Oh umm... yes please. May I have a napk...”

 

He never got to finish asking, a napkin the size of a paper towel descended on his face and then his hands were taken and scrubbed firmly. “Oh... thank you...” He rubbed his fingers together and moved his hands down toward his shortalls …

 

Then he heard “Young man, if you wipe your hands on those shorts, you lose the shorts.”

 

And just like that his hands were on the 'small' cup of apple-like juice. Small in this case being about 32 ounces. But he was parched and it was delicious, so he downed more than half before stopping. And even then it was only so that he could breath.

 

Trying to make polite conversation, he asked “So … how was your sandwich?”

 

Amanda dipped the last of her bread in the ghost pepper sauce and rocker her head side to side “I haven't eaten here in years. The sauce isn't as strong as it used to be, and they stopped putting the good deli pickles on the sandwich. It's still good, it's just missing that crunch.”

 

Nodding along “Yeah, I used to visit a sandwich shop that had to start charging a quarter for every extra spear pickle because some of us, I mean some of the customers would just want piles of their homemade pickles.”

 

Wiping her hands before packing his remaining two tenders into the box with his untouched fries, she stood up and gathered the food and the diaper bag before unbuckling him from the seat. “Okay, arms up, we're off to the store to get you some supplies and furniture.”

 

Every core of his being wanted to stand up and climb down on his own. But he knew that wasn't going to work, so he held his arms up and within a couple of seconds he was riding on a hip with a face full of … chest. He bit his lip and tried looking elsewhere, but with his legs around her right hip and her shoulder to his left it was chest or armpit.

 

He was starting to feel a bit more ... uncomfortable in his diaper by the time he was gratefully slid into a carseat and pretending he was fine. Okay so there was one perk of being a guy and being carried in this dimension.

 

As the drivers side door shut he looked up to see a smiling face in the mirror. “The good news is that Littles R Us should have everything we need, and this McDunnels is in the same parking lot. Which is actually pretty clever planning.”

 

He could really only nod. It wasn't like he could see anything as he felt the car back out of the parking spot and drive slowly for a couple of minutes. And the next thing he knew, the door was opening and he was being unbuckled. He didn't even have enough time for things to calm down a bit.

 

He sat there looking at his giant for several seconds before she gave him a hint by pointing at the stuffed animal. “You need to carry your stuffie with you. This might be a bit stressful for you.”

 

And there it was. He looked at the stuffed animal by his feet. He'd been handed it and railroaded into naming it by the nurse and promised that carrying it would help him stay calm. At least it was easy to name, since it obviously looked like a Rupert to him.

 

John rolled his eyes “But I'm an adult, I don't need a stuffie.”

 

He looked up at Amanda … she was scowling. The muscles in her jaw were tensed up and the look in her eyes was caring before, but now it looked like her pupils were starting to dilate or something. She looked MAD.

 

She held up one finger.

 

She did not get to hold up the second one. John was already holding Rupert and talking to him “Hiya buddy. We had lunch without you, but I saved you some chicken tenders.”

 

As he felt himself being lifted out of the seat he refused to look away from Rupert, he just had his left arm around Amanda's ribs and his right arm curled around the stuffie. Rupert was great.

 

Amanda used her arm under his butt to lift him up and whisper “I'm going easy on you because you have a lot to adjust to. But your sassy mouth is going to get you in trouble. I didn't want to get one, but I know what I can get to help you learn to stay out of trouble.”

 

Something about the calm tone she said it on, and even the warm kiss to his left temple made it feel like the blood in his veins turned to freezing. Even being slid back down and her resting his head against her chest didn't calm him down. He swallowed hard and squeezed Rupert.

 

As the car door shut a bit more firmly than it had earlier, Amanda turned without bothering to put him down and carried him like a toddler to the front of the building. As they got there he felt a firm pat on his butt.

 

“Hey. Look up.” he heard, this time with no anger in her voice.

 

So he looked up, and the moment he tilted his head up some lips met his forehead and she said “I'm not mad at you. I can feel your entire body shaking. I'm going to help you, and you may not understand it all right now, but I promise it will get better after a few weeks. Okay?”

 

He simply nodded, before twisting to look at his surroundings. They were in front of a very large building. VERY large. It looked bigger than the small mall in his hometown, and it was absolutely taller. He twisted around in her arms to see from one side of the building to the other as they went through the front doors. Looking up at the top of the door, and then down to the floor, there's no way that door is any less than eighteen feet tall.

 

“This place is huge.” he whispered, his head on a swivel trying to take in the scope of the place.

 

He just got a nod from Amanda like this was just an every day occurrence. “Yeah, it's pretty big for a store. They've got absolutely everything you need for a little, from furniture to clothing and even some disciplinary items for sassy littles.”

 

John did not like the sound of that last sentence, but he decided to squeeze Rupert instead of complaining out loud. As they went through the front doors he felt a blast of air from a machine over the doorway. He never knew if those were there to keep the air conditioned air in, or any bugs out. Either way it was like walking under a giant leaf blower and he had to close his eyes tight and press his face against Amanda's chest.

 

That got him a gentle pat on the bottom, so she must have approved of him using her for shelter. She may not have even known she was patting him on the bottom. They walked up to a shopping cart that looked comically large to him, and she put the diaper bag in the top part of the cart. John was fully expecting to be put down onto the floor so that he could walk along beside her.

 

He was mistaken.

 

John felt himself being hoisted up, not down. And as his feet hit the metal of the top part of the cart below him, he heard he say “Stand still for a moment.” and a felt some snaps on the bottom of his shortalls being undone with a quick tug and a hand found its way up into the gap to squeeze his underwear gently.

 

“Hey hey! That … you … we're in public!” John protested. His face was turning DEEP red in a blush.

 

What he did not expect, however, was the response. “Yes, and now we know you're still dry.” as snaps were being calmly redone. Said just matter of fact. Every day occurrence. And then he was being lifted slightly, feet aimed through holes and slid all the way down until his butt hit the plastic flap.

 

“Umm...”

 

A canvas belt was pulled around his waist and there was a click off to his left.

 

“Uhhhhhhhhh”

 

Amanda just smiled at him and asked “Yes, sweety?”

 

“Do … Why do I fit in a shopping cart where a toddler goes?”

 

She ruffled his hair gently “Because you're the size of a two year old.”

 

“Mmm.”

 

The ruffling of unruly hair turned into a pat on the head “Okay, we need a few things. Diapers, obviously. Couple of items to discourage being sassy. I promised you bubble bath. And then you have to pick a color for your furniture. Your room is a fairly neutral taupe, so just pick whatever you like.

 

And with that they were off. A grand new adventure into a large department store that claims to have everything for someone his size. And he could see … a chest. That was it, he was facing backwards.

 

Feeling indignant, he tried twisting around to see where they were going. He saw a row of checkout lines near the front door. About a dozen giants each pushing shopping carts with someone his size in it. Lots of brightly colors packages on the rows of shelves in the distance. At first, it looked like the most normal store in the world.

 

But there were a few details that started to stand out. They passed a woman with a cart going the other direction and John caught a glimpse of a young woman his age in the cart just like he was. Only ….

 

Only her cheeks were bulging, and she was crying and trying to pull a pacifier out of her mouth. By the time it registered with him, they were out of sight.

 

They passed a nice smiling amazon woman that waved them to top and looked at the two of them, and leaned down to admire John. He felt like a spectacle. “Hello little boy, aren't you adorable!” and she stood up straight and smiled at Amanda “Miss, would you like to try some of our new chocolates? Free samples!”

 

Amanda shook her head “No thank you, we both just ate until we're full to the brim. But we'll make sure to check it out next time we come!”

 

The saleswoman waved as they walked away “You're missing out, but I understand! Swing back by next time!”

 

Further into the store they passed a giant man with his arms cross, looking down and tapping his foot. John followed his gaze down to see a male little in nothing but a diaper kneeling facing the wall. The backs of his thighs were red enough that they were probably going to bruise.

 

John swallowed nervously. What kind of place is this? Every spectacle they passed seemed worse than the last. He felt the shopping cart turn right … his right … so, left? And now he was being rolled between two walls of brightly colored packages of … diapers.

 

The cart came to a stop and John dared not turn to look around, he just looked at the chest in front of him. His hands were shaking and he had dropped Rupert in the buggy beside him at some point. He tried to take a deep breath but he couldn't. Someone was talking to him.

 

The chest in front of him came up to his face and he could feel arms around him. Warm breath on top his head whispered to him “Shhh. Try to breath. Try to breath. Nice and deep. Innnnnnn...... Ouuutttttttt”

 

It took about a minute of coaxing for his breathing to slow down. Then he felt a kiss on his cheek and Rupert was held to his chest. “Hold this.” So he wrapped his arms around it. And then he felt his head lightly scratched. It would have been relaxing any other time.

 

“Okay, you calm enough to answer a couple of questions now?” she asked.

 

He slowly nodded.

 

“Okay, do you want to pick your diapers? They have every conceivable brand and type.”

 

John looked tentatively around at all the shelves and shrugged “I … don't think I care what they look like?”

 

Amanda then held up a finger “Okay, what is your favorite color?”

 

He thought about it for a moment before answering “I like gray.”

 

She shook her head “Not one single gray option.”

 

“Green?”

 

Now she held up one finger and came back and held up a green bag with a logo reading “Tykes” and showed a little with the fakest possible smile on it dressed up as a frog from the belly up, and wearing a diaper with every possible part of it covered in garish cartoon frogs. He involuntarily shivered at the sight of them.

 

Amanda caught the gesture and laughed. “Okay, next color?”

 

“Blue. Please Blue. Please let blue be a safe choice” he rambled out nervously.

 

The shopping cart was pushed another twenty or so feet and then she stopped and held up a package that said “Monkeez” and it showed a pair of littles on it wearing bright blue diapers with a cartoon monkey on the front. John just nodded “That is definitely blue.” And before he realized what was happening, the package was put back on the shelve and a box of packs was put into the cart behind him.

 

Then he heard behind him “Oh hey! John look!” and the cart was swung around sideways so he would see an entire wall of the “Little Pups” brand diapers. Ones that looked exactly like the ones he was wearing.

 

“John, are you comfortable in the diaper you're in when it's dry?”

 

He looked down at his waist and then back up with a nod “Yes Ma'am”

 

Amanda clapped a bit “Excellent, that makes this so much easier. I'll just get... two boxes … this one says it has an extra sturdy backing for rough puppies.” And the stole a glance at him.

 

“What? I'm not rough!”

 

“Uh huh” and in the buggy went those two boxes before she turned and moved to one side, trailing her finger along the bottom of the boxes, mumbling to herself as she read the sizes “one … two … one again … Ah hah!” and with that she grabbed a box and pulled it down.

 

Morbidly curious, John stared, unable to pull his eyes away. The front of the box was the same “Little pups” brand, but this box showed two littles on the front. One facing the camera and one facing away. Both of them had a onesie unsnapped and bunched up around their waist to show off a conspicuously thick diaper that looked like it was holding their thighs apart. And on the front there was a cartoon puppy napping on top of some alphabet blocks. On the back was just a massive cartoon drawing of a puppy sleeping on a cloud.

 

In any other context, this may have looked like cute marketing. But was not other context. The box of “Sleepy Pup's All Nighters” went in the shopping cart behind him. Did he just see a couple hundred diapers go into the buggy behind him? He wanted to look … But he was also pretty sure that he didn't want to see. He twisted and tried to glance behind him. Yep. That's four boxes big enough that he could curl up in them.

 

And like that they were off and turning back into the main aisle and within a minute of walking were turning again. This aisle seemed … different. Problematically different. On one side the shelves had all sorts of harnesses and … that looked like some sort of belt with cuffs on it? No, that can't be.

 

Amanda stopped just long enough to eye Johns hands and grab some dark blue gloves off of a hanger. Then she was back to walking where she looked at some pacifiers. Some of them had slogans on them like “Corrects potty mouth!” and “Automatically adjusts!” Ultimately she picked up a blue one that, if the package was to be trusted, read “Ergonomic shape, breathable design.”

 

She held the package up briefly for him to see and said low. “As long as you watch your mouth, we'll never have to use this.” and it went into the buggy behind him.

 

Ohhhhh ….. kayyyy... that was very strange. Something told him that he would be much happier not knowing what that was about.

 

And then they were off again down rows of brightly colored bottles. The constant changes in this place were so extreme that John felt like he was getting some sort of whiplash.

 

Amanda was humming now as she went to a bottle marked “Jimson's” bubble bath and she popped the top and gave it a smell. She wrinkled her nose and put it back on the shelf immediately. She then grabbed a different one and held it out for John to smell. “Tell me what you think!”

 

He gave it a whiff. It smelled like strawberries. “It smells good.” and in the cart it went.

 

The smell of strawberries left his nose as a much stronger smell passed by. A large brown haired woman walked by with a sniffling little in the cart in front of her. She was crying as they went by “It's not my fault, I've never messed myself before! I didn't mean to, it just happened please please don't take my ….” and then they were gone around the corner.

 

Rupert got a good squeeze. Johns chest was shaking now. All of him was shaking. When had that started? A large hand entered his view and picked up the pacifier dangling from the strap on his shirt and held it up, poking his lips with it. He leaned back a bit but when it followed him he gave up and opened his mouth.

 

Now they were off again, and this time moving much faster. Within seconds they were in an aisle with brightly colored medicine bottles. All of them different shades of pastel. He barely registered when a bottle of ratchet raccoon brand chewable multi vitamins went into the cart behind him.

 

As he started to calm down for probably the third time he looked around to see that they had passed through a section marked 'Maternity' and Amanda was not showing him any items, she was picking out something for herself. As she placed a box gently behind him he caught a glimpse of the label. An Automatic breast pump.

 

Johns eyebrows shot up, but he chose not to say anything. What could he have said? Nothing seemed best.

 

And now they were in a large wide open section with little mock set ups of bedrooms. Finally to the main reason they were here. As they rolled into the section they slowed to a stroll.

 

With a smile, she told him “Okay Sweety, let's pick a bedroom set, that way it all comes together and it will match. So let's see...”

 

They stopped at the first set. It was … VERY pink. Amanda mumbled as she just stepped past that mock setup of a bedroom. Next they came to a stop at a bedroom set that looked SO blue that John had to squint to look at it. Instead of a bed there was a crib and changing table. It was … like someone took baby blue and electrified it.

 

“So what do you think of this color?”

 

He looked up at her and just stammered out “Uhhhhhhh.... umm... it ...”

 

Thankfully she picked up the hint and said “Yeah … it's a bit loud. We'll find you a color you like.” and kept walking. She hadn't picked up the correct hint, but at least the eye piercing blue set was behind them now. So at least it was a small victory.

 

Before they could make it to a third mock bedroom, a tall blond woman in slacks and a shirt with a small steel colored name tag strode over to them. She greeted Amanda with a smile and a nod “Hello! I'm Ella. Is there anything we can help you with today?”

 

Amanda paused for a moment before admitting “Well … We have an appointment for a half an hour from now. I was just wanting to show my son the color choices and have him pick the color for himself.”

 

Ella nodded along and declared “Oh! One moment, please!” and walked away to a nearby desk and came back with a hand held tablet. “Okay so you would be Miss Taylor?”

 

Amanda nodded “That is me, yes.”

 

Ella smiled “I can help you make any selections and explain how the new furniture features work. Are you looking for anything in particular?”

 

Amanda nodded in response “Yes Ma'am. I need an entire bedroom set with a desk and two chairs in his size. As well as delivery and setup, which I have reserved.”

 

John looked back and forth as the two talked over his head. Quite literally, in this case. His attention was pulled to the right as he heard a scream and an unmistakable smack off in the distance. It was quick, but it disappeared, buried off in the distance and endless rows of mountainous shelves.

 

As his attention was pulled back to his surroundings, he heard Amanda explaining “I'm sorry, he's a bit distracted. He's new to our dimension and was adopted just today. He told me earlier that his favorite color is green.”

 

Oh! They wanted his input on color. This was his chance to actually participate, so he chimed in “Oh! I like the green of my carseat. Does that help?”

 

Ella laughed now “There he is. He was lost in space for a bit. What color is his carseat and we can go from there.”

 

Amanda placed a large, warm hand on top of his head and left it there. “His carseat is hunter green with some gray and yellow shapes.”

 

John tried to turn his head but there were fingers idly rubbing his scalp so he stayed put as he heard Ella behind him “We only have two different bedroom sets in stock in hunter green. That is a very mature color for a little, so we don't stock very many options. If you'll follow me, please.”

 

And then the hand was off of his head and the shopping cart was moving along. He tried to see down the rows, but it felt like he was gazing down a long warehouse in any direction. He knew this place was big but he accidentally asked out loud “How big is this place?”

 

“We are the largest littles specialty store in the region. This is location is not the largest Littles R Us, but we are pretty big. Now Miss Taylor, our first option in the color you are looking for is this bedroom set here where the bed is over the desk. It's a space saving all in one affair. This leaves room for a fun bean bag or a big fluffy rug for your little guy to play on. How tall are your ceilings?”

 

Amanda had to think for a moment before answering “The ceiling in his room is pretty low. If I recall correctly it is about ...” and she held her hand up above her head a few feet “Thirteen feet.”

 

Ella smiled now “Oh, you may love this then because the sides go up to twelve feet, which means that rambunctious little ones can't climb up and fall out and get hurt. The sides being so close to the ceiling means that even if they could get to the top somehow, the ceiling stops them from climbing over. Something to think about.”

 

John, meanwhile was staring at the bed like a raised prison and asked “Ummm... where is the ladder to climb up to the top bunk?”

 

Both giant women started at him “What ladder?” asked Ella.

 

That had him at a loss for words “Umm.... the ladder for me to climb in and out?”

 

Ella just looked to Amanda and back. She stepped over to the 'bed' (Which John was now convinced was both a crib and a prison) and then worked some latch that he couldn't see and the front side slid all the way down. This meant that the bed was at the height of the big womans ribs. It also conveniently blocked anyone at the bottom in where they would be stuck in the desk until the rails were raised up to let them out.

 

Ella proudly elaborated “Your Mommy just picks you up and puts you in the bed. Then she gives you a big hug and kiss goodnight and slides the rails back up like this.” then she looked back to Amanda “Also, if you would like, the desk can be left out of the price and you can actually put a bean bag or a futon below. My daughter has this bed in pink and I put a futon below it and she just covered it with stuffies. It's adorable.”

 

Amanda looked down and locked eyes with John “Well, what do you think? Do you want to see the other option first?”

 

Another option. SURELY that option will be more sane. “A... Mom, may we see the other option, please?”

 

Amanda nodded “Of course we may. It's important to see all the options.”

 

Ella clapped a little “Oh he's so polite! Come, come! You're going to love the other set even more!” and with that she was off at a brisk pace. John could really only see Amanda walking quickly to keep up. Or maybe it just seemed that they were moving quickly because of the size difference.

 

They walked past a frog themed bedroom set that looked like a color John could only think of as electrified slime. Please don't stop please don't stop plea... oh thank you for not stopping. That one looks so pastel that it must have been in a pepto bismol accident. Oh lord, how did they make something THAT yellow!? John had to squint as they walked past that particular bedroom set.

 

Finally they stopped at a small section walled in by a half wall to frame the space and Ella made a little motion and said “Ta-da! This set is one of our newest and very best. It has a couple of interesting options that the company reps are super excited about!”

 

John looked over the set. It was way less terrifying than the raised floor to ceiling cage. It had a desk that looked a lot sturdier than anything he had ever owned. Even though the sides were comically rounded. In fact the only deal breaker was the fact that the bed had rails going around it.

 

He must have looked interested because Amanda interrupted his thoughts “Here, let's get you out of the cart so you can go take a look.”

 

While he felt himself being lifted up and out, he could hear Ella the saleswoman, that John was starting to think of as “Sella” because she was just so excited about all of this, praising Amanda.

 

“Miss Taylor, that is very sweet. Most parents just pick for their children. Young man, would you like to come and sit at the desk?” Ella asked.

 

John realized now that she didn't know his name, and didn't seem interested. He had the distinct impression that to this woman he had about as much importance as a doll. He looked up at Amanda totally unsure of what to do, but Amanda just leaned and gave him a little pat on the bottom “Go sit at the desk, sweety”

 

So having been in the cart with his legs separated by the metal bars for almost an hour now, John waddled a bit before he managed to walk almost normally and flopped down in the chair. The chair was... perfect for his height. It looked like a kiddy chair. An it had an indentation under his butt to account comfortably for his diaper.

 

“Huh.” was all he could say.

 

Ella (or Sella) leaned down so that her was was a foot from his “What's that little fella?”

 

He leaned back a bit, his hands shaking some “Umm... for the first time since coming here There is something that fits me. That's just kind of nice.”

 

(S)Ella had a grin like a fox that found a box of chicken nuggets on legs running right into its mouth now “Well Young man, if you look to the left you will find storage for your coloring books, and there is a drawer underneath the middle, go ahead and give that a pull.”

 

So … he pulled it out and … ugh. Of course. He mumbled “That's a lot of crayons.”

 

“Yes it is, this desk has holders for over FIVE HUNDRED crayons.”

 

John wasn't even on the verge of a panic attack anymore He was just plain indignant. Fine, he thought to at least try to catch her off guard “Umm... hey do color pencils exist in this dimension?”

 

Finally Ella missed a beat and then looked to Amanda “You know, Momma. If you have an aspiring artist here, we can throw in a deluxe set of colored pencils for free with the desk.”

 

John slumped. 'Okay, I should have seen that coming' he thought to himself.

 

Amanda, of course, just seemed excited about John wanting to color and he could hear her excitement “Oh yes please, that's a great idea! We'll have to do that no matter what! John, what kind of coloring books would you like?”

 

Ugh. It just keeps getting worse. John slumped until his forehead was on the desk and he just mumbled “Freakin' Robots.”

 

John meant one thing. The two giants heard another. Ella was already tapping at her tablet before saying “Okay Momma, if you'll step over here, I want to show you the best features of the new crib. If you press this latch here …. yes, that slides the side down like you're used to.”

 

Amanda had pressed some sort of latch that John couldn't see and the side went down so that she could comfortably reach inside.

 

“Now go ahead and pull it back up. Okay, now just grab here and pull.”

 

Amanda pulled on … some spot... and then the front swung out in two parts like a gate.

 

(S)Ella was giggling enthusiastically “This crib features the dual gate system. So you can swing it open and that makes changing sheets a breeze, as well as you can reach your son without having to bend over the side rail. AND the mattress that it comes with it is very soft. Do you want to lay your son in it and see how comfortable it is for him?”

 

Before John could even think to protest he was airborne, horizontal, and then laying down on the mattress. It was like laying on a giant firm pillow. Parts of him sunk in. Not too much, but it felt pretty good. It was actually kind of comfortable.

 

There was a clack-clack to his right and then the gate was closed and he had a five foot tall slat wall all the way around him. It seemed slightly taller than the playpen he had woken up in this morning.

 

John tried to stand up, but every time he put his weight on two spots he would sink so much that he wound up back on his hands and knees. He tried again and wound up right back on his hands and knees a second time. It was like every time all his weight was on two spots the mattress was suddenly TOO soft.

 

And apparently being on hands and knees in the bed … who was he kidding, it was crib. Being on hands and knees in the the crib must have been a cute spectacle for the two giants because they (mostly Ella) were smiling at him.

 

So he tried the next best thing. His breath was quickening a bit and he could feel himself getting worked up. So he grabbed one side of the gate with both hands and pushed. He pushed HARD. He was panting and shaking, but he just kept sliding on the mattress. He pushed and twisted and shoved until his vision started getting little spots in it and he couldn't breath. Not only did they not notice, the stupid crib didn't even make a creaking sound. It was like pushing on a tree.

 

So John just flopped onto his side, panting, and asked “Okay so what if, and hear me out on this. What if this bed had no rails.” He was feeling his chest get tight and his hands shake from the effort of trying and failing to stand up and then push the gate open.

 

Amanda just shook her head, but Ella was confused and asked “You mean like if it had mesh walls? We have a option with a special kevlar mesh blend for the sides. It's easy to see through unlike rails, and so slick that it is completely impossible for bad babies to climb up. Momma, would you be interested in that? It costs a bit extra, but it's definitely a worthwhile upgrade.”

 

While Amanda was agreeing to the upgrade, John flopped onto his back and looked at the ceiling that seemed fifty feet above him and mumbled to himself “Every time I try it gets worse. I just want a regular bed.”

 

“But sweety, this is a regular bed.”

 

He nodded up at the ceiling “Of course it is.”

 

Now he could hear (S)Ella firing up the next sales pitch “And this changing table has a really useful feature. Brand new to the market! Do you see these two foam padded bars sticking up on the sides? The moment you lay a little down on this table these things go soft and flop down. And to release it you press this on the front of it here.”

 

John rolled onto his side where he was looking through rails because they hadn't thought to open the side of the crib that he couldn't even stand in. The changing table looked functionally like the one or two others that he had seen since coming here. Except on either side there was what looked just … like a pool noodle sticking up on either side.

 

Ella just powered on “and in this drawer you have these two patented 'little holders' and they just snap into place here and ….. click here. They go into place, and the moment little wrists hits the mechanism inside of it, it pops closed. And you just squeeze the base of it to unlatch their hands. They're actually based on toy that big teenagers straighten out and slap onto their wrist. If you believe the advertisement, one of the engineers kept having to take them off of littles that kept getting their wrists stuck together. Would you care to see a demonstration?”

 

Amanda looked a bit dubious, but he could tell that she was interested. “Is it easier on him than the chest straps? He tends to squirm a little.”

 

Ella nodded enthusiastically “It's much easier on them because unlike a chest strap, it's surrounded by padding. It can't pinch them or leave a bruise no matter how much they squirm. If you're going to get this set, you will need ot know how it works anyway.”

 

He couldn't see whether or not Amanda nodded, but a moment later the gate swung open effortlessly and there was a smiling blond head filled his view. He saw and felt two giant hands closing in on his sides. That was enough of that.

 

John started scrambling to try to get up and run off, but the strange mattress slipped him up and he went face first toward the rails on the back of the crib. About an inch before his face slammed into the rail full force, the two large hands snatched him out of the crib up and up into the air, flailing and hyperventilating.

 

He heard “Careful little guy!” while he went, twisting and flailing through the air.

 

As he went onto the changing table back down he could hear Amanda saying “Careful, he panics easily!”

 

And the instant his shoulders hit the changing table the two foam poles just went limp like string and fell over his chest and upper arms. The moment they landed on him they wouldn't move up any more, and every time he squirmed around and part of him went lower, they just went lower on top of him until he was pinned completely flat to the padded top.

 

Hyperventilating now and just trying to get loose, he couldn't even make out the giant blonde standing over him trying to calm him down and fumbling to get to the release button. While he was fighting against the table he balled up his fists and tried to slam them down and push back against the table.

 

Only instead of hitting the table he felt soft plastic coil around his wrists and refuse to let go.

 

And then Amanda, his giant, filled his view. She grabbed the pacifier hanging from the strap on his shirt and shoved it into the top of a small tin, gave it a shake and pulled it out fast as lightning. And within ten seconds of him hitting the changing table he was trying to turn his head to keep a pacifier out of his mouth. Pinned as he was, however, she had no trouble at all getting it into his mouth and suddenly he tasted ….

 

Huh. Strawberries. Okay.

 

No! John fought it and tried to spit it out, but there was one single finger holding it into his mouth. He tried pulling his wrists away from the table and pushing down with his feet.

 

He took a slower breath.

 

Okay.

 

So maybe the taste of strawberries was good.

 

He gave one last half hearted flex against the foam bars before flopping back limply.

 

The finger on the back of the pacy was pushing and letting go and pushing and letting go again. When had that started? Oh, that's why he was sucking on the strawberry flavoring.

 

Yeah.

 

John didn't notice that he took a long, slow breath through his nose and the finger holding the pacy in his mouth moved away. Feeling honestly kind of petulant he started pushing the pacifier back out of his mouth the second the large finger moved. An before it made it halfway out the finger was back on it. This time she didn't seem to trust him enough to remove it as she turned to speak to the other giant.

 

So with one last pull against the restraints, he finally gave up and just went completely limp, looking up at the ceiling in the distance. As he stopped struggling he could start making out the conversation happening above him.

 

Amanda was standing by his head looking to the saleswoman and saying “No no, it's not your fault. He has panic attacks. You stopped him from breaking his nose by grabbing him. So thank you very much for that!”

 

And then there was Ella, who John had for some reason decided to call (S)Ella still apologizing profusely “Okay, I'm still sorry that it happened like this. I just saw him going face first and I honestly was just going to sit him on the changing table and he started squirming and thrashing and I almost dropped him. Are you sure it's okay?”

 

Without moving the finger on her left hand from the pacifier, she reached out with her right hand and put it on Ella's shoulder “Hey. You didn't mean any harm and you kept my Son from hurting himself. And I think we've proven that this table works as advertised.”

 

Then, pinned by the strange bars that flopped over onto him and conformed to him and forced to look up and not move his head by a giant finger holding the pacy in his mouth perfectly still, John saw a large familiar face fill his view as his own giant leaned over him with a warning scowl.

 

She said softly but with a very unmistakable warnign in her tone “Baby boy, don't you think you should apologize to the poor woman that you scared?”

 

He gave what little nod that he could and the finger moved up, then tapped the back of the pacifier in his mouth. He was thinking slowly for some reason, but that felt like a warning to not try to spit it out again.

 

He took a deep breath and said as best he could around the pacy “I'm thowwy.”

 

The blond giant came over and leaned down, half hugging him on the table “I'm sorry you got scared. I'm glad you didn't get hurt.”

 

Feeling a bit loopy from whatever that strawberry stuff was that made him calm, he couldn't stop his impulse to try to be a smart mouth again. “Hey, inthtead of a bed, what if I jutht get a giant piwwow and thweep on that?”

 

Both of the giants cooed at that, and he thought 'there's no way that they didn't hear what they wanted'

 

“Sweety, we can get you a great big pillow for your crib.” said one voice

 

Meanwhile another voice declared “I think I can throw you a big pillow into the order, if your Mommy will allow it.”

 

They looked at each other and nodded.

 

He just closed his eyes and mumbled “I think we have communication pwobwemth”

 

Amanda leaned down now and gave him a kiss on the forehead and then turned to Ella and said “Okay, so me the price for this set.”

 

Ella simply nodded and flipped the tablet around to show Amanda the price of the set. Amanda whistled “That's a bit more than I expected, but it's manageable.”

 

Ella nodded as she explained “Well, this is one of the deluxe sets. You obviously see the safety features of the changing table. And the bed with the mesh walls costs a bit extra. The mattress even has built in safety features to discourage littles from getting hurt by jumping on the bed. The second chair is actually affordable, and they are both made to accommodate littles in thick diapers. And this set also comes with a stool with a removable padded top. He can use it to turn the light switch on like a big boy and if he's bad, you can use the padded top for kneeling in time out. We have to discipline our children, but it doesn't mean that we don't love them.”

 

He could see Amanda nodding along with every word she said “Well, let's toss in some extra coloring books for my little niece and I think that we'll be done here. Do I pay for all of this up front?”

 

John tried to look up at the saleswoman now but could barely move because of how deep he'd pushed himself in struggling against the bars. He could just hear “No Ma'am, you can pay for all of this here and we can even take your cart and deliver everything to your house for you at the same time.”

 

He could see his own giant nodding though “Okay, let's get him up and go over to your desk and pay.”

 

And just like that, there was a movement to one side and the two bars pinning him down just popped right back up. He had struggled himself so deep into the padded top that he felt himself rise up a couple of inches when the bars let go of him. He finally lifted himself up a bit to look down at what was holding his wrists.

 

It was a slap bracelet on a little pole.

 

He flopped back onto the changing table. Even with the medicine somehow forcing him to be very calm, he still felt a bit indignant. Somehow being trapped by a toy bracelet just seemed wrong. And Amanda reaching and opening them back up with a quick squeeze just made it even worse after he had pulled with all of his might.

 

He was then lifted up and onto a shoulder with his head pressed against her neck. He could feel his heart rate slowing back down. He was very calm. He closed his eyes for a moment. He opened them back up.

 

John shook his head no while he was carried and then his giant sat them down at a desk … in a rocking chair. Struggling to stay awake he felt himself being rocked gently back and forth against a large wam body.

 

He closed his eyes again, this time mumbling “Awe you kidding me” as best he could around the pacy in his mouth.

 

He refused to fall asleep this time.

 

The last thing he remembered was the saleswoman saying “Aww, someone is tuckered out.”

[Guilend]

That was a fantastic chapter. I expected him to see everything that he did. I'm glad they got lucky with the saleswoman because if it had probably been anyone else it could've gotten real bad, real fast. I think Amanda did a good job. She needed to show she was in control and in charge so she had to appear more icey. I'm glad she found a balance between being able to help him during his panic attacks and still appear to other bigs that she was capable of taking care of him.

[christi]

Another good addition.

[Kat5]

Okay, I'm going to be honest. I'm not even going to try to hide my southern belle accent like I usually do online.

Y'all, I have no idea how I've wound up with 17 chapters of a story written and posted, and halfway through 18. I just woke up one day with a story in my head and I tried to ignore it for three days and it was like being pushed by a spring. I just HAD to write it. And I was SUPER nervous about sharing it because I'd never done this before. I haven't even written anything outside of user manuals for years.

 

And with that in mind, I want to say, and I really mean this deeply:

 

Thank Y'all for the encouraging words. I hope to create something of acceptable quality and share the story that I have in my head. All of your comments honestly mean a lot to me, and I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge that. As well as honestly admit that I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing but just doing it anyway.

[dlgore]

Thanks for taking the time to write.  I’m enjoying your story so far and looking forward to more.  You’re doing a great job for your first story.  

[christi]

Kat, thanks for sharing both your thoughts and time with all of us.  I've heard other authors say (write) that the characters live in their head and they're just telling the story.  It takes a lot of effort to write as much as you have, and it's appreciated.

[CDfm]

I just managed to get to this story.  I am loving it.  It’s so sweet, one could be in danger of developing diabetes just reading it.  
Seriously, this truly is a wonderful story.  John was facing a unimaginable situation and like Kate said, they both got very lucky. 
Now that I am aware of this story I will be watching for more of it. 

[Guilend]

I second (or third? Lol) what everyone else has said. This really is a sweet story. And thank you for sharing it with us. I understand about the thoughts not letting up till you write them. I did that once, but I got to chapter 20 something and my living situation got bad and I've never finished it. I've now lost all of it somehow, unless I decide to copy and past what I have on here already posted and finish it that way. I might do that. I've just need to get back into the drive to do it lol.

I can't wait to see where this goes and I hope this is a first of many stories you write. 

[Dirkimaus]

Einfach toll, weiter so.

[ozziebee]

Hmm... this last chapter got quite dark, quite out the blue, which was thoroughly unexpected, given how sensitive and caring Amanda has been to date.  Yet, she chooses a change table with restraints, causing John to lash out and have an anxiety attack.  Totally not necessary a function I feel.  She doesn't need to be cruel to him, and hasn't been to date - so why the restraints?

[Kat5]

Chapter Eighteen

 

Amanda rocked back and forth softly in the rocking chair with her little John out cold on top of her, gently patting his bottom as she rocked.

 

“Yeah, he's had a long day. I think he needs to head home for a nap in his playpen while the delivery crew comes and sets up his bedroom.” She explained quietly to the nice Saleswoman that had been so helpful to them.

 

Ella nodded back to her and said in a loud whisper “Don't worry, let's just get a count of doors and a guess of how many cabinets you have for me to put in your work order and they can head out and start on the delivery right after you get home. There is an LPS representative that will oversee any child proofing that they require. Usually just cabinet locks and the like. Is there anything else you would like to add to the order before we run this through?”

 

Amanda looked down at John, considering for a moment “Let's see … plenty of coloring books for him and his friend?”

 

“Yes Ma'am.”

 

“Would you please add him a queen sized pillow? I know it'll be bigger than him, but I think he'll enjoy it. He naps on top of the dog already.” Amanda couldn't help grinning as she explained the last part.

 

Ella was already tapping on the tablet and added quietly “Done and done. Also do you have any pictures?”

 

Now removing her hand from patting a sleeping booty, she pulled out her phone and waved Ella over and showed her the picture of him sleeping with Xerxes with a blanket over them both. Then she whispered “watch this” and showed her the video of him handing an acorn to a squirrel.

 

“Okay, try not to wake him up laughing, but ...” And then of course she showed Ella the video of him climbing Xerxes, getting busted, and being bowled over by the ballistic tail.

 

Ella actually walked away for a moment so that she wouldn't wake up the sleeping little by laughing. When she came back she said quietly “Okay, that was hilarious. I need to focus a bit or I'll get into trouble. Let me bring up your total and line up the delivery team.”

 

Amanda remembered something “Oh, can you roll that cart closer please? I have a paper from the Adoption Center to give you.”

 

A moment later she had it out and handed it over to Ella who stopped to read it. “I … need to get the manager to put this code in ...”

 

Amanda leaned and whispered “Is there a problem?”

 

To which Ella replied “No Ma'am. We just don't see these often. But your delivery is going to be half price. And She may head out herself to do the LPS inspection as a favor.”

 

Amanda's eyebrows went up briefly before she contained her surprise “Oh. Well that's honestly a really big help with the bill.”

 

Ella slid the tablet closer so that she could see the total. “I'll say, that's pretty significant. If you don't need anything else, just put your finger right here on this box an I'll take your shopping cart to the delivery crew. Do you need anything out of it before I take it?”

 

Amanda look at the shopping cart and thought for a moment, then patted John on the bottom, noticing that it was growing warm now that he was asleep. It seemed like he could control himself when he was awake, but the moment he fell asleep he went from dry to soaked every time.

 

She reached over and pushed her fingerprint against the reader, explaining “I just need my diaper bag and his stuffie.”

 

Ella walked over to the shopping cart and retrieved the diaper bag for her and helped her get it onto the shoulder, and said “I'll bring this to the back now, and they should be on the way in about an hour.” and paused while Ella slipped Rupert into the diaper bag. And then Ella joined the scored of people that could not resist the urge to ruffle his unruly hair.

 

With a quiet laugh, Amanda admitted “No one can resist that hair. It's like a magnet.”

 

Ella grew a big smirk “It's just so messy, but it looks so good messy that it would almost be a shame to brush it. Almost. He seems like a good kid, maybe a tad sarcastic.”

 

With a nod, she responded “He's only been here for a few days. We're going to work on that together, he and I. Now, is there anything else we need to do before I take a sleepy little boy home?”

 

The saleswoman shook her head “No Ma'am, the crew will be out with a full child proofing kit. The system has already scanned and accounted for the contents of your shopping cart. We have run your card for the furniture set and everything you picked up. I hope that you have a pleasant drive home!”

 

With a nod, Amanda carefully scooted forward in the rocking chair and stood up without disturbing her sleeping passenger. Looking down at the rocking chair she made a quick decision “Hey. Add one of those to my order.”

 

After some tapping and a quick “Yes Ma'am!” from the saleswoman, Amanda was on her way. To the front, and cruising happily out of the door.

 

“Okay, the delivery service is expensive, but absolutely worth it.” she mused to herself as she made it to the car and slid John into his carseat.

 

She undid a couple of snaps on his shortalls and checked his diaper, but decided that it was only a little wet and he's probably going to wet more while he sleeps anyway. So she slid the diaper bag onto the floorboard in front of his seat and shut the door as quietly as she could manage. Around on the drivers side she got into her seat and shut the door as softly as she could manage to get it to latch fully.

 

Amanda looked up at the mirror and then reached down and back to get Rupert out of the diaper bag and lay it on top of her sleeping little. She couldn't help but smile as one of his arms went around the stuffie in his sleep.

 

“He's going to be fine here. “ she said to herself as she started the car and backed out of the parking spot. Pulling onto the highway she checked to make sure that she still had plenty of gas left and settled in for a twenty five minute drive.

 

Still being a new Mommy, she felt the need to make a mental check list, speaking softly to herself. “Okay, sneak him into playpen, put Xerxes in guard mode, check work emails and … I should have just enough time for afternoon coffee before the delivery crew gets th..”

 

She was interrupted by a brief snore behind her and looked up to see a pacy fall out of a mouth.

 

She clapped her left hand over her mouth and mumbled “Don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh” before a snicker finally escaped.

 

When they got home she slipped out of the car and opened the gate, hurriedly shushing a barking dog and pointing to the field by the nearby stream “Go potty!” and watched Xerxes sprint off while she rolled her eyes.

 

Within minutes she was inside and John was laying in the playpen on his side with his arms wrapped around his stuffie and a blanket over him. She looked at the desk on one side of the living room, and the kitchen with the coffee maker on the other side of the living room.

 

“Momma's going to have an interesting time squeezing work in.” she said to herself while she snuck quietly across the house to get coffee making.

 

 

 

 

John woke up feeling a bit groggy and rubbed his eyes. There was something over his head. Feeling it and taking in a deep yawn, it smelled like Amanda. Oh, it was the throw blanket that she uses on the couch all the time. He tried to just stretch his arms and legs out to find the edge of it, but apparently he had rolled himself up in it.

 

After a few more moments of squirming, he had his head out from under the blanket and looked around to find himself back in the playpen. Rolling a bit and trying to push himself into the upright position, he couldn't help but feel his 'undies' were thicker than he remembered. He reached down under the covers and gave it an experimental poke.

 

It obviously wasn't 'full' but it was clearly wet. John quickly decided that he did not like that sensation of having wet himself and being stuck with it. So he spread his knees out wide and used the mesh side of the playpen to stand up. Irritatingly the solid part at the top of the playpen was at the same height of his eyes. He had a feeling that most littles in this dimension would be able to at least see over it. This only made him a bit grumpier.

 

“Aman...umm... Mom?” he called. May as well play it safe.

 

“Yes sweety? Did you have a good nap?” he could hear her respond from the kitchen.

 

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he realized he couldn't remember how he got home. “I think I did? I umm... I think I had an accident.”

 

He could smell coffee and hear the clinking of cups hitting the counter before she responded “Well sweety, I think you've had an accident every time you've fallen asleep since I've met you. I'm not saying that I don't believe that you didn't have them before. But it's okay that you do now. I'll get you checked here in just a minute. The delivery crew will be pulling up soon.”

 

He couldn't help but frown at the implication that people were coming and he was in a wet diaper. He was also dreadfully thirsty.

 

Then he heard “I have a surprise for you! While you were napping at the doctors office, I asked the RN if you could have coffee!”

 

Okay, that cheered him up a lot. He awkwardly jumped and pulled himself up onto the rail and got his arms over it, leaving his legs dangling. It was hard, but he could finally see her over in the kitchen. He also heard a rhythmic thumping sound and looked down to see Xerxes with his back against the playpen.

 

Okay, between the promise of coffee and his best buddy being right next to him, he felt his mood was greatly improved.

 

He made a little whistle to Xerxes, who then stood up, his tail slapping the playpen. John bit his lip and tried reaching down to grab the dogs collar.... he stretched.... his fingers just barely grazed it …

 

And then two large hands lifted him into the air and one held him while the other gave him a firm swat on the bottom that he felt even through the diaper.

 

“No Sir. That will definitely get you a solid spanking.” and then while he was still airborne he was flipped around and some snaps at his crotch were undone and he felt his diaper being squeezed.

 

“Okay, you're only a bit wet, and you're not messy. Let's get the delivery crew inside and started before we get you changed.” And with that she redid the snaps at his crotch one handed before depositing him on the floor upright.

 

“Xerxes: Keep.” she said and walked to the kitchen.

 

“Umm...” John tried to puzzle out what that meant for the dog.

 

“John, why don't you come over here to the kitchen?” she asked with a smirk.

 

So that's just what he did. He started waddling around the side of the couch. As he passed the front door he felt teeth grabbing the back of his shortalls and pulling him right back to the rug.

 

He turned to squint at his big furry buddy... and then ran awkwardly around the other side of the couch. He made it exactly two steps past the couch before he was dragged back to the center of the room again.

 

In a fit of the dramatic, he flopped onto the floor with his arms crossed. He grimaced as his butt hit the floor with a bit of a squish, but didn't say anything.

 

Amanda was completely unphased as she walked into the living room and offered him a bottle with a smile. He frowned at the bottle, but reached out and took it. The bottle was just big enough that he had to take it with both hands. Apparently he must have had an indignant look because she shook her head.

 

He dared to ask “But … why a bottle?”

 

Amanda just smiled down at him “This is what the nurse said to do. I follow their instructions. Unless you don't want any coffee?”

 

Begrudgingly, he lifted the bottle up and put the nipple up to his mouth and gave it a test suck. His eyes went wide when he did.

 

“Hey, this is is coffee milk.” he observed out loud.

 

He watched Amanda nod along “Yes, it is. This is what the RN said that you can have.”

 

John decided to try his luck a little bit “May I try some straight coffee?”

 

Much to his surprise, Amanda simply smiled and said “You may certainly try a sip of straight coffee.” and walked over to the kitchen counter and got her own coffee mug. She knelt down and said I'll hold it, you take a sip.”

 

So, sure enough John slid the bottle under one of his arms and pinned it to his side and leaned to put his mouth to the edge of the coffee cup. As she tilted the cup he got the smallest of sips.

 

UGH! That was BITTER.

 

John immediately took a step back, lifted the bottle with coffee milk to his lips and started sucking it down. Something about the milk tasted really good anyway!

 

He went at the bottle with reckless abandon and eventually noticed that he was sitting on the floor with the bottle turned up above his head, leaning back against Xerxes. He stopped and looked at Amanda now sitting on the couch, sipping her coffee with a smile. Just then there was a knock on the door.

 

Amanda got up off of the couch, coffee cup in hand, and opened the door.

 

She greeted the people at the door with a big smile “Hello! Welcome! Please come in, I made a fresh pot of coffee, if you would like some.”

 

John watched as three people entered.

 

One woman dressed in a business casual look, with slacks and a blouse, with her hair in a high, tight bun full of brown hair. She introduced herself “Hello Miss Taylor, I am Miss Bairn. I manage the Littles R Us and I am here to sign off for your LPS inspection when we are done. As a favor to the director I am here personally just to make sure that you have no surprises from LPS later.” This woman was slightly taller than Amanda.

 

Behind her a man with dirty blonde hair that was even taller than Miss Bairn stepped through the door and introduced himself as “Hello Ma'am, I'm Tom. If you don't mind, I'll take you up on that cup of coffee and take a drink every so often while we work.”

 

And behind HIM entered a mountain of a man with fiery red hair. Even though the door was already made for giants, he had to tilt his head slightly to walk through it. Easily more than twelve feet tall and sporting a happy go lucky grin, he nodded and greeted Amanda politely “Miss Taylor, My name is Mike. We're here to make your delivery.” and then he turned to look directly at John.

 

The grin on Mikes face turned into a full blown smile as he stepped over about five feet from John and went down on one knee, announcing “Look at my little man here with his big ol' dog! Put here there little guy!” and he held out his hand, his arm easily reaching across the five foot gap.

 

For some reason John couldn't help smiling and holding out his hand. Which was then just completely engulfed by the hand of this happy giant and shaken gently. The giant red haired man with a slight trimmed beard gave him a wink and said softly now “My Man, you got a pretty Momma, a big fluffy dog, a fresh bottle, and a head full of hair that every woman is going to want to mess with. You're not doing half bad for yourself are you?”

 

John was so caught up in the enthusiasm that he just shook his head, going along with what the man was saying. Mike then stood up and nodded down at John “Don't worry little Man, we're going to set you up the best bedroom in the house!”

 

John heard the manager chime in “Mister Guile, if you are quite ready to get to work?”

 

With a hearty laugh Mike turned around “Absolutely ready Miss B! And Miss Taylor, if you would be so kind as to show us where you want your furniture set up, we'll get you set up in no time! Also about that coffee...”
 

The next few moments were a flurry of activity. John watched the mountain of a man stand up, accept a cup of the same coffee that he had just had a sip of, and the man turned and winked at him before downing the entire cup in one go like no more than a giant shot glass.

 

And then Amanda was showing the two giant men the empty room. That left him alone and looking up at the professional looking woman. Somehow he couldn't help but notice that he was still holding the bottle.

 

John couldn't look away from her eyes as she smiled down at him. All he manage to say was an “Ummmmm....” as he put the bottle down and slid it awkwardly behind him.

 

His reward for his awkwardness was that the woman smirked at him and said “Go ahead and finish your bottle little one, you wouldn't want your milk to spoil.”

 

He grumbled to himself “It's coffee milk” as he picked the bottle back up and turned it upside down. As the milk hit his tongue he tuned out the entire world again until it was empty and he was leaning back into Xerxe's side. He could feel the caffeine waking him up, but he could also feel the belly full of milk kind slowing him down. A net gain as far as he could tell. He had coffee. Mostly.

 

He came back to his senses as Amanda walked by and took the empty bottle from him on her way through the living room back to the kitchen. He could see Miss Bairn speaking quietly with her while she cleaned out the bottle in the sink He could see her pointing to the lower cabinets and pulling on a few drawers.

 

John watched the front door open and stay open as the dirty blonde giant named Tom walked in holding two tool boxes. Following him in holding out a pre-assembled part of bed out in front of him with one hand like it was no more than a piece of cardboard was Mike. As Tim walked past the counter, Mike winked over at John again and picked up Toms coffee cup and knocked it back and placed it down silently onto the coaster. At no point did he ever slow his stride.

 

John covered his mouth trying to hide his smile, feeling like he was in on something secret.

 

Mike seemed like a lot of fun, and within a moment he was on his way back out the front door, tilting his head to prevent from hitting the door frame with his forehead as he went through. Sounds of a drill came from the soon-to-be bedroom.

 

John couldn't resist. He stood up and waddled over to the side of the couch and tried to peek into the room to see what was going on, only to find himself being dragged back onto the middle of the big rug by his traitorous canine friend.

 

John turned to stare at Xerxes, oblivious to the two women giggling behind him at the counter.

 

John huffed out “Fine!” and waddled indignantly over to the couch. He stared at the couch cushion at chest height for a moment as he saw Mike go by carrying two parts that were obviously sides of a crib behind the couch.

 

Hah. John had an idea. He turned and whistled at Xerxes and patted the floor in front of the couch. And of course the dog lumbered over and flopped down to that John could scratch at his ears. After scratching a big floppy ear for a moment, John flopped onto his bottom and immediately pulled off his socks.

 

John felt along Xerxe's side and experimentally started to climb up over his ribs, going slowly to make sure he wasn't hurting his buddy. When the dog didn't react to his weight he clambered up the dog and onto the couch. Once on the couch he used his foot to reach down and scratch a furry back gratefully before standing up on the couch and walking over to the back of it to peek over the top.

 

There waiting with a smile was the giant red haired Mike holding out a hand for a high five. John happily reached out with a full swing and slapped his palm in a high five.

 

Mike just said “Good work little man! It's a big world, you're going to have to be creative to keep your Mom on her toes!” and as he went by he picked up the third coffee mug on the counter and downed it like a shot again. As he put if down Miss Bairn said loudly “Hey, that was mine!”

 

“Sorry Mrs B, mine was empty!” He said as he went out the door without slowing down.

 

John couldn't help laughing at the antics as Miss Bairn took the coffee carafe and refilled all three cups and asked Amanda “Would you mind making another pot of coffee? Mike is incorrigible, but he has a heart of gold.”

 

Moments later Mike came back in holding the bottom half of what was obviously a changing table upright and slowed down to keep from banging it on anything as he came in. He eyed the coffee cups as he went by and smiled at John as he went past the couch.

 

John tried to pull himself up higher onto the couch to peek into the room, but all he could see was one large arm simply lifting what looked like an entire bed frame while something else was being lifted into place. He turned to look toward the counter and saw Miss Bairn showing Amanda two small white boxes with antennas on them.

 

As he turned back to look at the room, Mike was walking out with his hand out. John jumped a little and gave him another high five as he went by. And as Mike went by the counter another coffee cup was emptied in a flash. He found himself laughing at the spectacle.

 

Within a minute, Mike was back inside holding a chair and an odd tool. But instead of going to the bedroom, he veered into the living room and placed the chair on the floor.

 

“My Main man John, I need someone about your height to sit in this chair so that I can adjust the legs. Do you know anyone your size that can bravely help us out?”

 

Maybe it was the caffeine in his system. Maybe it was the bottle full of milk. Or maybe he just couldn't resist the charisma. Either way, John stood up on the couch and put a hand to his chin and said:

 

“Hmmm.”

 

Mike suddenly acted wounded “Oh. My man. My man left me hangin'. It hurts Misses B! If I die ...” He faked a gasp* “feed … my … Iguana.”

 

Miss Bairn looked up from the list that she was going over with Amanda and said, deadpan “Mike. You don't have an Iguana.”

 

The great mountain of a man sighed then “I have no help.”

 

John stood fully upright and held up a finger “I'll get an Iguana and feed it for you!”

 

That brought an eye roll from Miss Bairn, a laugh from Amanda, and a call from Tom in the bedroom “Mike if you don't hurry and assemble those chairs, you're doing the changing table by yourself!”

 

Mike laughed and said “Okay Little Man, I need to borrow you to set these legs. You're going to spend more time sitting in this chair than I am so I want it to be comfortable for you.”

 

Then Mike leans and whispered “Jump, I'll catch you.”

 

At once John was both nervous about jumping from so high, but also really enjoyed this giant playing with him. So he leaned back against the couch and got two big steps and jumped as high as he could. Which was apparently only about the mans chest height.

 

For a brief moment he was terrified. But then two hands each almost as big as his torso caught him. Then he was up on the mans shoulder like some sort of novel parrot. He was afraid to look down, so instead he looked up. The ceiling was right there.

 

Mike Whispered “Touch it. It's your only chance.”

 

So, caught up in all the fun was John that he reached up and did the most normal boy thing in any world. He touched the ceiling. Then he felt himself lower and realized that Mike had gone up on tip toes so that he could reach the ceiling.

 

And then all John knew was that he was going down. He could feel a hand under his knees and one under his back but the sensation of going down twelve feet in two seconds had him laughing uncontrollably as his feet touched the floor.

 

As a massive paw patted the chair and said “Okay my man, have a seat and I'll set this to your exact height.”

 

Even a bit giddy and drunk on milk as he was … he bit his lip looking down at the chair uncertainly “Ummm....”

 

The he heard the man say softly and seriously “Are you nervous because you're wet?”

 

All John could muster was a nod.

 

Then came the reassuring words “It's better this way, because I can set the chair so that your feet can touch even if your underwear is a couple of inches thick. Hop on, you're going to appreciate this in the long run.”

 

So, reluctantly, he sat down on the chair. His toes barely touched the floor. He heard “Hold onto the sides for me!” and he grabbed the chair on either side of his butt and held tight as he was lifted into the air with one hand chair and all. Mike put a tool up into each leg he counted “One … two... three... four ...” and then repeated with each leg. When he was placed back on the floor a moment later his feet were perfectly flat on the floor.

 

John looked down “How did you shorten the legs?”

 

Mike gave him a pat on the back “The deluxe models are made of a compound that look like wood but are stronger when compressed. Your Mom really did go all out. Now who is the other chair for?”

 

John blushed a little as he answered “My friend Kate”

 

Mike sprouted a big grin “Oh! My man has a girl coming over to visit. Very nice! How tall is your girlfriend?”

 

John felt like his face was on fire and he couldn't make words. So he just stood up and held his hand up about five inches over his head.

 

Mike gave a little salute “I promise to have your girlfriends chair perfect.” and ruffled Johns hair before standing up. He took the chair and heading into the bedroom.

 

As he stood their dumbstruck by all of this, he heard Amanda say loudly from the dining area “Okay. How much for the delivery man?” and she sounded serious.

 

Miss Bairn replied “Many have tried, but it's rare that anyone gets his number Miss Taylor. The shy ones never ask.”

 

He looked over to where they were now at the dinner table going over a list of some sort and she said “Well, I'm going to have to pretend to be brave.”

 

Now John was grinning. But the grin wasn't destined to last for long as the milk and coffee started churning in his stomach. It was immediate, like flipping a switch.

 

John couldn't think straight as he realized what was about to happen. He turned an started toward the dining area “A...” he remembered the rule about in front of people and corrected himself as he got closed “Momm Can I go to the bathroom .... I AHH!” and just like that he was being pulled backwards.

 

And his shortalls pulling him backwards was the last thing he needed. He lost a fight he had only just learned he was about to be in as he was deposited on hands and knees by Xerxes.

 

It was immediate. It was liquid. And by the time he managed to try and stop it, it was too late. It was already out of him.

 

It wasn't fair. He was having fun, people were treating him well and now he just messed himself all at once. The moment was ruined.

 

John couldn't stop himself from tearing up and he tried crawling behind the playpen to hide. He leaned back, resting his thighs on his legs and tried not to cry. He failed. But at least he was quiet about it.

 

Amanda had heard him and watched the whole thing. She was walking over to the living room when Mike walked back in and took one look at the situation and seemed to know exactly what had happened at a glance.

 

Mike intercepted Amanda and they exchanged a few words in whispers. After a few seconds Amanda nodded and made a quick dash into the bathroom.

 

And then John was looking up at Mike, who was kneeling down and ruffling his hair and speaking softly. “Hey big guy. Had an accident?”

 

John could only nod.

 

Mike continued “You're new here.”

 

It wasn't a question. John nodded again, trying to choke down the tears.

 

“You know, my man, growing up my family always fostered people like you that got lost. LPS wasn't so big back then.”

 

All he could really do was nod along.

 

He continued “So I grew up watching people just like you go through this. I bet you feel pretty down and maybe worried that we think less of you.”

 

Now he was crying for real. He knew it. He went from having fun to worthless like the flip of a switch.

 

He felt a large warm hand the size of his chest on his shoulder and heard the soft words “We all still think you're a pretty cool little dude.”

 

That made him look up. “W..what?”

 

Mike gave him a genuine smile “You're not in your home anymore. Everything is different. Bigger. Scarier. But you have a cool Mom that decided to take care of you, and she chose to adopt you. She knew that things like this are normal and you know what? She still wants to take care of you.”

 

It felt like the tears changed now. He wasn't choking on them, but they were coming out faster.

 

“Hey. My man?” Mike asked quietly.

 

“Y...yeah?”

 

“Your awesome Mom is grabbing a change and she loves you and wants nothing more than to get you cleaned up and watch you go back to being her awesome little dude. There's one thing you have to do to pay her for this.”

 

John looked a bit confused “Umm.... what's that?”

 

He felt a gentle pat on the shoulder as the giant reassured him “Give her a big ol' hug. That's all the payment she's ever going to want for taking good care of you. Can you do that?”

 

A bit dumbstruck, he could only nod. And like that Mike was standing up and calling into the room “Tom! Come on out, we're going to switch to child proofing while Miss Taylor takes care of her little man!”

 

Amanda came into his view then and knelt down and said “Hey. You're going to be okay. You ready to get changed?”

 

John just nodded mutely.

 

“Okay, let's go get glimpse of your new bedroom.” and she reached out and took him under the shoulders and backs of his thighs so as to not put any pressure on his butt. He buried his face right in her chest as she carried him to his new bedroom.

 

He was laid down on top of the changing table and just like before the padded bars flopped on top of him. This time he didn't fight at all and they just laid there comfortably on top of him. In a flash the two buckles that he couldn't undo by himself were undone and with a quick tug the straps went over his shoulder and slid right underneath him. His shortalls were gone, leaving him pinned there in just a red shirt and messy diaper.

 

Amanda didn't hesitate, she seemed like she had work to do as she ripped the tapes off and used one hand to lift his feet and the other to use the front of the diaper to scrape most of the mess off. With just a glance she reached to a box of wipes held in a little spot on the changing table and popped one out with a flick. The next thing he knew he was scrubbed clean and laid bare on the changing table.

 

It felt kind of plasticy, but kind of clothy. It was weird now that he couldn't help but notice it on his arms and butt. Before he could even process it, his legs were lifted up and a fresh diaper was slid under him. Within ten seconds he was thoroughly powdered and taped up into a fresh Little Pup.

 

John could feel Amanda bump something on the table with her knee and immediately the bars popped back upright and her hands were lifting him off of the table. The entire operation couldn't have taken two minutes.

 

Remembering his promise, he held out his arms in the universal “Hug me” motion. Immediately he had his arms around her neck, one hand holding up his bottom, and the other warm hand on his back.

 

John squeezed her in a hug and said “Thank you.”

 

Amanda patted him on the back and whispered “Any time ...” and then she laughed for a moment and added “Little man!” and a finger tickled him in the side!

 

“Gah! No fair!” he tried to argue and squirm.

 

Amanda placed him on the floor in just his shirt and diaper and patted him on the butt “Your clothes aren't in here yet, make the dash to my room and we'll get some some clean clothes.”

 

“Ummm...” John peeked out of the door. Miss Bairn was showing the men every single cabinet and pointing at things.

 

Amanda said behind him “They're distracted and it's only twenty feet. Run!” and he heard her laughing as he made an awkward dash ten feet from his new bedroom door to hers. She stepped in behind him and pushed the door to and went to her bed and held up a blue onesie and a pair of the fake denim-like jeans.

 

He hesitated a moment and asked “Are the shorts not okay?”

 

Amanda shook her head at him “They need to be washed. Besides, this will look very mature.”

 

Giving in, he pulled his shirt off and dropped it on the floor while walking over to her. As she motioned up and said “big stretch!” he chuckled a little and held his arms straight up so that she could pull the onesie over him. She tugged it down into place and pulled the flap around. She had to fiddle with each clasp to make it stay, but then she gave him a pat on the butt and said “Step in” while holding out the pants.

 

So he stepped into the pants and they were pulled up his legs and to his waist. He twisted trying to look at himself. It was obvious that he had a diaper on, but at least it didn't look … TOO big. He couldn't help but poke it and hear the crinkle muffled through the two layers of fabric.

 

“This one seems stiffer than the others.” He observed, mostly to himself.

 

He still got an explanation “Well, that one is made for rough littles that like to climb things. You don't know any young men that like to climb everything, do you?”

 

He just looked up and shook his head in denial.

 

“Uh huh.” was her only reply as she leaned and kissed him on the forehead. “You go take your dirty clothes, including those socks you didn't think I saw you leave, and put them in the dirty hamper. Make sure not to get underfoot while people are working.”

 

As he picked up his shirt and shortalls, he stopped halfway to the door and experimentally squeezed his legs together. He could just barely touch his knees together, but it took some effort. And the backing was really stiff. As he walked to the living room he had a strong suspicion that once this diaper got wet, walking in it was going to be a lot more challenging.

 

John went in front of the couch and picked up the two socks that he had bravely abandoned to climb the giant dog and looked to make sure that no one was about to walk by and step on him. He went to the utility room and threw the clothes over the top of the hamper and turned to walk out.

 

John walked out of the utility room only to be herded by the giant collie back to the living room. At least he wasn't carried, Xerxes just kept circling him and nudging him with a cold nose until he was in front of the couch.

 

Just as John was trying to lure the dog back to the couch to use him to climb, Mike the friendly giant came to the rescue by putting a step stool down in front of it and saying “Thank you go little man!”

 

Blushing a bit from embarrassment, John was certain to say “Thank you” before climbing up onto the stool and then rolling up onto the couch to stand up.

 

Now that he could see what was going on from up on the couch, he could see that they were done in the bedroom and working in the kitchen. Miss Bairn was going over a list with Amanda, and pointing around the house.

 

He watched everything going on with interest for a bit, but ultimately he could only watch people put clips on cabinets and drawers so long before getting bored. Sliding back off of the couch he tried to use reverse psychology on the dog.

 

John made a kissing sound and lured Xerxes to the edge of the couch. Hoping that since Amanda removed him from the area that he could lure the dog to his room. And sure enough Xerxes followed him right into the bedroom.

 

Standing in … his new room... that's a strange thought.

 

Standing in what was apparently to be his bedroom, he looked around at it all. It was a lot to take in. First there was obviously the changing table that he had already been on. There was a large crib with some sort of see through mesh walls all the way round. Next to that was a dresser in hunter green with white drawers in it. There was a big shelf so high up that he couldn't see what was on it. And that left the desk that looked exactly like the one he saw at the store.

 

Mumbling to himself “Well, I don't have anything else to do” he plopped into the chair in front of the desk, and looked at the stack of coloring books and big box of coloring pencils. Picking up the box, his right eyebrow went up.

 

“Holographic coloring pencils.” huh.

 

John asked himself “What's up with these?” out loud.

 

He was trying to read the box when he heard footsteps to his left and looked over to see a knee.

 

Seated as he was he looked up to see Miss Bairn smiling down at him and offering “If you would like, I can show you how those work. My daughter uses them all the time.”

[CDfm]

This was another great chapter. John was pretty lucky to have wondered through the woods and come across Xerxes.  Amanda is going to be a fantastic mommy for him.  I really like Mike to.  I hope John can remain friends with Mike after the work is done.

 I did notice a little glitch in the names.  Tom started out Tom and then became Tim for a bit and then went back to Tom.  Now if that’s the only mistake made you are doing an outstanding job.  I will be looking forward to more of the story. 

[Guilend]

Fantastic chapter. I absolutely loved all the small interactions and even the vivid facial expression and detailed body language. It's almost like I'm right there. 

What is it with these strong, dominant Amazon women in this story? Each one has been so purrrfect and I guess mysterious/dangerous (?) That I just want to run up to them, fill the back of my panties and beg them to be my mommy lol. Or start kissing their feet or whatever lol. I never seen my kind of perfect Amazon so wonderfully written ❤️.  

Also I'd like to add that I absolutely love the larger font. It makes reading it on my phone or computer way better for my eyes lol.

[Dirkimaus]

Tolle Fortsetzung , weiter so.