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

[christi]

That was a good addition.  As always, thanks for sharing.

PS: I forgot to comment on it but I loved this little bit:

“That’s called a mango. Can you say mango?”

 

John just shook his head and said “Nope.”

[dmavn]

It’s called a mango cus it makes a man go?

[Baby Billy]

Amanda is new to having a little so she can't be blamed, but one thing every mother with a baby or toddler learns to put in their diaper bag is a change or two of clothes.

[Kat5]

12 hours ago, christi said:

That was a good addition.  As always, thanks for sharing.

PS: I forgot to comment on it but I loved this little bit:

“That’s called a mango. Can you say mango?”

 

John just shook his head and said “Nope.”

Thank you kindly, I can be a teeny bit smarmy on occasion.

5 hours ago, dmavn said:

It’s called a mango cus it makes a man go?

I don't know how much fiber a mango has. Just that they're tasty!

2 hours ago, Baby Billy said:

Amanda is new to having a little so she can't be blamed, but one thing every mother with a baby or toddler learns to put in their diaper bag is a change or two of clothes.

When ours was a cute wee baby we had to use the towel we always keep in the car to wrap him up and bring him home in a couple of times before we started remembering to keep a spare onesie in the diaper bag, just in case.

We also learned not to let him steal a strawberry smoothie. (These two things are very much related)

 

(Edit: I have no idea what happened where my phone lagged and posted the reply four times.)

[Guilend]

14 hours ago, christi said:

That was a good addition.  As always, thanks for sharing.

PS: I forgot to comment on it but I loved this little bit:

“That’s called a mango. Can you say mango?”

 

John just shook his head and said “Nope.”

Yup I absolutely loved that part to.

 

2 hours ago, Kat5 said:

When ours was a cute wee baby we had to use the towel we always keep in the car to wrap him up and bring him home in a couple of times before we started remembering to keep a spare onesie in the diaper bag, just in case.

My oldest hated clothes, but when he was still an infant the only thing he somehow always managed to remove was his socks. We'd go into the store with him wearing his onsie and socks and when we start to get him bundled to leave he'd be missing one or both socks. No idea when he would manage to lose them. It's not like we left him on his own. I lost count the times we had to go buy socks before we left the store, especially during the winter. When he got older, till like 6 or 7, we constantly had to make him wear clothes. We didn't care when it was just us, but he'd run into the room butt naked when guests was over.

[CDfm]

I can’t quite put my finger on it but John just comes across as so stinking cute!  
You are doing a fantastic job with this and every new chapter is a pleasure to read. 

[Kat5]

2 hours ago, CDfm said:

I can’t quite put my finger on it but John just comes across as so stinking cute!  
You are doing a fantastic job with this and every new chapter is a pleasure to read. 

I'm glad that I'm able to brighten your day a bit!

[SGTbaby]

Very cute chapter! He is so shy and that just adds to everything! 

[Kat5]

Chapter Thirty Four

 

 

John squeezed Amanda’s torso with his bare legs. An entire lifetime of being fully clothed to so much as walk outside to check the mail was screaming at him. And that was just the immediate part.

 

Having had the perfect opportunity to explain that he didn’t like that Nana Claire woman one tiny bit, he felt that if he had to explain that he was about to freak out and punch her as hard as he could in the chest he might have wound up in trouble. And holding that in seemed like a good call.

 

Honestly just thinking about it, he was still mad at her. He just wanted her to at least be wrong about which foods he would like. Something, anything just for her to not be right so he could feel like she couldn’t just magically understand him because he’s a little.

 

While he was being carried into the Pet Store he realized that he was still dwelling on it and just making it worse for himself. So he rolled his eyes and flopped his head forward onto the chest in front of him. With a deep sigh he tried to stop thinking about it. Which only made it harder to get out of his own head.

 

He felt Amanda stop walking and then his butt being patted.

 

Then came the whisper from above him “Hey, you still in there?”

 

Sarcasm being his default response, he shook his head and mumbled around the pacifier and into a breast “No. Please leave a message.”

 

“There’s someone here with a puppy that they want to get used to being around littles.”

 

Immediately John decided that he would mope later and pet the puppy now. His head snapped up and he looked around, squinting at the lights. When he caught sight of a small brown dog with curly hair and a tail whipping back and forth looking up at him he smiled. Behind the dog there was a man even taller than Amanda kneeling down with his hand on the puppies shoulder to keep it calm.

 

As he felt Amanda kneeling down, he tensed up and said into her ear “I don’t have any pants on.”

 

He could feel her stop down on one knee as she whispered back “No one even notices that. But if you would rather pass on petting the puppy, that is also fine.”

 

Ugh. The one thing he couldn’t resist. Baby animals.

 

John nodded “Just this once.”

 

Amanda lowered him to the floor and he turned around. This ‘puppy’ still came up to his chest and it had a tail whipping back and forth just shy of the speed of sound. Still, he looked down at his bare legs and froze up.

 

The giant man asked “Oh, is he scared of dogs?”

 

John didn’t even have to look to imagine Amanda shaking her head as she said “Oh, he loves animals. But he’s new here and he’s still a bit shy.”

 

The man just nodded knowingly and said “Yeah, that’s perfectly fair. It’s a big world and he’s suddenly a cute little guy that all the women won’t be able to resist.” Then the man looked at John and addressed him directly “Well, this is Latrare. She’s a Mastiff, so she’s going to get pretty big. She’s gentle as a lamb … but she may lick you to death. Do you want to pet her?”

 

Of course John nodded mutely.

 

He continued “Do you want to come to her, or do you want her to come to you?”

 

John thought about over a hundred pounds of hyperactive puppy shaped missile and said “I’ll go to her.”

 

With a nod, the man patted the dog on the booty and said firmly “Sit.” and the dog put her butt down. The tail was still sliding back and forth side to side on the furiously.

 

Exceedingly conscious of his bare legs, John walked over to the large puppy and held out his hand for the puppy to smell. It was immediately licked. In for a penny, in for a pound, he just took one big step and got his fingers in and started giving the dog some good scritches up and down her side.

 

The next five minutes were an exercise of John petting a giant hyperactive puppy, and a large man patiently keeping her calm. It was obvious that she was soft, but her fur was shorter and so it felt different. And petting her left like a film on his hands. Still worth it though because she was such a great dog!

 

Eventually the man nodded and said “I think that’s about all the calmness she can handle. She needs to go run around now.”

 

John nodded and asked “How big is she going to get.”

 

The giant man said nonchalantly “Her Mother was about three hundred and forty pounds. But she is almost a year old and I don’t think she’s going to be much over three hundred. She’s been training to work with littles and children since she was six months old. She almo…”

 

The man stopped as John got a giant dog tongue up the front of his shirt, neck over his face, and left some of his hair sticking up.

 

“...almost got the hang of staying calm around littles.”

 

Amanda was laughing behind him as she got a wipe out of the diaper bag and knelt down to wipe him off.

 

Curiosity got the better of him so he asked “Mom, how big is Xerxes?”

 

While she was wiping his face, she answered “He’s just shy of two hundred pounds. He’s not full blooded, but he looks just like a big border collie.”

 

Once she was done wiping and explaining, John pointed at Latrare “You mean she’s going to get bigger than Xerxes!?”

 

Amanda looked down at him funny and then sighed as she looked at the man “He rides our dog like a horse.”

 

That got quite a laugh out of everyone involved. Except John, who sulked while mumbling “It’s not funny.”

 

Finally Mom told him “Okay, say goodbye to the puppy, we have to get a toy and get our groceries home.”

 

John reached down low and snapped his fingers. The moment Latrare looked down he darted in and kissed her on the forehead, praising her by saying “Good puppy!” and then darting back before he needed another wipe down.

 

After that he was picked up and wrapped back around his Moms torso, they said their polite goodbyes and as they walked into the store, John looked up and said “I’m no expert, but that’s almost twice the size they get on my world.”

 

He felt himself being raised some more and got a kiss on the forehead before she explained “Yes John. There’s a theme here. Things here are about twice as big, and combined with you shrinking will seem probably half again as big to you on top of that.”

 

He rested his head on a boob while he thought. It was soft and it was conveniently located as a resting spot. Everything seemed so normal and so abnormal at the same time. An while John never considered himself to be dumb, it was just hard to process. Like everything was new and huge all over again.

 

Plus there were the differences. Some of them were pretty incredible.

 

Thinking of incredible differences, he felt a few pats on the butt as Mom said “We’re here at the toys. Take a peek.”

 

John looked up and over and was greeted with a wall of dog toys. He zeroed in immediately on what he wanted the second his eyes focused on the wall.

 

He pointed “That!”

 

Amanda reached out and took a red plastic handle with a tennis ball on it off the shelf. It was about two and a half feet long and had a cup for the tennis ball.

 

“You want this?”

 

Nodding emphatically he said “YES!”

 

She laughed now and said “You feel cheated that Xerxes can catch what you throw without having to chase it, don’t you?”

 

“Yup.”

 

With a chuckle she said “Okay, anything else you want for Xerxes? We really have to get those groceries home.”

 

“Doggy breath mints.”

 

A few seconds of walking later she had a bag of treats that said they were good for his teeth, and she said “If this isn’t good enough you’ll just have to start brushing his teeth.”

 

He nodded “You get me on the side of the sink and I’ll brush his teeth myself. I’m closer to his mouth than you are.”

 

They shared a good laugh, and as they walked by a young woman that was tagging merchandise, Amanda shuffled him around to her left arm and he could see her making a motion of some sort.

 

There was a click-clack and something smacked him on the butt, followed by some giggling. As he was carried away he could see a red head with a great big smile waving at him. He wanted to feel indignant, but all things considered he couldn’t.

 

As they approached the check out he looked around and spotted the cooler by the check out line. Even THAT was normal. But on closer look it had juice as well as sodas.

 

“Mom?” he asked tentatively.

 

“Yes sweety?”

 

“May I have something to drink?”

 

As the person in front of them left, Amanda leaned and said “Plapple or Grape?”

 

“Can I have a soda?”

 

She shook her head “You had more than enough sugar an hour ago.”

 

“...Plapple.”

 

The two items in her hand were put onto the conveyor belt and a bottle of Plapple juice quickly followed. But as the items got scanned, Amanda looked down at him with a mischievous grin and asked “Do you feel like doing something silly?”

 

With a shrug, he answered “Sure?”

 

And with that he was placed on the conveyor belt.

 

Okay, this was funny but he did actually feel a little bit indignant.

 

Amanda patted him on the head as he asked “Excuse me, could you do a price check on this item?”

 

There was a “Hmm… Is it okay if I pick this item up?”

 

Amanda looked at him “Do you mind if she picks you up?”

 

He just nodded “It’s okay.”

 

And with that he was picked up and rotated to face a very pretty brunette, about his age but much larger, and he was slid over a scanner and there was a loud ‘BEEP’ under him.

 

The cashier said “I’m sorry Ma’am, but this item seems to be out of stock. I’m afraid I have to put several stickers on it and send it off.”

 

He could hear Amanda laying on the drama as she said “Oh dear. Well, I suppose that if you are willing to put stickers on it, I can carry it back to where I found it.”

 

John couldn’t help blushing as the pretty young woman put a sticker on his shirt, then another one on his arm and as Amanda picked him up … she swatted one onto his butt.

 

One swipe of a card, and a wave, one blush as she blew him a kiss, and they were on their way to the car at a pretty brisk pace. Diaper bag slid in place, Booty in carseat, a quick check and then a snap of the buckles and Amanda was quickly in the drivers seat and starting car.

 

He asked “Mom?”

 

After pulling onto the road heading back to home, she looked up and asked “Yes?”

 

“How many stickers do I have on me?”

 

After a laugh, she answered “Five stickers and a price tag.”

 

Rolling his eyes, he settled in for the twenty some odd minute drive with his sippy cup full of fresh cold Plapple juice. It was the little things. The irony of that saying was lost on him as he stretched in the carseat that was oddly always comfortable.

 

One empty sippy cup of juice, and five minutes later, he closed his eyes for just a moment as the movement from the car relaxed him a bit.

 

A moment later the car door opened and the sun hit his face briefly. He groaned.

 

As he was unbuckled he could hear Mom saying “Well, someone fell asleep in the car.”

 

“Nnnnn. Just closed my eyes.”

 

John cracked an eye open and could see her nodding as she said sarcastically “uh huh. Let’s get you in the house and I’ll get the groceries in.”

 

As she lifted him up and got her arm under his bottom she paused and looked at him at the same time that he felt how thick his diaper was. It was, frankly, huge.

 

Carried through the fence and greeted by a jumping dog was nice. Having his shoes off at the grocery store he was just in his socks, so those didn’t have to be taken off. And Mom stopped and wiped her shoes off on the mat before stepping in to set him down and drop the diaper bag on the couch.

 

As he stood there on the living room floor realizing that he couldn’t make his knees go anywhere near one another, Xerxes came in and smelled all over him. He was suddenly worried that Xerxes could tell he had petted another dog, but it turned out to be a non issue as he started getting a cold nose across his face.

 

Xerxes was just happy to have his little home.

 

When the dog walked over to the door to watch Amanda move in and out carrying in groceries, John tried to take a step with the diaper sagging so low, the plastic was pulling a bit painfully on his hips. At first he gave up and sat down on the carpet, but with an audible squish, he decided he didn’t like that. Plus he was a couple inches off the floor anyway, and that was weirding him out a bit.

 

So that was how he waited patiently, watching his Mom carry in groceries and hurry to put away the cold stuff. Meanwhile his priority in life had been reduced to sitting with his legs under him not putting pressure on his butt. That was it for him at the moment. So naturally he sulked a bit.

 

Finally, what seemed like half an hour, but he knew was really just a few minutes, most of the groceries were put away and Mom was on her way to scoop him up. In what seemed like moments she had him on the changing table. An with no shorts on there was no delay.

 

But he could tell that he did have to scrub his legs and thighs a lot. Before telling him “lift.”

 

After that it was business as usual, but once she was done taping him into a fresh new rough pup, she sat him up instead of lifting him off the table.

 

“Arms up!”

 

He lifted his arms and his shirt was pulled off. Immediately she said “back up!” and he could see her lifting a dark blue onesie up and over him.

 

All he asked was “Onesie?”

 

There was a nod in response as she said “Onesie. You have destroyed two diapers in as many hours, so … lay back … you’re in a onesie until after nap time, for easy changes. Sit up. Okay, I have to go finish things up, and wipe out something that got wet in the carseat. Would you like anything specific for lunch?”

 

Thinking back to what they got he said “Cookies?”

 

“No.”

 

“Peanut butter sandwich?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“THEN cookies?”

 

“One.”

 

“Two?”

 

“One.”

 

“Three?”

 

“None.”

 

“You drive a hard bargain. One it is.”

 

Finally she nodded and said “I thought you would see it my way.”

 

Nodding along he agreed “You’re the Mommy.”

 

That got him scooped up into a hug and deposited on the rug in the living room. A look at his wrist band had him wondering if it was about the time she always insisted he take a nap. Maybe she would let him skip the nap today and he could sit on the porch and draw.

 

It never hurt to hope.

 

After a couple of minutes he found himself in a booster seat looking at a ten inch wide peanut butter and jelly sandwich that had been cut in half diagonally. Only as he started eating it and felt the sandwich leaving traces on his cheek did he realize that this was not going to be a dignified lunch. Nor would it leave him seeming as mature as he surely still was.

 

Not that it mattered, the jelly or the peanut butter, or just SOMETHING tasted like the embodiment of the word delicious. And he couldn’t stop himself until he was out of sandwich and sighing contently while he was being assaulted with a wet rag.

 

When she was done wiping him down, he sat there looking at her expectantly.

 

She looked confused for a moment as she asked “Yes?”

 

The audacity!!

 

His demand was simple: “Cookie.”

 

She laughed. Laughed!

 

He cleared his throat and repeated himself. “Cookie.”

 

At least this time Mom turned around and got the package, holding it out to him “As serious as you are taking this cookie, I don’t think we even needed to get the little variety. Chocolate or Strawberry?”

 

As he stared intently at the package, easily deciding which he wanted, all that was left was to ask “What is different about the little variety, and why even have a different one for us?”

 

Flipping the package over, Amanda pointed to a spot “The little variety is made with something called Little Extract. From my understanding, it’s supposed to help with your different taste buds. Bigs and Littles have … well you know by now.”

 

Smiling up at her, he said “You mean you like freakishly spicy savory foods, and I like sane people food?”

 

With a laugh and a nod she answered “From my point of view it’s the other way around.”

 

“So …” John pointed at the package “What is ummm… what is little extract made of?”

 

Now she was smirking at him “It’s made from littles that didn’t eat their vegetables. So you’re safe… for now.”

 

It was impossible to stop himself from rolling his eyes as he said “Oh God, Aunt Cat would be proud of you.”

 

That got him a hair ruffle as she held out the package “Okay, pick one, and then I’ve got to get some work done fast before someone comes over.”

 

Immediately he pointed “Strawberry, please.”

 

As she handed him the wafer, he was unsurprised that it was generously portioned. Not gigantic by any means, but size wise it was like someone folded a pop tart in half. Despite its size, it seemed to weigh very little.

 

Stopping to smell it suspiciously while Mom’s back was turned as she put the cookies away, he went ahead and took a big bite of the large pink snack.

 

As he bit down into the crunch his brain had a reset moment. Something was so good that it seemed off. As in it shouldn’t be THIS good.

 

Of course, he still finished the bite. And then immediately took another one. Figuring out what was off about it would have to wait. The wafer was crunchy enough that all he heard was himself chewing on it, soft enough that chewing it was delightful, and strawberry enough to just be downright amazing. Plus there was just some other flavor there that didn’t make sense to his brain.

 

But this didn’t have to make sense. As he finished the wafer, he felt honestly a bit zoned out. Never even noticing as his hands were wiped and he was lifted up until he was held up and looking at his Mommy. She was definitely looking at him funny.

 

“Sweety, how are you feeling? Do you need a nap?”

 

Shaking he head he said “No, but another cookie would be great.”

 

Being pulled in for a hug and a coupe of firm pats on the booty, he was told “Maybe one after dinner. As long as you’re good.”

 

Oh, he was totally going to be good, he decided that immediately. Even if he had to cheat to do it.

[CDfm]

Cookie!

That  just cracked me up. Overall it such  a fun filled chapter that had me laughing out loud several times.  The cookie being the subject of some great humor.  
Loved how John again interacted with the animals in this dimension. He is the animal whisperer here. 
Loved this chapter and I am so looking forward to seeing the next. 

[dmavn]

4 hours ago, CDfm said:

Loved how John again interacted with the animals in this dimension. He is the animal whisperer here. 

ooo.. can you imagine a little Dr. Dolittle? It’s even in the name.. 

[Kat5]

7 hours ago, CDfm said:

Loved how John again interacted with the animals in this dimension. He is the animal whisperer here. 

I guess we could call him the Squirrel Whisperer behind his back? I'm sure he'll never find out.

3 hours ago, dmavn said:

It’s even in the name.. 

I never made the connection but Little is right there in the name!

7 hours ago, CDfm said:

The cookie being the subject of some great humor.

*Ahem* "Cookie."

[SGTbaby]

Love the Littles Extraxt. I think mom will keep a close eye on his intake of that! 

[christi]

That was a good addition, thanks, Kat.

[Kat5]

Chapter Thirty Five

 

 

Amanda looked at her clock. About an hour until she had a guest, and somehow John was still awake. Usually he’s fallen over by now, but since lunch he was so wired he climbed on the couch, climbed down and ran around it with Xerxes following him. He drew for a few minutes and then got back up.

 

Being mostly caught up work, with only an hour or so of work left to finish later, she stopped and pondered how to get him slowed down long enough for the sleepiness to take over without blatantly just putting him in the playpen.

 

After a moment the idea came to her, so she tapped her computer to put into standby and went to gather her supplies. Bottle of a specific lotion. Shower cap. Gloves. Shower turned on. She was ready.

 

Stepping out of the bathroom, she watched as John crawled around the corner of the couch and used the side of the couch to get back onto his feed and waddle away from Xerxes, towing a toy behind him. He definitely grumbled about the fact that once the rough pup diapers got the slightest bit wet he waddled, and when they got partly full he was reduced to crawling.

 

But she had to admit it, he was rough on them and they never tore once.

 

Waiting for John to waddle into range, she reached out and snatched him up. She got him against her up with a squish and hugged him “I know someone that’s getting a quick shower.”

 

He grumped at her a bit about being stopped, but it was obvious to her that he was almost out of steam. Maybe he kept moving so he wouldn’t feel it. Either way, it was about to be solved by some relaxing warm water.

 

Standing him up and kneeling down, she was able to undo the locking snaps on his onesie. Press up, twist halfway, pull, twist the rest of the way and pull while tilting it back away from the direction that it would get pulled if it got snagged. Or if little hands were trying to remove it.

 

It was the most normal locking snap, meant to keep them from just getting tugged off while littles were playing. It also made sense to Amanda that some more regressed littles would try to take their clothes off even if it was cold, so that just seemed all too practical.

 

With just a moment of effort, his onesie was off, his diaper was off and she was able to give him a quick pass with a wipe, and she could see that the cream she used in her diaper area had definitely gotten rid of all the hair. But the rash that wet hair had caused was just barely there.

 

Swinging her charge up and into the bath tub she gave him a quick kiss on the forehead and started explaining. He always seemed calmer if he halfway understood what was going on.

 

“Okay John, do you remember us talking about you getting a bit scruffy?”

 

He nodded “Yes…”

 

“Well, first we’re going to wash your hair and then put a shower cap on you. Then I’m going to use this cream to knock that facial hair off, and that will take care of that, okay?”

 

She watched him nod uncertainly and then she got to work shampooing his hair that was some how halfway oily again anyway. It was rewarding how he closed his eyes and enjoyed the scalp massage.

 

Once he was shampooed and rinsed, she held up the shower cap and explained “I just need you to stand still for a moment. This will protect your hair and eyebrows so we don’t have to worry about any splashing, okay?”

 

He looked a bit nervous as he nodded but she went ahead and put the shower cap onto him, and then dried her hands before putting on her thick gloves. Now it was time to be careful. She took a moment to make sure that his eyes and ears and even the back of his neck was covered up before using a fingertip to smear the paste onto his face, up under (but not into) his nose and all the way down to his neck and chest. Thankfully the nanite paste had no smell at all.

 

Since he was cooperating and being a very good boy, she was able to wash her gloved hands off, and rinse his face off slowly with a cup of water. Just to be certain, she rinsed him a coupe of extra times.

 

And now for the rest of him, she took an old rag that was about to be tossed and used it to rub him down all over with the same paste from the neck down. Since she wasn’t worried about messing up and having an accident, it didn’t even take a minute before she was washing him off thoroughly.

 

After taking her gloves off and throwing them away with the rag, she went ahead and popped the now empty tube into the trash with the gloves. It’s amazing how you could buy a tube sized exactly to do one whole little, and it was honestly very inexpensive, too.

 

Now it was time to lather him up for real and give him a good scrubbing down!

 

The rest of the shower was uneventful, and the warm water worked wonders, as he was starting to sway back and forth trying to stay upright. As she got him up and wrapped in her fluffiest towel, she stepped out of the bathroom with him just in time to see a shadow moving through the window.

 

Apparently she had gotten a later start on this than she expected, and her visitor was here.

 

Before they would knock on the door and wake up her son, she half-dashed while keeping her upper body still to reach over and open the door. She was greeted by a formally dressed woman about her own height, which was on the short end of the spectrum for her people.

 

The woman looked to be in her forties and dressed in a very casual pair of slacks and presentable cool blue blouse. Everything about this woman, including her demeanor seemed to exude calm and collected. Even her light brown hair, which most professionals wore up, was brushed out long and presented half in the back and half over one shoulder with not so much as a wrinkle or split end to be seen.

 

Amanda waved silently in greeting and pointed to the now sleeping little on her shoulder. The woman nodded immediately in understanding.

 

Waving the visitor inside, she gestured her to the counter where she always met with guests and had coffee. Only once she was seated and seemed comfortable did Amanda turn and walk as smoothly as she could manage to the her sons room.

 

Pivoting him slowly onto the changing table, she unwrapped the towel from around him and gave him a quick once over. The nanites in the paste had done their job admirably, and he was smooth as a baby. When his body hair grew back it would likely be a gentle fuzz, and not something thick or unsanitary.

 

He slept through her putting a rough pup onto him. He was still out when she put a fresh onesie on him. And he was completely limp when she laid him in the crib and pulled a blanket over him. She knew she would find him laying comically butt up on his big pillow later, but for now he was just an adorable sleeping blessing.

 

She pulled out her phone and took a picture to prove that he could be still, before sliding the rail back up and turning out the light. As she started out of the door she was confronted by Xerxes, who was sitting up and staring at her.

 

She had to lean down to whisper to the dog “Go lay down next to his crib.”

 

Xerxes did not move. He obviously wanted his little.

 

So with a sigh she grabbed his doggy bed and carried it into the room, putting it next to the crib. The dog looked indignant, but eventually gave up and sat on his bed looking into the crib.

 

Stepping out of the room and pulling the door semi closed behind her, she pushed the child gate on the bathroom closed and flicked the towel into the hamper through the open laundry room door on her way to greet her visitor.

 

Holding out her hand, she was greeted with a gentle handshake.

 

“Hello, I’m Amanda Taylor. I’m pleased to meet you.”

 

With a nod back “I’m Carol Scientia, pleased to meet you as well.”

 

With a polite smile, Amanda motioned “I usually have a cup of coffee around this time of the day, and if you would like a cup, coffee is better when shared.”

 

The woman nodded thoughtfully “I would happily share coffee with you.”

 

Taking a moment to pop the seal on the vacuum container that she used to keep her coffee fresh on the counter, she quickly got a pot of coffee brewing and then dutifully resealed it.

 

Turning back to Carol, she waved “I have a variety of coffee cups, if you would like to pick your own. Or if you would like, I could just grab one of my favorites.”

 

Now with a smirk, Carol said “You know, I’m interested to see which one of them is your favorite.”

 

With a nod, she reached out and pulled her two favorite mugs off of the cup hooks and sat them down on the counter. One was a sky blue with wisps of white that reminded her of looking up at the sky on a foggy morning as the sun comes up and starts to chase away the fog. And the other was an earthy brown with swirls of light green that reminded her of a freshly tilled garden, ready to be planted. Neither one was fancy. The handles were just the right size, the bottom was slightly rounded and comfortable to hold from the bottom.

 

Filling both cups with black coffee, Amanda sat them down on the counter between her and Carol and motioned “Take your pick, these are my two favorites.”

 

Carol nodded as she took the blue one, saying “Thank you very much. I find myself drawn to the blue one, so that is the one I will take.”

 

After they had a few sips of coffee, Carol spoke up again “You have a very nice house. It’s just the right size. What drove you to move so far out of town?”

 

Amanda took another sip as she thought of the best way to answer. Finally she spoke “I know that a lot of people like to live in tight little neighborhoods and keep everything identical, and that’s fine if they want to do that. I just don’t … fit that mold. I can’t have a garden in a suburb. I can’t ignore my yard for a couple of days if I’m backed up a bit on work. Everyone around you is constantly pressuring you to conform to their ideals of your life. If … I guess if that makes sense?”

 

Carol simply nodded along in understanding as Amanda spoke and when she stopped, Carol simply pointed to the three rows of mugs hanging under the counter from cup hooks.

 

She spoke “Much like your coffee mugs there. Not being all identical is not a bad thing. Sometimes the uniqueness makes us more complete as a whole. And just the same, there are all types of people. If I may ask, how do you like your garden?”

 

Now Amanda smiled “I love my garden. Now that I have John in my life I may need to save up a bit and move the fence back and then move the whole garden back next year so that he has more room to play. As much as he tries to spend all of his time outdoors, it may do to get him a nice playhouse. Maybe one of those with the solar panels to power some fans on the inside, since it get humid here in the summer.”

 

Carol smiled “That’s more of a what you want to do with your garden than it is how you feel about it. It sounds like your garden is a big part of your life that you are willing to, literally in this case, move back to make room for someone in your life.”

 

With a little laugh, Amanda nodded in agreement “I think that you might be right. I wasn’t lonely before, but now I already don’t think I could live without my son in my life.”

 

Yet another smile in response, until the look on her face changed “Tell me, do you ever have any trouble with wildlife in your garden?”

 

Cautiously, Amanda asked back “Do you mean like birds and squirrels?”

 

After a very short pause, the response came “I mean those things, as well as foxes and snakes. Just any wildlife in general.”

 

“Well, with the smell of Xerxes here, foxes have never dared come anywhere near the house. I do get the occasional garden snake. They’re non venomous, so I just get my gloves and grab them and carry them off to the treeline to set them free.”

 

“Have you ever had any venomous snakes?”

 

Now with a sigh, Amanda admitted “Only once.”

 

“And how did you handle it?”

 

“Well … it was rearing up at Xerxes, so I grabbed the shovel and … I’m sad to say that I had to make the decision to kill it. I felt bad about it, so I buried it out front and planted a white Azalea bush over it as my way of apologizing to it.”

 

There was a pause while Carol left her to have her thoughts before she spoke up again “You know, from the report I was given, and what you’ve said so far, you strike me as a very model Big in some ways, and a bit rebellious in others.”

 

Unable to hold in a bit of a laugh, Amanda asked “Okay. I can’t resist asking: How so?”

 

After calmly finishing her sip of coffee, the visitor explained “You act to protect first and foremost. You value nature, you value life, and I’m willing to bet that you don’t want to mess up the forest around you, as you’d rather live in the middle of it, and not make it conform to your ideals.”

 

Amanda nodded “I suppose that is all pretty accurate. And as for the rebellious side?”

 

“Well” she paused to take a sip. “Where most people would just conform to what their neighbors expected of them and blend in to avoid standing out, which I’m certain that you tried to do, you decided that life was not for you, and you changed everything about your life that you needed to in order to get away from it and live more like you wanted.”

 

Trying to take a sip of her coffee was a mistake as she choked on it a little as Carol ended her statement. That took a moment of coughing to get over.

 

Covering her mouth as she finished coughing, she mumbled “My son is rubbing off on me.”

 

Now even the incredibly calm seeming Carol joined in the chuckling “Littles do tend to bring out the best in us in some ways, and try our patience in others.”

 

“Amen.” Exclaimed Amanda and they even raised mugs and clinked them together.

 

After another sip, Amanda spoke this time, saying “Do you know what the giveaway is that a neighborhood is going to be super oppressive, from my point of view?”

 

Now looking intrigued, Carol leaned in with a smirk and asked “Oh? Do tell, I’m always looking for more ways to understand patients.”

 

Amanda held up one finger and answered simply “The mail boxes.”

 

That gave Carol a moment of pause before she asked “Okay, what is it about the mailboxes?”

 

Smiling now, Amanda explained “If all of the mail boxes are ornate and every single one of them is completely identical in every way, then that neighborhood is usually the kind where someone will yell at their neighbors about anything end everything, from how they park, to if their mulch is faded, if they plant a bush without clearing it with everyone else first, even if their driveway is dirty. Next time you drive through an unfamiliar neighborhood, look at the mailboxes.”

 

For her part, Carol listened intently, nodding along, and finally agreed “You know, that is a bit reductive in a way, but I can only think of examples that prove your point. My Mother moved into a neighborhood like that and let’s just say that I got my masters by studying and writing about the people in the neighborhood around my Mother.”

 

Waving a hand, Amanda explained “Oh, I’m certain that there are exceptions. But when I was trying to find a new place to live, that became my red flag before I found this place and fell in love with it.”

 

Another moment and a couple of sips of coffee later, Amanda got up and brought the carafe over and refilled both of their cups.

 

After putting the carafe back in place she said “Please let me know if you would like any water to drink as well.”

 

With a nod Carol took her mug again before explaining “So I suppose you’re patiently waiting for me to ‘get to the point’ as it were?”

 

Amanda shrugged a bit “I’m not going to rush you or anything, I figure that the small talk was polite conversation, and I don’t mind it. But if you’re ready, we can change the topic.”

 

Carol reached over and placed her hand onto Amanda’s own and said softly “I was sent out to check on you because you seemed pretty shaken up last night. Which is very reasonable.”

 

All that Amanda could really do in this situation was nod, trying not to dwell on the events that left her crying all night long.

 

“Well.” Carol explained “The best possible news is that the little girl that you saved woke up two hours ago. She doesn’t know where she is and she doesn’t remember how she got to where she was, but she remembers being carried and someones voice telling her to wake up.”

 

Finally she realized that she had been holding her breath when she exhaled and slumped against the counter in front of her, mumbling “Thank the Goddess.”

 

For her part, Carol did not seem to say anything, she waited patiently for Amanda to take a few deep breaths and sit back up before continuing.

 

“Now that she is awake, the LPS has assigned a case worker and she is in an LICU unit. She’s going to be very well taken care of and they’ll get her healed up. A Child Psychologist will be visiting with her, and she will be placed in a loving home.”

 

It took a bit longer to process than Amanda was willing to admit, but the end result was still a relief. Seemingly that relief must have started to show on her face.

 

Speaking now, Carol did not interrupt her until the end of her moment of reflection. “So you made quite an impression with Agent Praefectus, and the paramedics. There is a bit of a push to offer you a cash reward for your assistance. It wouldn’t be a huge number, but the higher ups over Agent Preafectus want you to be willing to cooperate in the future for a few things.”

 

Immediately Amanda held up a hand “I refuse to take any money for that. Period.”

 

Smiling now, Carol looked the image of pride as she explained “I already told them that you would likely refuse. But I know them so they are very likely to send out a contractor to try and talk you into an improvement to your driveway and maybe a walking path at the very edge of your property line, at the very least.”

 

Frowning a bit, Amanda argued “I can maintain these things. There’s no need for that, really.”

 

Now Carol seemed to actively choose to give a nonchalant shrug as she explained “I am here to help you adjust and make sure you are doing well after a traumatic event. You seem like the type that would prefer to know in advance. Arguing with them directly is your job.”

 

Nodding appreciatively, Amanda admitted “Yes, I do appreciate that.”

 

After a long quiet moment sitting together.

 

After finishing her second cup of coffee, Amanda admitted out loud “You know, I thought this would be more stressful and it would turn into some sort of session?

 

Looking up from her own mug, Carol commented with a straight face “You’ve been answering questions and reflecting on things for an hour now.”

 

That gave Amanda a moment of pause while she thought.

 

“Now” Carol interrupted her thoughts “It seems like you’ve had time to talk about the events from last night with someone and spent the night with them being there for you?”

 

Amanda nodded along.

 

“Have you noticed suddenly feeling over the top as far as being protective of your son today?”

 

“Well … A bit, yes. I think I’ve kept it mostly under control though.”

 

Carol nodded along “Why don’t we talk for a bit longer, let this process, and you can tell me how this has affected your internal dialogue.”

 

Amanda sighed a bit “Okay, so that’s probably going to be a bit harder.”

 

 

 

~~~~~~~

 

 

An hour and a half John woke up in his crib, and not snuggling with his dog. He had that feeling that he got when he slept either too much or not enough and even flopping onto his giant pillow, which usually worked wonders, could relieve his temporary grumpiness.

 

[christi]

No adventures this chapter but it was still good.  And a natural follow up to the lost little the day prior.  As always, thanks for sharing.

[CDfm]

Loved it.  I was actually expecting the caseworker to offer the little girl to Amanda to care for.  Well she has John and he can be a handful to take care of.  Having a little girl could get to be too much. John is probably a bit grumpy because he lost all his hair.  At least it was a painless process. 
I will be eagerly waiting for the next chapter. 

[dmavn]

1 hour ago, CDfm said:

Loved it.  I was actually expecting the caseworker to offer the little girl to Amanda to care for.  

Yea, Me too. Especially since it was the same portal john came through I was thinking it might be someone he knows.

[Kat5]

5 hours ago, dmavn said:

Yea, Me too. Especially since it was the same portal john came through I was thinking it might be someone he knows.

This may sound a but unusual, but I already have a plan for that rift.

[SGTbaby]

I like the spurt of energy like any kid gets or person rather. Amanda knew him we.l enough to get a warm shower and like any parent used it as a time to multitask so to speak regarding John and his hair situation. I wonder if the Therapist will be there when John wakes up or how it affects his sleep that evening? 

[Kat5]

2 hours ago, SGTbaby said:

I like the spurt of energy like any kid gets or person rather. Amanda knew him we.l enough to get a warm shower and like any parent used it as a time to multitask so to speak regarding John and his hair situation. I wonder if the Therapist will be there when John wakes up or how it affects his sleep that evening? 

I know that any time a kid gets their nap schedule out of whack they wake up super grumpy!

[Little Andrea]

I stumbled onto this story a few days ago, and I’m glad that I did. This is one of the most riveting and well written stories I’ve read in a long time and I can’t wait for more.

[Kat5]

13 hours ago, Little Andrea said:

I stumbled onto this story a few days ago, and I’m glad that I did. This is one of the most riveting and well written stories I’ve read in a long time and I can’t wait for more.

Thank you very much! I'm glad that you're enjoying it. I'll keep doing my best to share it.

[Kat5]

Chapter Thirty Six

 

 

John rolled back off of the giant pillow, not even flinching as his very wet diaper hit the bed. He grumbled as he rolled around a bit.

 

He even resorted to grabbing the pillow and just pulling on it mindlessly. Being half buried under the pillow just made him even grumpier.

 

Finally he just growled out loud as he shoved the pillow off of him, got onto all fours and flopped back onto the pillow. Without even bothering to call out to his supposed Mommy, he idly swung his foot back and forth, barely kicking at the gate.

 

After less than a minute he got bored with that and turned sideways so that he was draped over the pillow with his butt up in the air and his upper body and legs hanging off the sides.

 

Looking through the mesh he saw the dog sit up and look over at him.

 

“Xerxes, go get me a file, a nuclear reactor, and coil of wire.”

 

When the dog, predictably, did not react, he reached out and put his palm against the mesh and halfway smiled as his hand was smelled.

 

This time when he grumbled and rolled around, he flopped off of the pillow and laid in front of the mesh, looking at Xerxes. With nothing else to do, he talked to the dog.

 

“You know Xerxes, by all rights if I were still at home I’d be working sixty hours a week and worried about bills. Here I don’t have to work and I get to draw and spend time outside and Mom is great. But I can’t just like … get in my truck and go buy popcorn in the middle of the night.”

 

Laying there for a moment in silence, he watched the dog still looking back at him, tail moving, just happy to be talked to.

 

“I suppose that you don’t know what it’s like to be conflicted.”

 

With a pat on the mesh he rolled around restlessly, got back onto all fours and flopped back onto the pillow, this time facing Xerxes from his perch.

 

Musing to himself “I wonder if I just miss the idea of the freedom. I don’t think I could even be happy there anymore. Maybe I’m grumpy because I’m happy.”

 

After a moment he added to himself “Maybe I’m grumpy because I’m just grumpy.”

 

He picked up his head and headbutted the pillow a few times, still grumbling.

 

“Let’s face it, I have more time to do fun things, and instead of working six days a week I get to be here with Mom… Aman… Mom.”

 

He spent a couple more minutes laying there practicing his grumpy faces.

 

He saw his pacy laying there. Not clipped to his shirt with that stupid clip that he couldn’t undo. Just laying right there.

 

He thought about the implication of ‘his’ pacy.

 

Impulsively he picked it up and threw it hard against the mesh wall of the crib. It just bounced off uselessly, but it felt good to throw something. He picked up Rupert and thought about it, but couldn’t bring himself to throw the stuffy.

 

It wasn’t Ruperts fault that he was grumpy.

 

Finally he just snapped and grabbed the pacy and threw it hard while yelling just a loud “UUGGG.”

 

The concept of controlling his emotions didn’t exist at the moment.

 

After a short wait he heard Amanda coming through the doorway and over to the wall of the crib.

 

Stupid crib wall.

 

She reached up and lowered the side wall down and leaned on it. He spared a glance, and she looked concerned.

 

Stupid concern.

 

Hearing her ask softly “Hey Sweety, are you okay?” just made him take a deep breath and exhale as long as he could until he felt his lungs blissfully empty.

 

It took a moment to decide how to answer that. He wanted to be mad. He wanted to lash out. None of this was her fault, and he knew it.

 

But even still he rolled away from her and onto his back looking up at the ceiling. With a deep sigh he admitted.

 

“No.”

 

She was quiet for a moment. He didn’t know if it was because she was giving him time to talk if he wanted to, or if she was just trying to figure out what to say.

 

After a moment he saw a hand come over and felt her stroking his hair. He tensed up, but relaxed as she stroked his hair softly.

 

It was barely a whisper that he heard from behind him “You can talk to me about anything that you want to.”

 

Picking up his left arm and waving a bit dismissively, he explained “I don’t know what it is anyway.”

 

“Do you want some snuggles?”

 

He thought about it for a moment. He liked snuggles. And he wanted them. But he also just … was still mad at something, or anything. Or nothing.

 

“… no.”

 

“Well, you can change your mind at any time. Do you want to go draw, or go outside?”

 

After a moment to breathe, and stall to think, he admitted “I don’t know.”

 

Her voice was soft as velvet as she whispered “It’s okay if you don’t know what you want to do. None of us have to know what we want all the time.”

 

With a huff he responded “I don’t know what I want. I should at least know that.”

 

“Sweety.” Amanda said while patting him oh so gently on the side. “Look at me for a moment.”

 

Giving in and rolling onto his back, he looked over at her.

 

Once he was looking at her, she continued “It sounds like you’re struggling with some big feelings. And those probably need to process. I won’t push you, but if you can find the words to express those big feelings, I would love nothing more than to hear them and help you with them.”

 

A weak laugh was all he could muster. “Am I even allowed to have big feelings? Are littles supposed to get those here?”

 

“Ah.” was all Amanda said for a moment.

 

“So does that mean that littles don’t get that right?” He felt bad for pushing, but he was grumpy and otherwise if he had the thought he would have just bottled it up until it festered in him.

 

“John.” Amanda started carefully “I won’t lie to you that sometimes littles in this world don’t get that choice. You still do. I want you to be as complex and thoughtful and sweet and mischievous as can be. If you’re sad, I want you to tell me. If you’re happy, I want you to tell me. And if there’s something eating at you, I definitely want you to tell me.”

 

“Ugh.” was all he said at first.

 

But of course she stood there waiting patiently, her hand gently on his head, stroking his hair.

 

“Is that snuggle still available?”

 

Now smiling she explained “For you, the very best snuggles.”

 

With a nod he held up his arms. He didn’t even bother to sit up. She just picked him up and carried him, wet diaper and all, into the living room and sat with him on the rocking chair. She even pulled the throw blanket up over him and got him snuggled in nice and warm, with one large hand patting him on the back.

 

She didn’t speak. She just held him. She was obviously waiting for him.

 

For his part he just laid there with his head on her chest, lost in thought.

 

After a while he finally broke the silence.

 

“I don’t get it.”

 

The hand on his back stopped moving as she answered “What don’t you get.”

 

He answered candidly “I don’t get what I don’t get. I miss my world. I know that rationally I am honestly healthier here, I’m not working myself to death. But I miss it.”

 

After she took a moment to think carefully of her response, she asked “Well, what do you miss most about it?”

 

“I don’t … I think …” He struggled to understand himself and how to say it in words. “… maybe the freedom? But I guess I wasn’t really all THAT free, I spent all of me week at work. I came home tired, I barely paid my bills. So it’s not like I had some glamorous life. I just … had … is autonomy the word?”

 

He could see her nod as she answered “That may well be the word you are looking for. Self determination, perhaps?”

 

Having looked up at her, he flopped his head back against her chest.

 

“I have time to read and draw, and I get to help you in the garden. Helping you do things is my favorite thing in this world. Even if I had the choice to go back home … I don’t know if I could. Or would? I don’t understand. I think I feel like I shouldn’t be happy?”

 

The rocking chair stopped moving for a moment and she scooted him up closer and kissed him on the forehead.

 

“Well, I obviously WANT you to be happy. I know that we can’t get you home, and for record you helping is wonderful and I love you all the more for wanting to participate. But I can’t force you to be happy. Well, not in any ethical way.”

 

He looked up at her for a moment, but let that pass. She was probably just referring to some odd way the bigs do things in this world.

 

With his head still on her chest he admitted “Don’t worry. I’m happy with you. You’re an amazing Mommy. I didn’t choose to need one, but I’m glad it was you.”

 

That got him another kiss on the forehead. But otherwise she seemed content to wait for him to talk more.

 

“I think I feel better.” A simple, non committal conclusion that … felt like a lie. “… Okay, I feel less bad. I’m sorry.”

 

He could feel her tilt forward as she stood up and pulled the blanket off as she carried him back towards his room.

 

As she laid him on the changing table and got to work she asked him “Okay so what would you like to do? Gardening, drawing, or befriending more animals to make my life complicated? Lift.”

 

He went along with the diaper change, doing his own little part here an there as he answered.

 

“I would like to help in the garden, please.” He answered honestly. For some reason after the talk he had it seemed easier to be direct with her.

 

With a nod and the word “Down.” she continued “Well, you can pick out what you want to wear, and then whatever we have that you want for dinner, I’ll fix it for you.”

 

He thought in silence until she bumped the table and stood him up. While she looked at him, he answered.

 

“Shortalls. Peas. Chicken strips.”

 

“T shirt or onesie?”

 

“Shirt.”

 

With a nod she pulled open a drawer on his dresser and let him get out what he wanted to wear, and then helped him with the straps and clips on the shortalls. Then she lightly bopped him with a pair of socks over and over again until he got the message and put them on.

 

Mommy picked up the doggy bed and simply walked out of the room, leaving him follow or not as he wanted. Small gestures sometimes feel big.

 

With a pause in the kitchen to hand him a sippy cup of water and get a bottle to bring herself, they were out on the porch. His shoes were placed next to his old boots, which made him feel like he was being given the choice.

 

Honestly the boots were a bit too loose from him shrinking so much, so he slipped his feet into the shoes and waited patiently for them to be tied for him, since the weird laces from this dimension always fly apart for him.

 

“Okay!” Mommy said with a single clap of her hands “Tomorrow morning a good friend of mine, Mr Frank, will be here at sunrise to pick up a lot of produce, pickles, and pickled peppers. So all of this has to be harvested today. Except the Arugula, that happens tomorrow right before he gets here so that it’s fresh.”

 

John just nodded along “So how do I help?”

 

“Well, you and your little wagon can be a huge help if you want to just do the peas and the tomatoes. Two buckets of tomatoes will go with Mr Frank, and before lunch Mr Mike is coming back and the rest of them are going to be turned into salsa. I bought the rest of the ingredients I need for that at the store today.”

 

John nodded and stood up, holding his arms out he said “Catch?”

 

He was rewarded with her holding out her arms so he jumped, she caught him, hugged him before she set him down.

 

John go this wagon and went straight for the peas. Only this time instead of Mommy heading to the other side of the garden, she got a couple of buckets and she got started doing the tops of the plants.

 

From his perspective, she didn’t seem like she normally did. She was on a mission. She was in her zone.

 

But John had an advantage. John had a wagon, and he didn’t have to go back and forth or move a bucket. So he pulled it along beside him, and much to his pride, he made it to the end of the first row before she did. He lost his lead when he had to wait for her to simply pick his wagon up and empty it out into a large bucket. Then he lost some more time as she fussed at him for not drinking any water yet.

 

And so they finished the second row together. It felt REALLY good to be doing something meaningful.

 

As they started on the tomato plants, Mommy surprised him. Instead of the safety scissors, she held out a different pair.

 

“These look to be actually sharp.” He said out loud as she held out a pair of scissors that seems small in her hand.

 

“These are tiny sewing shears. I noticed the other ones gave you trouble. You will of course be careful with these.” It was not a question.

 

And so, feeling on top of the world, he drank some water just so that she couldn’t fuss at him, and then got to work on the tomatoes.

 

The problem was the tomatoes took him a long time. All of his tomatoes he put in the wagon wiped off and clean and pretty. But he was being left in the dust. It didn’t matter, he was contributing and didn’t know how to help with the other stuff yet anyway. So he took his time and got two rows of tomatoes from just above his head height and down.

 

By the time he was done, the sun was getting a bit lower, and he sat on the steps and watched Mommy working on the other side of the yard in her little section of hellish death peppers, collecting entire buckets of tiny, brightly colored little murder fruit.

 

With nothing to do otherwise, he spotted a gray form on the fence and somehow Xerxes had gone to watch Mommy. This was his time.

 

He grabbed two acorns and made a line for the fence, dragging a bucket with him. He quickly overturned the bucket and held up one acorn. The reward was having his hand smelled with a tiny, cold, nose briefly before one acorn was taken, then he held up the other and the process was repeated. After a few moments, Steve darted away.

 

Worth it.

 

Once he was done dragging the bucket back, John climbed the too tall stairs up onto the porch to look out over the yard. Impulsively he grabbed the new toy for Xerxes off of the table between the two chairs, pretending that he didn’t have to stand on tip toes to grab it.

 

New toy in hand, he made his way back down the steps, and turned right to go to where Xerxes was watching their Mommy. Ah. Xerxes was watching because she was gathering peppers in the part of the yard he wasn’t allowed. Even dogs weren’t immune to curiosity, it seemed.

 

Xerxes attention was easily attained by holding out the plastic toy with the large tennis ball at the end and letting him smell it. Once he had the dogs undivided attention he took the end of the toy with both hands and hands and swung it over and down.

 

For a first attempt it wasn’t very graceful, and the ball just went horizontally and then bounced along the ground. But that was more than enough to send one furry missile after it.

 

When Xerxes came back, happily presenting the tennis ball, he dropped it and hunkered down waiting for it to be sent away again. With a moment to figure out how to get the ball jammed back in, he put his foot on top of the plastic and gave it a little push to pop it back in place, and sent it off, careful to keep it away from the plants.

 

And that was how the next hour went. Xerxes stayed out of Mommy’s way, and John stayed entertained with his furry buddy. By the time it was all said and done, there were rows of buckets lined up on the side of the porch, some of which he had filled himself.

 

Sure, it wasn’t a full time job like he’d had before, but as John stood looking at everything that they had done it was nice to have done it. Even if Mommy … John shook his head as he thought and corrected himself, ‘Mom’ did most of the actual lifting side of things.

 

As he stood there looking at the buckets, a hand waved in front of his face.

 

He turned to look up at Mom apparently repeating herself “Are you there?”

 

Feeling even more direct than usual he shrugged and said “I was lost in thought.”

 

He watched her nod and then she knelt down and pulled his shoes off before giving him a gentle swat on the bottom and pointing him into the house. So in he went.

 

He made it halfway to the living room before he was scooped up and carried to the bathroom where he was stripped down to his diaper, placed (with a squish) onto the bathroom counter, and scrubbed with a warm wet rag.

 

“Hey, I’m not THAT dirty!” he tried to protest.

 

She leaned and squinted at him. Then as she held up the white rag with traces of dirt all over it he bravely decided to concede her point by shrugging noncommittally.

 

Once he was clean enough to pass inspection she carried him to the changing table and he participated in his usual way. Lifting. Flopping. Basically just trying to not make it harder than necessary for her.

 

Once it was done, really only two minutes, she picked him up into a great big hug and slid him down to the floor.

 

“Okay. You get a shirt or onesie. Or just the diaper if you want. Then I’ll get dinner going, shouldn’t take long.”

 

Nodding, John went over to the dresser and grabbed the handle, leaned back into it to pull the drawer open, and grabbed just any shirt without looking. It was blue and had some sort of cartoon on it.

 

With a nod, Mom took the shirt from him and pulled it into place, ruffled his hair and said “Go play or draw.”

 

So as she walked out of the room he went over to his tablet and pressed his thumb against the corner to turn it on. There were a lot of new icons to explore, but this seemed a great time to sit and read. He didn’t want to read ahead of Kate in the Odyssey of Hugh, so he just idly scrolled the young adult section until he found a Scifi novel about a spaceship crew being lost in space.

 

The image showed a man, a woman, and two littles all in space suits. In the background there was some sort of robot nanny with sparks like it was going haywire.

 

Curiosity got the better of him so he clicked ‘Start Reading’ and went through the prologue at the beginning. It seemed like the book was about a group from one planet to another and they got rerouted by the autocomputer to avoid an asteroid storm, and from there things spiraled out of control.

 

Settling in to read, he felt something cold bopping him on the shoulder relentlessly until he took the sippy cup and started drinking from it.

 

Interrupted again later for dinner, John found himself back in his booster seat, looking at two large chicken strips that were supposedly normal sized. Each one was really just the size of a chicken breast at home. There was ketchup for the chicken strips, and he had a bowl chock full of buttery sweet peas waiting for him.

 

Once he bit into the chicken strip, it was obvious that it was made with some sort of voodoo or something, because it was addictively good.

 

It was an excellent dinner and he gave up halfway through the second chicken strip and made sure that Xerxes was very well spoiled.

 

Carried to the kitchen and placed on the counter, hands washed, face wiped. He sat on the counter and impulsively held up his arms for a hug. Somehow the assurance that just making the simple gesture guaranteed he was going to be picked up and hugged lovingly made him feel a certain way.

 

Try as he might he couldn’t think of what it made him feel. The nearest he could come was the word safe.

 

John still didn’t know why he even wanted to be picked up and hugged sometimes. It was like a magnet.

 

Carrying him to the living room, Mom explained “You have one hour before you get changed for bed, and then snuggle time and milk. What would you like to do?”

 

“Tablet, please.”

 

With a nod she sat him down on the couch, plopped a pillow next to him. His feet were swung around on the couch, and finally a throw blanket was draped over his legs and his tablet was offered to him.

 

As a kiss was deposited on his head, he was left to himself. He looked briefly at the icons for the puzzle games, but felt mentally tired enough to just go back to his book.

 

He was barely thirty pages in when he was patted on the shoulder. Apparently his hour was already up.

 

It was a little annoying to find out that his diaper was wet when she pulled the blanket back and gave it a squeeze. And for the second time in probably three hours he was back on the changing table. This time it was one of the ridiculous overnight diapers that was pulled out from the table.

 

Seemingly as an afterthought he stopped her “Wait!”

 

Mom blinked down at him “Yes?”

 

“Before you do that, may I try the potty?” He pleaded as cutely as he could manage.

 

With a smile and a nod, she bumped the table and picked him up and carted him, sans underwear, to the bathroom.

 

As she placed him on the toilet, he nodded seriously, thinking 'This is it. It’s time.' before making a face as he concentrated.

 

As he managed to do his business in both ways, he could see Mom smiling in the corner of his vision, clearly proud of him.

 

But he didn’t need her to be proud, he needed to know that he could still at least manage to go in the potty ...err… Toilet.

 

He still wasn’t allowed to reach for the toilet paper and wipe himself. But for now, this was enough of a success.

 

As he was cleaned up and carried back, he pondered the catch twenty two he had found himself in. He had to wear a diaper. It got changed when it got used. And he had to wear it because it got used. He couldn’t physically get onto the potty so going in the diaper was inevitable. And since the diaper got used, the diaper was needed.

 

Rinse, Lather, Repeat.

 

John chuckled to himself as he thought out loud:

 

“Wipe, Powder, Repeat”

 

Mom tapped him on the nose as she finished taping him into the ridiculous night time diaper and asked “What was that?”

 

“Oh, I was just mumbling to myself.”

 

As she picked him up stretched his arms and legs out as far as he could before wrapping himself around her torso. The entire atmosphere of the house seemed more relaxed as he was handed Rupert on the way to the living room.

 

Mom had a fresh warm blanket that she had tossed in the dryer for a few minutes. She held him with one arm as she leaned back in the rocking chair and tossed the blanket over them in one well practiced motion.

 

He was snuggled up against her chest and cradled in place with her arm as the warmth from her body and from the blanket started to soak into his body and make him relaxed.

 

“Hey John?”

 

Opening one eye to peak up he asked “Hmm?”

 

“I’ve read many cases that littles find skin to skin contact comforting.”

 

All he could do was shrug “I don’t know?”

 

The question came from above him “Do you want to find out?”

 

It didn’t make much sense to him, but he just said “Sure.”

 

So first she pulled off his shirt, which was the only thing that he was wearing aside from his diaper. And then she wormed out of her own shirt, shuffling him around to get it off of her arm before getting the blanket back in place and idly stroking her fingertips up and down his back.

 

Before he had felt warmth. But now it was on another level, warmth from her belly and ribs directly into his side and arm. A pacy was slipped into his mouth, and he didn’t fight it.

 

He was trapped in a wondrous cocoon. He felt warm, his head was directly on a chest, and everything from the smell from her skin to his own pressed against her just seemed perfect.

 

And that was how they spent their usual 20-30 minute snuggle that night. Eventually a bra strap was lowered and it was time for him to breast feed. It still felt a bit awkward to be an adult being breastfed. But the moment milk made its way to his tongue, none of that mattered.

 

Somewhere along the way he was pried off the nipple with a finger and then moved to the other one. To his credit he felt proud that he thought he drained the other one fully before falling asleep.

(He didn’t even come close)

[SGTbaby]

Lovely little addition to the story.  Very sweet chapter and I am excited to see Mike again!