A Small Break From Teaching: A Diaper Dimension Story (Epilogue - Complete)

[Guilend]

I might be the odd one out, but I enjoy sequels like this. I like seeing other perspectives and see how someone else sees what's going on because in my mind it adds an extra dimension to the plot. Plus it's easier for me to follow them if a story goes back and forth between two or more character's POV. I haven't finished a book yet because it is a third book of the series and it switches to so many characters that I can't even keep track of who that person is that the chapter is following. Another reason I like this is because I can't just re-read an entire story after already reading it once, but having another story tell the same story from another character's POV means I can technically read the same plotline and be able to get new information and details about what had happened that wouldn't have been obvious to the first book. 

[LostBBoyBear]

Hey everyone! Just as a PSA, while this story does run mostly in parallel with Dash’s Redemption, it should also be considered the third in the trilogy of stories here. It’s really not meant as a standalone story, even though I have included details to help fill in some of the gaps for those of you electing to just read this story by itself. I know not everyone likes it that way and I was kind of using this trilogy as an experiment of kinds to test out this method of parallel writing. Now that I’ve run it and almost completed it, this shouldn’t occur again and be a problem in the future, but I just wanted to put this notion out there for some of you.

Also, there are only two more chapters to go for this story. I might run into a few scheduling issues in the next two days, but barring any unforeseen circumstances, the next chapter should come out tomorrow or Wednesday. Keeping that in mind, this means that the final chapter will be out by Wednesday or Thursday.

Next, as a reminder, I’m now polling between two stories to figure out what I should write next. The two choices are listed out in chapter 2, so be sure to check them out and let me know. As I will announce my winner in my last chapter, that would be the deadline for you to make your opinion known.

As usual, I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter!

Chapter 14: Why Did It Come to This?

The trial was in two days, but it might as well have been two years. My nerves were almost completely shot by now and every time someone made a loud noise, I panicked, started to hyperventilate, and almost always ended up needing a diaper change soon after. Honestly, if it wasn’t for Jimmy and Lillian and their patience and understanding with me, I think I probably would have snapped already.

Today was just like any other day though, as, to their credit, Lillian and Jimmy tried to maintain a sense of normalcy for me, despite being clearly worried themselves. Virgan was still very much part of the lower southern pro-Big area, so anyone paying the slightest bit of attention would understand that Nancy being convicted wasn’t guaranteed in the court system, fair or not. Still, everything was going according to schedule, and I was even allowed to eat my cereal by myself today from my highchair. It was slower than if Lillian or Jimmy helped me out, but considering everything else in my life that I was forced to concede needing help with, it was nice to be able to feed myself at least.

“Better, hurry, honey,” Lillian noted to Jimmy. “You don’t want to be late for your sales pitch this morning. I know you’ve worked hard on it for at least a month by now.” Jimmy smiled and gave Lillian a half hug before nodding.

“You’re right, you’re right. Just need to find my papers this morning,” he said, resuming his search of the loads of stacked paperwork on a nearby counter. “You didn’t happen to see them last night when you were grading papers, did you?”

Lillian shook her head. “No, but…”

A loud knock then came from the front door. It wasn’t gentle or slow, and I could quickly feel the tension and doom quickly surrounding me. Jimmy and Lillian both looked at each other nervously, but then he ultimately went to answer the front door while she stood guard in front of me.

Jimmy soon opened the door, his fingers nearly touching the baseball bat he had stored nearby. His body language instantly changed though as he saw who was outside. “Oh, how can I help you this morning? Is everything okay?” Muffled voices could be heard but I couldn’t discern whoever was on the other side of the door.  

“Wha’ is ih Lillian?” I asked nervously.

Lillian looked back at me with both concern and care in her eyes. “I don’t know, honey. If they were bad though, I don’t think Jimmy would still be talking to them…” Her rationalization was very refreshing to my scattered mind, but my curiosity still burned as to who he was talking to.

“Of course. Come on in. Everyone else is just in the kitchen,” Jimmy then said, gesturing to where we were.

Not long after, three figures came in. The first, I recognized immediately as Agent Dawson. The second and third were both clearly the police, but one seemed much gruffer and older than the other. The older mustached police officer spoke first and took off his cap as he did so. “Ma’am… little miss…”

“Oh, hello there, Chief McGinty. What brings you here this morning?” Lillian asked, quickly seeming relieved over who she was now seeing.

The chief sighed. “I’m afraid to say this, Lillian, but it seems that something happened with our security cameras and jail cells last night. We’re still not sure how yet, but Nancy… she escaped.”

I felt I was nearly going to pass out from the news. I almost began to shake with the sheer amount of fear I was now feeling inside. Lillian quickly noticed though and immediately came over to me to try and rub my back to calm me down. “That’s terrible, but do you at least have any leads?”

The chief sighed again and shook his head. “I’m afraid not. However, she escaped the holding facility, pretty much erased her tracks as well. We might be able to figure it out eventually, but for now, I just wanted to come here personally and tell you that we’re working closely with the LPS to ensure that you all remain safe still.”

Agent Dawson nodded and stepped forward. “Having known Nancy the longest and most accurately, I have been assigned the lead on this case. I know all this is a lot, but just know that we won’t stop our efforts until she is safely behind bars again, understand?”

I had practically blacked out everything else going around on me and just tried to focus on Lillian’s comforting presence. I still feared for my life from my former caregiver, but at least Lillian and Jimmy seemed to be remaining strong for me. As Chief McGinty and Agent Dawson laid out their plans and reassurances to them and then left, however, I could quickly see the panic begin to set in.

“Oh, Jimmy… what are we going to do?” Lillian panickily asked her husband. “Do you think she’s really going to come after us to get to Emma?”

Jimmy shook his head. “No, she’s not getting to any of us. I’ll go down swinging if I have to, but it’s going to be my mission to ensure everyone in this family stays safe. For now, Chief McGinty and Agent Dawson have promised us a personal security force to monitor us during the day and here at night. Until we hear otherwise, I think we just need to act like it’s any other day and go about what were planning on doing anyway.”

“Is that really wise?” Lillian quickly and seemingly skeptically asked back, a sentiment and question I shared as well.

Jimmy sighed. “I don’t know if anything we do is going to make this any worse or not. If we split up though, Nancy might try to get one of us and we can slow her down or alert the authorities first. Plus, the agents and other police monitoring us should be able to help as well.”

I could see that Lillian was still wary about going to the elementary school that she taught at, but after Jimmy gave us both a giant hug and a further reassurance of his own protection, I could tell that she could at least still go about her day, which is why, less than thirty minutes later, I was dropped off at the daycare as had become our routine.

“Oh my,” Mrs. Gillies said, seemingly more worried now than I had ever seen her before when she greeted us in the lobby and had heard about Nancy’s escape. She then turned to the receptionist Big at the front desk. “Izzy, make sure that all the staff know what’s going on and who we all need to look out for. I’m sure Agent Dawson and Chief McGinty have the situation well in hand, but it doesn’t hurt for us to be extra vigilant as well.”

“Thank you so much, Mrs. Gillies,” Lillian said, smiling as she then bent down to look at me directly. “Okay, sweetie. I’m going off to work, but I’ll see if I can get off a little early today and pick you up as soon as I can. I think Mrs. Gillies and the others can protect your pretty well in here, but just stay strong for me, okay?” I hesitated with my still wrecked nerves, but I ultimately nodded. Lillian then pulled me into a tight hug. “There’s my brave girl. I’ll be back before you know it but try and have fun today in the meantime.”

I tried to take her words seriously, but everyone could tell my nerves were on edge for the whole day. Every loud noise or shuffle and I would practically leap from where I was and duck for cover. A few of the other newer Littles laughed at the spectacle I was making of myself, but Anna and Lilly still remained by my side.

“Don’ listen to them,” Lilly told me after they had driven away the last of the Littles making fun of me. “They’re jus’ tryin’ to shove their own insecurities and problems onto someone else.”

“Yeah, Emmy!” Anna agreed. “Befo’ you know ih, dey goin’ to be jus’ wike babies. Da mean ones always go first!”

Even with as regressed as she was, it was hard to deny her logic. Mean Littles meant more punishments and that meant more time in the backroom. Even with Nurse Bee not here anymore, many Littles still often went to the backroom and came back just a little more relaxed. The major difference was that now, there weren’t anymore ‘mistakes’ like had happened to me or at least the dozen others before. “Dank you, you two. Wiff Nancy on da loose, I jus’ can’t seem to stahp getting’ aww newvous…”

“It’s okay, Emma,” Lilly reassured me. “We understan’. It’s tough, but how ‘bout a nice cup o’ tea to wash your worries away? I’m sure Carmen, Cassie, an’ Patch would love another round.” I knew our toys nearby were always up for another round of tea. “How ‘bout you, Anna?”

Anna needed no further prompting and vigorously nodded her head, Carmen bobbing along by her side as well.

And just like that, my two best friends eased me down and distracted me thoroughly with a nice cup of tea. Today, we decided to focus on rumors around the daycare, and I was still continually shocked by all the juiciness out there, even for us Littles. I mean, in one instance, Carl had stolen Ian’s favorite toy the other day, wrecked the playpen section of the Meadows room, and then had an accident in front of everyone. Knowing this place, we all took bets on just how much longer he was going to be able to stay in this room.

Regardless, the day continued just like that, but today, instead of going straight down for a nap, the staff decided to treat everyone to a quick recess outside. The sun had finally popped out from behind the clouds, and everyone knew that winter was about to arrive. Recess would still occur during the season, but today seemed likely to be one of the last nice days we all could enjoy without bundling up tight.

After several rounds of swings and slides, those with the energy decided to have some fun with a game of tag. A relatively new girl, Vivian, who had just joined us in the Meadows room, was soon up to start counting so the rest of us could hide. Counting on her lack of experience with these younger games, I crawled into a common but secretive metal tube that was part of the outside perimeter of the playground. Everyone here for more than a week knew about it, but I just hoped that Vivian would pass me right on by.

The tube had one other quality that even most of the staff forgot about. It was near to where most of them gathered to watch all us Littles, and just like Anna, Lilly, and I had done during tea, most of the staff filled their time discussing the latest gossip and rumors. Today, unsurprisingly, I just happened to be the focal point of the conversation. As soon as I heard my name, my ears perked up and I tuned in more towards their conversation than the game of tag. Besides, Vivian was still counting up to 50 and was getting stuck in her 30s.

As Miss Mindy went over to help her, Miss Tully spoke up. “I just can’t believe Nancy escaped. You think they would have better security in that place.”

Miss Valerie scoffed. “Yeah right, Tulia. You know that place. There isn’t a fly that they don’t know about escaping or entering.”

“Wait… are you saying…?” I leaned in closer, sort of getting the hint she was trying to make myself.

“Well, duh!” Mrs. Carter interjected. “It was totally an inside job. You know how this area goes with the whole pro-Big movement. Sure, the city caters to most Littles pretty well, but twenty minutes outside? Littles beware.”

“I never thought of it that way…” Miss Tully mused.

“Better get used to thinking that way. I mean, even look at this place.” From my hiding spot below, I could just make out Mrs. Carter gesturing to the daycare. “I think we skirt way too close to the edge around here with that whole pro-Big movement nonsense.”

“Wait… you’re not part of that movement?” a clearly surprised Miss Valerie asked her fellow Canopy room staff member.

“Oh, heck no!” Mrs. Carter shot back. “I mean look at Nancy. All fine and normal for us Bigs at least, and then she joins that movement. Now look at her. On the run, a charge of neglecting a Little on their permanent record and then fired from her job as a result? I don’t care what the trial would have revealed. If that’s the price of association with that movement, you can count me out!”

“I hear that,” Miss Tully agreed. “It all started with that darn Nurse Bee woman.”

“You know,” Miss Valerie pointed out, “we can call her by her first name now, right?”

“I know that,” Miss Tully noted. “I just don’t want to give her that dignity. Nurse Bee could almost be her villainess alter ego at this point to me. She’s just so wicked. I mean, you saw what she did to Fiona.” Several of the staff murmured and seemed to agree. “I don’t care what Diamond is doing to her. Can’t be worse than putting her in that locked state to begin with. I mean, we tried for what? six months to get her back. Maybe? I doubt there’s much left of her anyway for those greedy testers to poke at in the first place.”

“Geez. I always forget about Fiona. Such a shame,” Miss Valerie lamented.

“Yeah,” Mrs. Carter agreed, “but Nurse Bee had so many victims at the end… they almost all just kind of blend in. Well, except for Emma now.”

“Shhh! She could hear you,” Miss Tully said with annoyance. “We have to keep all this in house, and you never know what a Little could tell to the LPS. You heard Gillies this morning. For all we know, we could be next on her hit list of sorts.”

Miss Valerie nodded. “Right. I mean, we were the ones she blamed initially for not letting Emma regress in the first place. Still a mystery how she lasted that long.”

“Uh, well,” Miss Tully began to stumble, “that’s kind of my fault. Still not sure how she lasted as long as she did, but I did help her a bit.”

“What?” Mrs. Carter asked, clearly surprised. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well… I have a cousin who works for Diamond Technologies,” she explained. “They’re trying to find a way to counteract the Juventas formula in the first place. Haven’t made much headway yet, but the drug they do have counterbalances a few of the effects. Probably why she’s bounced back so well lately.”

“Oh wow!” Miss Valerie exclaimed. “Aren’t you worried about what Gillies will do if she ever finds out?”

“Well, yeah, maybe?” Miss Tully responded back hesitantly. “But Emma was my main concern. Besides, none of this would have happened if Gillies had never hired Nurse Bee in the first place. I mean, you’ve seen the recent backroom Littles. All smooth and easy for this place and only to be used as a punishment for the worst offending Littles.”

“And you’re exactly right,” a voice said, nearly coming out of nowhere.

“Mrs. Gillies! I… I…” Miss Tully stammered.

Mrs. Gillies chuckled. “Easy, Tulia. It’s okay. I hate myself for hiring Nurse Bee in the first place, but you’ve seen our books… this place was in dire need of some cost cutting and she seemed a foolproof way out of that mess. Probably the biggest regret of my life now though.” She heavily sighed. “I started this place to help Littles find their proper place in society. If they acted up, then they were obviously too immature and needed to be taken down just a peg or two. In fact, the Burrows room was only designed to care for those who came to us already regressed, not be a place of those we regressed too far.”

“So that means…?” Miss Tully started to ask.

“Yes, Tulia,” Mrs. Gillies affirmed, “I already know about your anti-FOY drug. I’ve probably known about its existence for longer than you have even. The only issue with that drug is that it leaves traces in the body if used at its proper dosage and the pro-Big movements have been sniffing it out recently. If Nancy had caught on, Emma would have been lost to us forever. Now, though, we at least have a chance to make things right.”

I wanted to know more, but just as Miss Tully was about to respond, another Little back in the game of tag tripped over one of the bottom anchors of the rope ladder and began to wail in pain. The staff soon departed for their various duties, and I was left in the metal tube all alone with my thoughts over what I had just overheard.

Things were starting to make so much more sense around here now, and I could finally see how some of the staff could both care for Littles and yet subject them to the FOY drug in the first place. It had always felt like a conundrum to me how a place that prided itself on its avocation against usual regression practices and yet still regressed most of its Littles down to the point of requiring diapers. I had so many other questions, but before I could comb through my faded memories, Vivian soon found me.

One nap and a little more coloring later, Lilly picked me up from daycare. I could see a squad car following her around, and once again, my nerves were quickly put on alert. By now, I really wasn’t sure of the depths that Nancy would go to in order to seek her revenge or at least capture me once again.

Jimmy came back home from work early as well, and the three of us distracted each other quite well for the remaining part of the day and into the night. After dinner, we heard another knock at the door. This time, it was just Agent Dawson. “Hello, Agent Dawson. Anything the matter tonight?” Jimmy asked from the open front door.

Agent Dawson shook her head. “Fortunately, no, Jimmy. I just wanted to say that I’m leaving an agent and a patrol car parked outside your house for the night. We’ve installed several systems that will alert us if anything goes wrong and I’ll be staying nearby. If we get an alert because Nancy has gotten in somehow, the best thing you all can do is play for time.”

“Thank you, Agent Dawson,” Lilly noted, reaching out to shake her hand. “You have no idea how much this means to us.”

“It’s no problem, ma’am,” Agent Dawson replied back courteously. “Just want to make sure that you all and Emma are still safe from Nancy. I’ve been there since the beginning of all this practically, and I just want to see it through to the end now.”

With that, we all bid each other a good night, but everything I had heard today and the threat of Nancy still out there, all kind of caught up with me. My emotions were still a mess from whatever Nancy and Nurse Bee had been doing to me, so I just couldn’t help but start to cry. Lilly and Jimmy quickly noticed.

“Oh, woah, woah, sweetie. What’s the matter?” Lillian asked, quickly bending down to my sobbing form on the couch.

“Yeah, please tell us honey. Is it about Nancy?” Jimmy chimed in. “If it is, don’t worry about her. We’ll be there for you all the way.”

I shook my head. “No, no… iss nah dat… I jus’… I don’ wan’ to leave you aww…” I wiped my tears and snot on my sleeve, but Lilly quickly jumped in with a nearby baby wipe and finished the job for me. “I jus’… pwease don’ leave me beacaws of aww dis… I… I… Pwease don’ dink Imma pwobwen Widdle beacaws of Nancy…” I tried to continue, but my emotions were quickly becoming too much for me.

“Oh no, baby. Shhh, shhh,” Lilly tried to comfort me.

“No, sweetie,” Jimmy added. “We would never think that about you. We promise. Nancy is just a bump in all this. One that we’ll get by in no time.”

I looked up at the two smiling and sympathetic faces staring down at me. “You weally mean dat?”

Both smiled more broadly and nodded their heads. They didn’t say anything, but they just embraced me in a big hug on the couch. Nancy was still out there, but for now, I felt safe and secure. More than that, I was finally starting to feel that I had truly found my new home here.

We all soon headed off to bed after performing each of our own little nighttime routines. I felt secure in the knowledge that I was well protected and safe in this house. I had two wonderful caregivers, the police, and the LPS on my side. So, my eyes soon drifted close in relative peace.

*              *              *

“Emma! Emma!” Lillian shouted at me from above. “Come on baby! You have to get up!”

“Wha’…?” I tried rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, but it took me only seconds to realize that Lilly was back in my nursery before morning had even broken. She was standing there in her bathrobe and quickly plucked me out of my crib. “Wha’s happenin’, Lillian?” Before she had a chance to say anything, I started hearing shouting from downstairs. My blood froze as I recognized one of the voices: it was Nancy.

“Come on, come on!” Lillian quickly gathered me into her arms and cradled me tightly, Patch coming along for the ride as well. I could tell that my diaper was already soaked, but the yelling downstairs just became more intense, so I felt I had some pretty massive other priorities right then. To both of our horrors though, as we exited my nursery, the yelling downstairs turned into screaming which soon turned into smashing.

Lillian looked around frantically, but then down to me in desperation. “There’s no way we can both get out from up here. We need to go downstairs and see if we can get by them and out the front door. Jimmy said he tripped the alarm already, but the others might not get here for a little bit. I’m not seeing another option… unless you have one?” Fear gripped my body, but sadly, I could only shake my head that I did not.

So, unfortunately, Lillian and I had no choice but to slowly creep down the stairs. The noises just became louder, and right as we reached the bottom floor, I could just make out the bodies of the agent and police outside. From their slight moving around, I felt confident that they had just been dazed, instead of outright killed, but I knew then that practically every one of my worst fears was now coming true.

“She’s mine! Mine!” Nancy screamed as she hurdled right into Jimmy’s chest. I could already see his head was bleeding and a nearby bloody bat seemed to be the culprit.

Jimmy quickly saw us and put up an even more intense struggle. “Run! Get out of here! Go!”

Unfortunately, our presence gave Jimmy an extra bit of strength, but I saw that as soon as the disheveled and maniacal Nancy saw me, she got a boost as well. Owing likely to his previous head injury, her newfound strength was just enough to tip the scales back in her favor. With one last slam against one of the bookshelves, Jimmy was out cold.

“Jimmy!” Lillian cried out. I could only whimper in terror at the situation unfolding before us. I had never been so scared in my life and seeing the carnage that Nancy had brought with her tonight, I knew there was no stopping her and no rule that she wasn’t willing to break anymore.

Right then, both Lillian and Nancy spotted a revolver on the ground near Jimmy. Its pink grip clearly signaled that it originally belonged to Nancy but had at some point been knocked free of her possession.

Now seeing the real danger to both our lives, but also being far away from the gun, I saw Lillian stare at the busted open door. I didn’t like where any of this was headed, but in seconds, Nancy lunged for the gun and Lillian dashed to the door. Nancy was first. A single shot rang out and just missed us, hitting the wall only about half a foot away from where we were standing.

“Not another move!” Nancy shouted out, blood trickling from her mouth. “I won’t miss next time!”

Looking at my former caregiver now, she was quite the changed woman from when I had last seen her. Her usually well-maintained hair and nails were grungy and overgrown. Parts of her makeup had clearly run down her face, and she was already starting to sport bruises on her arms and legs from her fights previously tonight. Her cracked and blackened nails curled around the grip of the revolver, and she jerked it toward the couch. “Over there! Move it! Now!”

Not wanting to tempt fate, Lillian had no other choice but to comply. “Okay, okay,” she said shakily. “No need to wave that thing around. I’m moving.”

“No need? No need?” Nancy spat. “Oh geez, lady! There absolutely is a need. See, Emma was mine first. I’ve come to get her back. I’d say that was a big need!”

I whimpered, still clinging tightly to Patch and Lillian. “Pwease, Nancy… pwease jus’ go. Dere’s no need ta do dis… I jus’ wanna be happy. Pwease go…”

Nancy lowered the revolver and smiled at me. It was the same smile I had seen thousands of times before, but now, it just crawled under my skin in a way that I didn’t like at all. “Awww, hello there Emmy baby. I was just about to get to you. See, baby, my happiness is you, sweetie. I definitely know that one hundred percent now after all the time we’ve spent apart. That’s why I had to break out tonight.”

“And how did you do that exactly?” Lillian asked.

“Shut up!” Nancy screamed, pointing the revolver back at Lillian, her emotional state seemingly able to fluctuate now at the drop of a hat. “I didn’t say you could speak, lady! This is just about me and my Little… my baby.”

Officially consigning her to having gone over the deep end, I actually wanted to know the same thing. I had been thinking about it all day and after the conversation I overheard with the daycare staff, I had wondered if Jimmy, Lillian, and I were actually safe tonight. “Okay, okay, Nancy. Jus’ put down da gun, buh I wanna know too. How dih you get out?”

Nancy smirked over my interaction with her and fortunately lowered the revolver back down. “Well, it wasn’t easy, baby, but I have a few friends at the station. It’s amazing the connections you can make when you join a few political meetings. It might shock you to know just how many pro-Big members there are in this city alone. All it took was a little loyalty and bam! I was out of my cell! I mean, they all told me to get out of Virgan and even Libertalia, but I just couldn’t leave without my baby. A few disagreed, but most understood.”

Unfortunately, at that notion, her resolve only seemed to increase, and she raised the gun once more to Lillian. I could feel Lillians grip on me tighten and wrap me even tighter. “So, I’ve come here tonight instead to collect what’s mine. Come over to me now, Emma. In fact, I promise… I won’t hurt Jimmy or Lillian anymore tonight if you do so willingly.” She then reinforced her gun’s positioning and aiming at Lillian. “Refuse, and things might get a little… messy.”

I looked back up at Lillian and I could tell she didn’t want me to leave but sighing and placing my hand on her face to reassure her while also not seeing another way out, I whispered. “Ih will be okay. I pwomise…” Sighing with the weight of eternity and out of options, she soon let me down like I wanted in order to give into Nancy’s demands. I knew she wasn’t bluffing, and while I wanted to do anything else than comply with her, I didn’t want to see Lillian or Jimmy get hurt because of me.  

So, taking a deep breath in to try and somehow calm my nerves at least a little bit, I started walking over to Nancy slowly. Nearby, I could still see the unconscious form of Jimmy slowly moving around just from his breathing. I was thankful he wasn’t more hurt, especially considering that Nancy had brought a gun, but I knew we still weren’t out of the woods yet.

As soon as I got to the feet of Nancy, she beamed down at me and smiled once more. The past few minutes had nothing to make that smile feel any warmer to me. To be blunt, if anything, I now just felt it resembled more of a smile from a hunter who had finally caught their prey after so long.

“Well, hello again there, little one. Miss me at all?” she questioned in her usual tone meant solely for babies and pets. At one time, I actually found it comforting, but now… it just reminded me of all the bad times with her.

So, instead of answering her, I just cut to the chase. “Okay… I’m hewe… wha’ now?”

Nancy didn’t seem to appreciate me brushing off her previous statement, but she also seemed determined to leave here as soon as she could. “Now, baby, you come with me, and we leave this country all together. I’m thinking maybe Catalon… or Honshu? I’ve heard the weather is wonderfully quite pleasant there this time of the year.”

I could only nod and accept my fate. I knew that once out of the country, even with the best and most advanced resources of Libertalia trying to find me, they never would. Other countries, particularly those two with their stringent Little laws, made it difficult to locate another Little. It was one of the reasons that kidnapping Littles to other countries had proven so popular before. It was only after huge reforms that the problem had died down, but the loopholes were still there if one knew where to look and for the right price.

Nancy then bent down to pick me up, but just as she got me settled into her arms, I could hear the whirring and purring of motors and engines from nearby. “What’s that? What’s that?” Nancy asked as she waved her gun around in the air, clearly paranoid now of anything disrupting her plans to get me back.

She didn’t have to wait long to find out. In moments, from the front window, we could see numerous squad vehicles show up from both the local police and the LPS. Our rescue party had finally arrived, but that’s when everything went from bad to worse.

Clearly panicking, Nancy paced back and forth with me still in her arms. Lillian tried several times to talk her down and to just surrender. “Please, Nancy. Just give in and all this can be over. There’s no way out of here. You have to know that by now.”

“No! Nothing is over!” she screamed back as she pointed the gun more menacingly back at her. Lillian just held up her hands in surrender. Unfortunately, I think right then, Nancy had an awful idea of the few things she actually did still have. “I have a gun…”

I wanted to try and talk her out of whatever she was planning, but at that very moment, the front and rear doors burst open, and several agents and officers surrounded Nancy. I wish I could say otherwise, but clearly not seeing any other way out, Nancy hugged me tighter and aimed the gun right at me. “Back off! I get out of here now. There’s no way I’m leaving without Emma. Either we both go, or neither of us does!”

“Easy, Nancy. Easy there,” Agent Dawson tried to calm her. “There’s no reason this has to end this way.”

“Yeah,” Chief McGinty agreed. “Just put the gun down and we can talk. There’s still a way out of this where we all get out of this safely.”

“I don’t believe you!” Nancy shouted back at them. I could hear the desperation and panic begin to set in her voice. I didn’t like where this was heading.

“Pwease, Nancy,” I pleaded, still in the tight grip of her arm. “Pwease don’ do dis…”

Nancy looked down at me and swore I could see tears in her eyes. “Why, Emma? Why? Why did it come to this? We could have been happy… I just… I just wanted my little girl back… Is that really so bad?”

My heart broke for her a little bit, but I could never forgive her for what she had done and was continuing to do. Maybe that meant that I was a bad person as well, but by now, I knew that we could have been happy together. Like Jimmy and Lillian had shown me, it was still possible to connect Bigs and Littles together and not force the Little to be regressed. Nancy could have just helped me out with my growing regression and that could have been the end of it. Instead, everything had led to this.

I then looked over at Agent Dawson. She stared intently at me, and I could quickly tell that she was trying to give me a signal of sorts with her subtle facial tics. I wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but I knew something was there for sure. Fortunately, Nancy was too distracted in her tsunami of emotions right then to notice what was happening right in front of her.

So, seeing my chance and feeling there weren’t many other options or opportunities to end this, I nodded to Agent Dawson, who then quickly signaled to Chief McGinty. It was a risk, but I just hoped everything would be over quickly. The mustached elderly cop twitched for a moment, and then squinted his eyes at the two of us. He breathed in and out and stated in a clear and unmistakable voice, “Take ‘em.”

A shot rang out. I fell to the ground.

[Kat5]

7 hours ago, LostBBoyBear said:

A shot rang out. I fell to the ground.

Oh my G... That left me crying. Yes, Nancy caused it all, but I can't help remembering who she was at first and now Emma is going to cry and frankly I know I would be traumatized by this FOR LIFE.

Poor Emma.

And to a lesser extent ... Poor Nancy.

[kerry]

On 4/30/2024 at 9:33 AM, Kat5 said:

And to a lesser extent ... Poor Nancy.

You are a whole lot more sympathetic to her than I am, I'm afraid.

[Kat5]

2 hours ago, kerry said:

You are a whole lot more sympathetic to her than I am, I'm afraid.

I mean, she got what she got. She hurt a lot of people ans threatened to do something horrific. She earned it, I'm not saying that.

But she started off happy to help and normal and this mantra was drilled into her and she went wacko. Is it her fault that she went wacko? Absolutely. But that doesn't mean that she did not have the potential to be an amazing person before that. 

But I'm a little softy. I know it.

[LostBBoyBear]

Hey everyone! As a heads up, this will technically serve as the final chapter in this story. There is one more part I have planned after this that I’ve almost completed, but it will serve as an epilogue more than as a strictly ‘final’ chapter. That being said, I think you all will enjoy it just as much as this one.

There were a lot of ways that I could have had this story turn, but if any of you have read my other stories, I usually like the happy endings better. I have a few stories with decidedly negative endings, but I kind of like my fiction to be an escape sometimes and ending happy is just a nice way to go in my opinion.

Next, as a reminder, I’m now polling between two stories to figure out what I should write next. The two choices are listed out in chapter 2, so be sure to check them out and let me know. As I am announcing the winner with the next and final chapter tomorrow at some point, be sure to let me know which story you would like to read first.

As usual, I hope everyone enjoys this penultimate chapter!

Chapter 15: Spring of a New Life

My heart pounded within my chest. I didn’t see a way out of this. I just knew that Nancy was serious and only bad things could come from this. But then I saw the rippling eyebrows of Agent Dawson. Subtle, but something was definitely there. I just hoped that she was trying to indicate for me to duck, and I really couldn’t be sure about that even, but I knew that at least at minimum, she had a plan in mind. What specifically, I had no idea, but at that point, I only had trust to go on. So, with few other options, I nodded my head to her.

Agent Dawson cleared her throat and Chief McGinty briefly looked back at her. He seemed to know what she was indicating, and he was clearly the one in charge, so when he looked back at Nancy, he stared at her even further down than he already had been.

I could probably have heard a pin drop in that single moment. I could feel the tension rising behind me with Nancy. I knew she was planning on doing something very soon. Before she did though, Chief McGinty then squinted, slightly curved his mouth upward, and said very clearly, “Take ‘em.”

All at once, I stopped breathing. I knew the moment of truth had come and I froze in Nancy’s hands. I just hoped that whatever happened, it would be over quickly.

As if to answer my hopes, a single shot rang out from Agent Dawson’s gun. It kind of made a splattering noise of sorts unlike the pure deafening bang of a normal gunshot though. It confused me for a second, but being so tightly wrapped in Nancy’s arms, I couldn’t see it, but as soon as the round thudded above me, her body went slack, and she dropped back to the floor. Still clutched in her arm, I fell with her.

I was stunned for a moment. I even patted myself down to see if I had been injured anywhere, but once I felt I was in the clear, I pried the lifeless but still heavy arm of Nancy off me. I didn’t want to turn around and look, but a morbid curiosity soon overtook me.

When I looked back though, there was no sunken head, no blood or brains smeared onto the home I thought would have been safe. Instead, a bluish-purple splatter could be seen right in the middle of Nancy’s forehead. Curiously, and slightly unnerving, her face had been frozen in the emotional state she had before getting hit. To be honest, I felt Like I was watching a movie of her, and someone had just pressed the pause button.  

I mean, I could see the rage for sure, but there was also a sense of panic and dread there as well. Maybe even regret, but it didn’t matter in any scenario. Nancy was down and I was quickly surrounded by practically every officer.

It was highly overwhelming, but Agent Dawson quickly plucked me out of the crowd and led me over to Lillian who was frantically searching around for me while still cradling the still unconscious Jimmy. “Oh, sweetie! Come here! Come here!” Lillian held one of her arms open to me and I needed no further prompting to dive right in and give her a giant needed hug. “Oh, honey, are you alright?”

I nodded into her arms, and she just hugged me tighter. Right then, Jimmy began to stir, and while at first, he was a little disorientated, he soon seemed happy just to be in the embrace of his family. For me, I was happy about that, but there was a part of me that was even happier when I saw the still frozen form of Nancy being dragged off.

“Well,” Agent Dawson finally said, clearly relieved herself, “I guess that’s all there is to it. I reckon this is a pretty open and shut case now. What do you think chief?”

Chief McGinty scratched his head and sighed. “Yeah. I suspect so as well. Good thing for those stun rounds you agents keep on you for these situations. Nancy will definitely stand up to trial now. Even here in southern Virgan, I don’t think there’s a jury within 500 miles of here who would convict her as not guilty.”

“Might even be able to press her a bit at this point to get some information as to how she escaped…” Agent Dawson added. Chief McGinty didn’t seem too pleased about that, and there was a part of me that wanted to know why. But for tonight, I finally felt safe that Nancy was going away for sure and was also definitely going to pay for her crimes.

*              *              *

I guess I wasn’t sure what I was hoping for after that. Months with Nancy in her growing pro-Big state of vileness against me had put me on the defensive for so long that I wasn’t even sure of where I wanted my future to head anymore. On the one hand, my memories of Earth were coming back to me, but as the season began to grow warm again in the following Spring, I still couldn’t bring myself to just simply go back home.

I was reading better than ever now, but my mind still seemed scattered and unfocused when it came to any activity that I had to complete above maybe a first graders. My thoughts were better, and I did find some satisfaction in some of the activities I used to, but simplicity offered me a safe haven with the other attributes I hadn’t quite mastered yet… if ever. Pronunciation of words, potty training, coordination, and several other feats now just seemed beyond my grasp. So, going back to Earth seemed like more of a dream to me more now than ever. I still felt wrong about staying in this dimension, and this led to several moments of frustration in my life, but admittedly two things began to help me out until I could decide what I should do.

The first was Jimmy and Lillian. Their comfort and protection of me the night Nancy broke in and afterward helped me more than I ever could begin to know. As vindictive and paranoid as Nancy had been in the end, they were just as kind and considerate to me now. Even when I got closer to them, fearing that they would turn out just like Nancy, they only became more supportive of anything I tried to do.

The second thing that helped me out was seeing Nancy. As Agent Dawson and Chief McGinty had predicted, she did go to trial and while the details aren’t as important, the conclusion was. After striking a plea deal, she wasn’t sentenced to a growing new program designed to ‘disappear’ Bigs. Of course, there were persistent rumors of those ‘disappeared’ Bigs turning into Littles themselves, but most just believed them to be just rumors and nothing else. That being said, Nancy found herself in a program that seemed deadest on confirming those rumors without actually confirming them. Nowadays, there wasn’t a soul alive who didn’t recognize Nancy, now sporting her undyed dark brown locks of hair, from the myriad of PSAs she now appeared in, all solely dedicated to warning other Bigs about what not to do with Littles.

Most commercials began simply. She would be dressed in the Big attire I most remembered her in, but she would ‘act’ harshly against an actor Little and would then soon be forced to endure all the treatments normally reserved for Littles in this society. It was a riot heard around the country as she used her visible diapers on every television screen. I reveled in the sweet sense of justice that it brought me, but I also began to notice a change in her and the format of the PSAs.

At first, I thought it was just the acceptance of her fate as the poster Big for the anti-abuse of Littles, but about two months ago, I started to see that she seemed less mature when she was supposed to be acting like a Big. If anything, she almost started to appear like a Little trying to pretend to be an adult. I loved it at first, but it didn’t take long after that for them to drop the adult portion of the PSA entirely. Slowly but surely, I began to see a decreased awareness in Nancy’s eyes. If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn she was being regressed herself.

When I asked Jimmy or Lillian about it, they seemed nervous but steadfast in their answer to me. “It’s just acting” or “She’s being punished in the way the state deemed fit.” In other words, I never got a straight answer to what I was seeing with my previous caregiver, but life just continued and like other portions of my current existence, I learned to just accept this society’s version of justice and move on.

“I’m sorry, honey,” Lillian said as she changed me back into a new diaper. “Maybe we can try the pull-ups another time. Jimmy and I are really proud of you, but I think for now, we just need to keep you dry and well-protected, okay?”

I tearfully nodded, but it had already happened before. As one of my Christmas gifts a few months ago, I had been given a shot to try out the pull-ups they had bought for me initially. Unfortunately, just like now, my control seemed minimal at best. Jimmy and Lillian were both patient and helped me through each trial run, and while I did make it a few times, I hadn’t lasted a week either back in December or now. So, at this point, I was pretty resigned to the fact that I likely never would.

As if sensing my thoughts, I heard someone creak along in the hallway and a figure soon appeared at my door. “Knock, knock,” Jimmy said cheerfully as he knocked on my nursery door just as Lillian finished taping my diaper into place. “Hey sweetie. I know you’re probably feeling down, but I was thinking that maybe to cheer you up, we could go to the park today. How’s that sound?”

They both knew me very well by now and that I had been itching to get back to the playground without wearing a jacket for at least a month. We had made several trips to the playground during the winter months, but today was one of the first few weekends that was nice enough to thoroughly enjoy outside. So, I nodded quickly. “Yes, pwease!” Jimmy and Lillian both smiled at me.

As Lillian helped me back down to the floor, Jimmy gave me a thumbs up. “Perfect! Let me go pack our to-go bag, you all get settled here, and we leave in five, okay?”

“We got it, dear. You run off and pack now,” Lillian said patiently. They had gone through this routine several times before and Jimmy always said five minutes, but he would always forget something, and the five minutes would soon blossom into fifteen. As he speedily took off, Lillian looked back and me and we both giggled at the sight of him hurrying away. “Now, let’s get you packed.” I nodded and proceeded to help about as much as I could with my diaper bag.

So, as predicted, fifteen minutes later, we were all in the car and headed to the main park everyone lately seemed to be going to. It was deemed a ‘safe zone’ by the local authorities where Littles could run about and play without fear of pro-Big protestors. Rumors swirled through the community that some were considering the passage of some humane state Little laws and the pro-Big movement hadn’t responded well at all.

“We’re here!” Jimmy finally announced after a while. I easily got bored lately in the car and though Patch remained diligently by my side, I kept forgetting to give myself something to do in the car. I’m sure Lillian could have helped me out, but I already felt like enough of a burden to bother with that kind of thing. Both were trying to get me out of that habit, but it was very hard to break still.

Regardless, getting settled into my stroller and my diaper bag and our to-go bag stuffed underneath, we all soon took off for the main area of the park. It was almost lunch time, and everyone seemed gathered about the picnic tables. Fortunately, I saw Anna and Lilly’s families both there and convinced Jimmy and Lillian to sit by them. A quick lunch later and every Little was back at play.

First up, were the swings. Again, as had become habit, I got Jimmy to push me, but today, being one of the few double parent teams, he offered to push a few of the other Littles as well while Lillian caught up with a few of the other caregivers to arrange playdates and the like. “Hiyer Jimmy! Hiyer!” I demanded as politely and sweetly as I could. Seeing my smile, he never seemed to mind.

Admittedly, he was getting a pretty good workout today, as I saw him jogging back over to me. “Right on it, sweetie. Try kicking your legs out when you go forward. It will help you even more.”

“Like dis!” Lilly shouted out from nearby. We were a little more on equal terms now with our abilities, but being a native Little, she knew just how some of these more childish things worked better. Nearby, the still young Anna merely copied her. Lilly and I had both noticed that she was doing that type of thing a lot more lately. We both wondered why she seemed to be slipping further, but after coming in one day with a Jasper and Jinx t-shirt underneath her skirtalls, we both knew the reason. ‘I swear, that program was responsible for more Little regression than the FOY some days…’

Next was tag. Seeing as it got me moving my now more coordinated legs around and let me just be as free as I wanted to, when possible, it was rapidly becoming my favorite outdoor activity. I still loved the swings, chalk, slides, and other things like that, but tag just checked off a lot of what I wanted. Plus, when you found a good place to hide, chances are, there were other fellow Littles nearby as well you could whisper to and catch up on what was going on.

“One, two, thwee, fou…” Anna began to count.

I quickly found a perfect hiding place, but I saw that Charley, Jenny, and Vivian were also hiding nearby as well. “Are you schure issa good idea ta let her count?” Vivian asked, raising an eyebrow over to Anna who was getting stuck in the teens with her counting.

Charley shrugged. “Eh. I dunno. She’s pwobly bettuh dan me, buh one of da adults will hewp… you dink so Emma?”

I nodded and pointed. “Look. Miss Suzzy, Jane’s mommy, is comin’ to hewp. Somone’s always watchin’ when we pway.” All seemingly satisfied now, I then looked over at Jenny. She was relatively new to all of us and was still making friends. Like me, she was from Earth and had been set adrift from her original caregiver. Her stuffy, Victor, had provided an excellent distraction in her time of need, but she was still trying to find a new one.

Curious, I then looked over and saw the potential Big candidate she had been getting to know lately. “Hey, Jenny. Iss dat youw new caegivuh?”

She nodded with a big goofy grin on her face. “Uh-huh! He’s so weird buh so funny! He can make aww dese difwent voices. Victo’ an’ I have so much fun wiff him!”

I smiled at my new friend’s newfound caregiver. It wasn’t easy finding a new one, especially for the quirky oddball she was… ‘I mean, what Little dresses in purples and blacks?’ But she was truthful and creative, two qualities I admired a lot, and when I learned that she was looking for a new caregiver, I quickly stepped in to help her out. “Dat’s gweat, Jenny. I’m so happy fo’ you.”

She smiled but then clearly a new thought popped into her head. “Ooh! I nee’ to invite you aww to a pawty nex’ weekend! He says he wan’s to becuh my offischul caegivuh!”

“Oh, congwats, Jenny!” Charley celebrated.

“Yeah, I’ll totly be dere!” Vivian announced.

“Me too!” I knew I had to clear it with jimmy and Lillian first, but I doubted either would have a problem with it. It was supporting another Little who was my friend after all, and they had been trying to get me to make new ones for a while now. Truthfully, I had a guess as to why.

Anna soon found us after our rather loud cheering echoed cleanly through the metal tube we were hiding in. It didn’t matter much, as after a few more rounds of tag, a lot of the Littles began to nod off and either were taken home or simply took a nap on a blanket their caregiver had laid out for them.

For me, I was starting to feel the day wear heavily on me, but I decided to absolutely exhaust my remaining energy by going down the slide while I thought about a few things. Now, some caregivers would have flat out said no or would have insisted on going down the slide with their Little as an alternative. Jimmy and Lillian however, elected to either trust me, or when there were other less regressed Littles around, wait for me at the bottom. Again, it only reinforced my suspicion from earlier about making new friends. See, I think both of them wanted to form a stronger bond with me and get me to stay with them.

I was still too timid to even contemplate the notion of adoption, but I also knew that caregivers were technically only meant to be temporary fixes for regressed Littles. I, unfortunately, knew now that I was a regressed Little. I wasn’t so bad to the point of never being able to return to Earth, but I also knew my life would be very difficult there if I did. Automations and programs helped the other fortunate to be returning by now, so it was possible, but every time Lillian caught me and swooped me up into the sky as I made it back down the slide, I caught myself wondering if it would really be so bad to stay here.

All that seemed moot for the moment though, as the sun began to set, Lillian scooped me up one last time. “Alright, missy. Playtime is over. It’s almost dinner.” I wanted to whine, but a yawn only caught in my throat instead. Lillian only smiled and hauled me off. A quick trip to the changing table and some extra wipes to clean me off from the dust of the playground and I was declared ‘as ready as ever’ as I was then loaded into my car seat once more.

I soon nodded off, but when I awoke a little while later, I was quickly aware of the fact that we weren’t going home like we normally did. Instead, we headed into the main part of the city, Loculofus. “Whew… whew aww we?” I sleepily asked.

Lillian turned around and smiled at me. “Oh, good. You’re up. I was just about to wake you because we’re getting closer to where we’re going out to eat tonight. For now, though, just sit back and we’ll be there sooner than later.” I nodded passively and just hugged Patch even tighter as we passed over one of the taller and scarier bridges.

Once parked, Lillian plucked me out of my seat and followed Jimmy. My memories from before still took a second to come back, but it didn’t take me long to realize that we were back in the park I had first arrived after the coming to this dimension in the first place. Almost a year ago now, it instead felt like a lifetime ago. Giving my diaper, stuffy, my little flower dress, and the fact I was being carried by a Big through the park now, I don’t think that notion was too surprising though.

Finally, after a little more walking, we soon came to a large restaurant, one that I had recognized from the chain out by where we lived. The restaurant, ‘Blue Apollan,’ catered well to both Bigs and Littles and was a growing success everywhere. Beyond their funky and even whimsical décor, they had a zero-tolerance policy for Little discrimination and was even known to hire the occasional Little willingly. Jimmy and Lillian had introduced me to it late last year and I couldn’t get enough of their Little-sized burger, fries, and chocolate milkshake.

We all sat down and despite the fact I was in a highchair, I was still given a menu to look at. At one time, I would have considered it just standard at any restaurant, but I had quickly learned in my outings with Nancy that it wasn’t the normal case for Littles in this society.

“So, what can I get for you, young sir?” the roughly college-aged Big then asked me as I continued to look over the menu. I quickly looked at Jimmy and Lillian and both just smiled and nodded their heads. I instantly saw the relief on the waitress’ face. Choosing from a menu was a big deal for me, but despite the restaurant policy, it was still usually considered a privilege and not a right by most Bigs. I could only imagine how many Littles she had seen getting punished for acting out here.

“Uh, one bacon buguh an’ one cholate shake, pwease.” She wrote everything down and hesitated for a moment, and I quickly realized why. “Oh! Sowwy! Widdle sized fo’ aww dat.” I blushed heavily, but to my relief, she just smiled back.

“You got it, cutie,” she said cheerfully. She then took Jimmy and Liliian’s order and went off to put it in. To their credit, neither said a word about my slip up. Not punishable, but considering the Big size was almost three times the size of the Little version, it would have been wasteful nonetheless.

Regardless, our food soon came, and the meal went pretty typically afterward, but I could also feel that both Jimmy and Lillian had been looking at me differently all night. At first, I thought it was just residual looks from my slip up with my order and then I thought it was just because I was their Little and they didn’t want me to choke or anything. Looks like that were common and I had gotten used to them a long time ago. With Nancy, it was because she thought I was simple incapable, but with Jimmy and Lillian, I knew it came from a place more to show their care for my safety than anything else. Still, the looks persisted.

Finally, after I polished off the first round of double chocolate smoothie, savoring each of the sprinkles that had sunk to the bottom of the malt glass, I had to know what was going on. “Wha’ss goin’ on wiff you two?” They were about to say something, but I quickly added, “An’ pwease don’ jus’ say nuthin’.”

Jimmy smirked and then looked at Jillian. “Well, I guess we can’t keep it to ourselves any longer. Are you ready, honey?”

Lillian instantly looked terrified, and my palms began to sweat. I had learned long ago by now that if Lillian was nervous about something, I probably should be too. I don’t know if it was simply a Big versus Little thing or that I was just mimicking how she reacted to the world now, but her emotions were usually a pretty good indicator for how I was feeling as well.

She then sighed heavily and nodded her head. “Yes, I think it’s time.” Oddly enough, she then looked over to my milkshake. “Probably better take that now before she finishes the rest. No need for any tummy troubles tonight.”

“Ooh! Good thinking, honey.” To my chagrin, Jimmy then reached over and took away my milkshake. I was about to protest, but he just held up his finger to me… his classic symbol to me to not interrupt him for a moment. It honestly wasn’t a power move at this point, because in almost every scenario, he let me speak after. If anything, he just used it as a way for me to speak with all the facts once he gave them, rather than for me to just lash out initially. After all, he knew very well that my emotional state was still in a bit of flux after my time with Nurse Bee and Nancy.

“Now, sweetie. You’ll get this back after what’s next. I’ll even fill it back up with the rest, but first…” he then waved his hand around in the air. I wanted to turn to see who he had signaled to, but he quickly spoke again before I could. “First though, we have a bit of a celebration for you. It’s why we came here, not far from where we first met, to celebrate a special event.”

Before I could ask a single question, a few of the waiters and waitresses soon came over and began to clap as our main waitress soon placed a decently sized single cake in front of me with a lighted number ‘6’. “Alright everyone!” she yelled out to the rest of the restaurant. “Can I get a big round of applause for someone celebrating their six-month anniversary?” All at once, every table began to clap in earnest.

For my part, I was utterly confused. A six-month anniversary… it felt so short to be celebrating something and I tried to wrack my brain back six months ago. I was still a little fuzzy with dates and all, but six months ago was Nancy… ‘Maybe?’ Before I could question anything, our main waitress placed a cardboard crown on my head. To be honest, I smiled a little bit at that, feeling every bit like a special princess. Still, I was really confused about everything else.

“Happy six months, sweetie!” the waitress said cheerily. “We’ll leave you to it but be sure to make a wish before you blow out your candle!” I could only nod to her in stunned silence.

As they left, I turned back to Jimmy and Lillian, both of whom were smiling as wide as they could, but I noticed that they could also quickly see my confusion. “Ooh, you know, Jimmy… she might have been in her regressed state when that state law was passed.”

Jimmy then palmed his forehead. “Oh geez. You’re probably right.” Both then quickly turned to me. “We’re really sorry, honey. We completely didn’t even think about the fact that you might not know about the whole six-month rule in place now.”

I wanted to say ‘duh’ but my instincts told me that probably wasn’t my wisest move. “Uh, so may’ee tell me now?”

Lillian nodded. “Right. So, last year, the government passed a new rule for Virgan that any Little must be in the care of Big for at least six months before… before…” She seemed stuck on saying some word and she looked at Jimmy for help.

He nodded and turned back to me. “Adoption. Adoption is what she’s trying to say, Emma. It’s okay either way with us, but if you want, we’re offering it to you now.”

In an instant, my whole world turned. I had only meant all of this to be a temporary break from teaching, but now, I was faced with a challenge that most Littles, oddly enough, would be so lucky if they were able to choose themselves. Choosing to be adopted was essentially declaring me a ward of this dimension now. I could potentially still go back to Earth, but it would require several more steps than what I was already still technically going through now. So, in essence, I was choosing whether I wanted to go back home or not.

It was a tough decision and one that I thought I would never have to make. There was a big part of me that still was who I was when I initially stepped out of that portal last year. I felt I was still that English high school teacher from Arizona thirsting for adventure, but at the same time, I couldn’t shrug off a single notion that kept flashing through my head: ‘Was I really still the same person?’

I guess if anyone from my past back on Earth was to see me now, there’s no way they would have ever considered me the same person. Even from just a glance and not knowing about my playtime at the park today, the fact that I would require a diaper change before going home, and then where I would get a bath, be rediapered, and then tucked in for the night as I, Jimmy, or Lillian read a story before falling asleep in my crib, they could see the difference. Going even further though, they wouldn’t know about daycare, or my other diapered friends, or even the numerous playdates I had set up for this week or my visit to the public library for Reading Day on Friday with Lillian.

So, no, they wouldn’t see all that, but they would see me in a highchair, proud of my paper crown declaring me a princess for the moment, likely could smell my diaper from the powder or otherwise by now, and they would probably see the few globs of milkshake and ketchup I had accidentally dropped on my dress instead of opting for a bib. By now, I wasn’t sure what was worse for one of my past people to see, but I doubt they would ever refer to me as an adult anymore.

That notion stung more than I ever thought it would at this point, but I knew I also had to look at my life with how it currently was. Sure, it wasn’t how I thought it would turn out, but I still felt I had the basics of what it was to be happy. I had friends, a social life, a fun and healthy environment to live in, my books and other assorted likes in my life, and yes, even a family.

As I stared over at the still eagerly waiting Jimmy and Lillian, I realized that I had now spent more time with them than I ever had with Nancy. Nancy had seemed so safe, but barely two months in and she was cruel and sadistic. Jimmy and Lillian had passed that mark long ago and they were still the same happy and dedicated couple I had first met. Sure, I still got put into timeouts and whatnot, but there was a genuine care and understanding they gave me that I felt I needed in my life now. So, maybe bikinis and driving a car were out of my life, but I also felt I had gained more than I had lost at this point.

Not wanting to waste a single more second worrying or second guessing myself, I knew my whole world was about to change, but I still nodded. “Yes.”

Like a pin had just popped a balloon full of air, it seemed both could finally breathe. Ever the detail man though, Jimmy looked back at me. “Okay, yes. But I just want to be clear… What are you saying yes to?”

I could see that Lillian just wanted to soak in the moment and had assumed what I had said yes to, but I knew that Jimmy had a point as well. Adoption for Littles was always a sticky subject whenever the Little’s consent was actually involved, so to reassure them of what I meant, I nodded my head again. “Yes, I agree to be adopted by both of you.”

In an millisecond, the tension that I had been feeling on the periphery for both Jimmy and Lillian instantly vanished. Smiles instantly lit their faces and I could see a few other Bigs cooing and awing over my acceptance of their proposal. I saw a few Littles look at me with disgust as well, but I quickly pushed them out of my mind, especially when Jimmy and Lillian scooted their seats around me and gave me a giant hug.

A few moments like that passed, and both then released me from the front of the hug while still bracing me from behind. I felt safe, protected, and loved. “Okay, honey,” Lillian told me, smiling down to me from my left. “Blow out your candle and make a wish.”

“Go ahead, sweetie,” Jimmy encouraged me from my right. “Just make it a good one.” I nodded and smiled at both before looking back down at the longer lasting candle on my tiny piece of cake to think about my wish.

Sure, my life hadn’t turned out the way that I thought it would, but my mind kept coming back to one simple fact: I was happy. Coming from a world once bent on the edge of destruction, growing up, I never thought I would get any sort of happy ending. So now, here in another dimension entirely, once again, the Bigs were giving me a chance to be happy. Nancy and a few of the others weren’t pleasant, but all those problems seemed very far away as Jimmy and Lillian both embraced me as I stared back down at the candle. I could have wished for many other things, but only one wish really stood out to me. ‘I wish to lead a simple, peaceful, and happy life with my new friends and family.’ Childish, wishful thinking, and even simple perhaps, but given my current life, I thought it seemed entirely appropriate.

So, having made my wish, I sucked in a big breath of air, and blew out my candle. Receiving praise from both Jimmy and Lillian, we all hugged once more, and I felt that what once was supposed to just be my little break, had actually turned into a pretty good life already. So, maybe, just like in all my favorite stories, my wish might actually just come true.

[AlexTheAlex]

This is such a hecking cute chapter!

Also I vote for tell me more sequel, but I love anything you write so I wouldn't mind it anyway.

[Kat5]

12 hours ago, AlexTheAlex said:

This is such a hecking cute chapter!

It's certainly a big sigh of relief for me, the last chapter had me scared of ...y'know. Gun -> person interaction.

[Blastoslap]

Nice chapter, and please note that I voted on wattpad for the continuation of the "Tell Me More" story. If you noticed my vote there, don't count this one anymore, I'm logged in on wattpad under the same username as I just logged in here a while ago.

[Guilend]

Great chapter. I imagine the times Nancy played as a Big was the only time since her sentencing she got to wear big girl panties. Which she was put into before her scene. I bet the first shoot she probably got a good spanking because she didn't want to do it. I bet eventually she ended up peeing or pooping her big girl panties before she was put back in diapers during that scene and that's probably when they decided to cut out her big scenes because she couldn't be trusted in big girl panties anymore. I am sad she's being regressed, probably using hypnosis and FOY. She probably now gets breastfed at least for breakfast. I bet she was so embarrassed the first time she had to mess her diaper on TV.

I can't wait for the epilogue. Hopefully we see what happens to nurse B.

I went to leave this comment on Wattpad but I see that you've probably had been removed from there as I can't find you anymore.

[LostBBoyBear]

Hey everyone! Welcome to the final chapter, or in this case, the epilogue of this story. I was batting back and forth on whether I should make it a full chapter or not, but I really just liked the conclusion of the last chapter too much for it not to be the official end. So, with that in mind, this chapter basically ties a few ends up and points to a few other easter eggs and future stories if I ever really wanted to go down this story path again.

Also, just a little note about this chapter and a bit in the same vein, something does happen in it that I’ve been thinking about doing for a while to connect to another story I’ve been planning for over a year now. I won’t say its title here, but when you all read about this particular segment, I’m guessing many of you will already know about it. Additionally, another event happens and if you know anything about two characters from another one of my stories, yes, those are the connections I was going for. It didn’t start out that way, but once I saw my accidental connections while I was planning this story, I just couldn’t help myself.

Also, by now, I think it’s pretty clear that Wattpad is doing a purge like with what happened to Patreon last year and DeviantArt and Tumblr before that. It’s a bit frustrating, but I can’t do anything about it, so for now, I will be solely posting here, though I may branch out to other platforms as well in the future. If I do so, I will let anyone know here in case they want to see my work elsewhere as well.

Next, I am announcing that I will soon start work on my next story, ‘Tell Me More II’ very soon. Adding the votes from my last story and the ones from this one, it was close, but the ‘Tell Me More’ sequel just won out. My hopes are to complete it before the start of my upcoming trip about halfway into this month, and I think I should have enough time to complete it by then as it will be like the previous story with only about seven chapters. As the story will be shorter than most of my other ones, I might wait to post the final chapter until the last possible moment before my trip in order to give everyone a chance to vote if they want. I’m going to be a little busy over the next few days, but at the latest, the first chapter should be up by next Monday.

Now, with all that done, I hope everyone enjoys this next and final part of this story!

Epilogue: Escapes and Additions

The summer was slowly coming to a close and I was exhausted after a long day of playing in the pool with my friends. I felt a little raw where the advanced all-day sun block hadn’t been rubbed in all the way, and I blamed myself a little for running away too quickly from Lillian when she was applying it to my shoulders, but my fun with my friends was totally worth it even now.

Days like today had delightedly become my normal routine since I had been adopted. I even held a party the day after the paperwork went through and while some of the older Littles thought I was crazy for accepting to live here forever basically, most of my good friends were happy for me in making the decision to stay. Jimmy and Lillian worked their best to treat me as mature as they could, but the dictates of my disabilities still required my life to stay very much as it was. Others might have been upset by that fact, but I had little concessions throughout my life and that made it okay for me to accept.

So, for example, I was now sitting at a small desk that Jimmy had gotten for me in my nursery. It allowed me to freely doodle whenever I wanted without having to lay on the floor like I used to. It was small, but it made me feel a bit more like a grownup, despite the colored plastic exterior coating of most of the furniture. ‘At least it’s comfortable…’ I then heard a knock on my door. I quickly turned around and looked to see who it was.

“Hey, sweetie,” Lillian cooed down to me as she walked in. “Just wanted to check on you really quick. I know you got a little red today, but I also just wanted to give you this.”

I looked at the envelope she handed to me as she started to look over the minor burn on my shoulders. I blushed a little as you could still see a faint outline from where I had been wearing my water wings in the pool. It had been another small concession, but Jimmy and Lillian allowed me to be in the pool by myself if I agreed to where them, so again, I was okay with them. “Hmmm… not too bad, but I’ll check on it before you go to bed tonight.” She started to leave the room, but then quickly turned back to me. “Oh, honey, Jimmy and I are watching some TV downstairs if you wanted to join us. I know Adventure Sam or Princess Poppy will be on soon, but I know you’ve had a long day, so, it’s completely up to you.”

“Dank you, Lillian. I wanna look at the ledder a’ leas’ firs’ dough.” Lillian only smiled, nodded, and walked out of my nursery.

Once she was gone, I looked back at the letter. It was a little awkward getting the plain white envelope open by myself, but once I did, I saw there was only one piece of paper inside. Curious, especially considering there wasn’t a specific sender listed on the front of the letter, I looked over the paper carefully. Oddly enough, it only said to ‘Color Me Red.’ Not really sure what to make of that and almost thinking it was just junk mail for Littles, I stared down at Patch to decide what to do.

My magical stuffy had still never left my side, and while his powers had seemed to fade from our time together at daycare, there was still something about him that made me feel protected. “So, wha’ do you dink, huh?” I asked, not expecting an answer back. I know others might have thought that I was cracking from living in this place too long as a Little, but he was just a nice neutral friend I could vent to in situations like these. Talking out loud always made me feel better and clearer about what to do next.

“You’we wigh. Wha’s da hawm in finishin’ ih?” Smiling, I then plucked out one of my crayons and went right on coloring the whole sheet red.

I didn’t think anything of it at first, and even found the whole exercise just nice and relaxing. I didn’t have to worry about coloring within the lines and I was just free to go as wild as I wanted. About halfway through my scribbling though, I started to notice a faint trace of blackish blue in a few of the areas I had colored red. I looked closer and other lines had started to reveal themselves from where I had colored last, like the paper was reacting to the red crayon. Insatiably curious, I speedily colored the whole paper in and found a hidden note, clearly meant for a Little to read… specifically me.

It took a second for it all to come in, but as I read it for the first time fully, the message was even more confounding as to who had sent it to me in the first place. “E, Subject N. taken. In pursuit. From tracking, Subject N. is likely headed to DC. Stay vigilant in case. B, OF.”

I read the words over and over again. My scrambled brain used to be great at puzzles and word searches, but even those proved just a smidge over where everything started to get fuzzy. I had found that with a little practice and repetition though, I could eventually stumble onto an answer. In this case, I quickly realized that Briana from Omega Force had likely sent it about Nancy escaping.

A few months ago, I might have frozen in place and have required another diaper change over the one I had just gotten an hour ago, but now, things were different. Nancy still hadn’t shown any signs of improvement from her latest PSAs, and her eyes seemingly just became as dull as ever. I wondered lately if she was even still in there, but now, I knew something was happening to her. ‘Taken… by who? When? Why?’ My mind puzzled with a thousand questions about her, but I soon heard the TV from downstairs spike in volume for a second.

I figured I might tell Jimmy and Lillian about Briana and the Omega Force one day, but sighing, I simply placed the note away for now. There was nothing I could do about it in my current life, so instead of getting worked up, I just decided to join my new parent’s downstairs, carrying Patch along with me. To be honest, I only felt proud of myself for actually keeping my emotions in check. Jimmy and Lillian had been working on getting those a bit better and I was finally starting to see the results.

As I walked downstairs, I mused over how it had taken me a while to truly think of them as my new parents, but Lillian specifically was slowly getting me used to the idea that around here, ‘parents’ could just be used as a title rather than a chain linking me forever to a babyish lifestyle. I could tell both were itching to be called by other titles, and maybe one day I would, but neither pressed the issue, so I felt comfortable waiting until it felt just right.

“Hey, pumpkin,” Jimmy greeted, using his new nickname for me. I still wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but I just smiled back.

“Ya got woom fo’ one mo’?” I asked innocently as I could. Jimmy and Lillian smiled back like they usually did when I asked the exact same question likely hundreds of times by now.

“Right here, sweetie,” Emma said, patting the cushion between her and Jimmy. It was my usual spot and with Patch still in my hands, nodding, I walked over and then crawled up, nestling between my two new parents comfortably.

Princess Poppy soon came on, and while it was a repeat episode, she was still entertaining enough and reviewing some of her more advanced lessons in this episode, that I soon found myself glued in. Halfway through though, to my annoyance, the program was interrupted. ‘Breaking News!’ soon flashed up on the screen before a slick and well-groomed younger man appeared on the screen dressed in a nice suit.

“Good evening, everyone. I apologize for interrupting your local program, but this just in: Nancy Donahue has recently been broken out of her undisclosed place of confinement.” From the secret note I had just read, it wasn’t news to me, but I could feel the reassuring hands of both Jimmy and Lillian slowly creep over to me like they usually did whenever we watched a particularly suspenseful movie together. Jimmy began rubbing my back while Lillian held my hand.

“Doubtless, many know her from her recent string of PSAs against Little abuse, but she should still be considered armed and dangerous. Current reports are sketchy, but we believe this woman was seen breaking her out earlier today.” A picture then flashed up on the screen. It was grainy and I wasn’t sure how much use it would do anyone else, but every inch of that woman had been burned into my brain: it was Nurse Bee.

“Authorities have been questioned and unconfirmed reports believe this possibly to be scientist, Britney Crandle. Connections with Juventas have placed her as a main subject of interest, but again, these reports cannot be confirmed as of right now and authorities are just interested in asking her questions. Lastly, reports track their positioning to Locus Sinus, and I‘m sure we all know what that likely means.” He then sighed as if Locus Sinus was somehow a forgone conclusion that it would be a bad thing. “More tonight… Thank you. And now, back to your local program.” The screen soon flicked back to Princess Poppy as she tried to solve the equation of the lock to get into Gum Meisters castle.

Instead of watching though, my mind whirled with everything I had just learned. Authorities may not have known, but Nurse Bee, this Britney Crandle, I just knew was the person that had broken Nancy out. Further, a tiny, long-forgotten memory soon cropped to the front of my head where both had promised each other about their contingency plans. I had no idea what it meant at the time, but looking back now, I was convinced this was it. Lastly, I wondered what was near Locus Sinus and why they would be headed there if it was considered so bad.  

I mulled it over in my head for a while and everything else seemed to just be white noise around me. I didn’t think much of it, but soon, the TV had been muted and it slightly snapped me out of my thoughts. “Wha…?” I looked at both Jimmy and Lillian, who were now both looking at me intently.

“We were asking you if you were okay, Emma,” Jimmy clarified, clearly looking worried.

“So, are you?” Lillian questioned me fearfully. “I mean, with Nancy escaping and…”

“Wha’s Locus Sinus?” I asked, interrupting Lillian. Both my new parents stared at me in shock, and I quietly wondered to myself if it was just one of those unmentionable things in this society. I had already learned that lobotomies and surgeries performed in the old days and breeding programs were such topics, but now, I wondered if oddly Locus Sinus was as well. I was itching for the day this fall when the Oasis room was going to cover geography for just moments like these.

Finally, though, Jimmy sighed. “Well, it’s uh…” I could clearly see he was struggling to choose the right words to use to describe the place. “It’s just a city on the west coast, honey, but most people associate it with… uh, Dark Cliff Prison…”

I struggled to categorize all my thoughts, but then something clicked that I had been wondering about since I had read it in the letter. ‘Dark Cliff Prison… DC… holy smokes! From the letter!’ My thoughts burned with curiosity, and regardless of what I learned, I had to know more. “Wha’s Dar’ Cwiff Pwison den?”

Jimmy and Lillian quickly looked at each other. Jimmy seemed he wanted to say something, but Lillian kept shaking her head not to. Finally, I couldn’t stand not knowing. “Pwease! I weally need ta know! Iss ‘bout Nancy. Am I in twouble now because o’ Dar’ Cwiff?”

Lillian reluctantly sighed and eventually nodded. “Very well, sweetie. You deserve to know, but see, Dark Cliff is a really bad place for really bad people. We got rid of most of our main prisons years ago… all except for the one, but even that is just used for Middle and Littles.”

“That’s right,” Jimmy agreed. “It’s mainly a prison for you all and Middles… the worst of the worst, but for us Bigs, we don’t go to prison usually. We either get reform schools, monetary punishments, or manual labor of some kind. For the truly awful of our kind though, no one seemed satisfied with those punishments for a long time, but when Dark Cliff opened, they ended up being sent there. Curiously though, everyone also knows Bigs don’t stay on the island either.”

I felt like I was missing something. If someone goes to a place but then doesn’t stay there, where do they go? I could tell neither wanted to tell me anymore, but I felt I was so close to the truth, so I pushed further. “So… wha’ happens to dem?”

Lillian sighed. “We honestly don’t know, honey. That’s kind of the whole mystery surrounding that place. Anyone who knows either has top secret clearance or above… or isn’t talking anymore.”

There was a pause, but Jimmy winced for a moment and we both looked at him suspiciously. He quickly looked guilty, but then held his hands up in defense. “Okay, okay… Look, it’s just rumors, but some say the stuff that Nancy has been advertising…”

“You mean bein’ a baby an’ all?” I asked quickly just to clarify.

Jimmy nodded. “That’s right, but the rumor is that it happens there. Secret facility and all, so don’t repeat this to anyone, but, if that’s where she’s headed… well, I don’t think she’ll ever be a problem for you again, sweetheart.” He then stopped suddenly and widened his eyes to drive home his unsaid conclusion.

Lillian got it quickly and gasped, but my mind took a second. By the time I realized what he had meant later that night before I was tucked into bed, I didn’t want to dwell on it anymore. Knowing that she was likely already at least partially regressed, I never thought I would say it, but maybe it would be a gratefully small mercy for her. After all, being a Little isn’t that bad…

It was all a lot to take in, but not long after, I was quickly distracted by another piece of news, this time on the home front. Jimmy and Lillian had been placing me with a babysitter lately several times during the week and I was worried that something was wrong with me, but both had also never seemed happier. Satisfied with that much at least, I just went about with my life as usual until one afternoon.

I was playing with Patch in my room, having just woken up from a nap, and saw both Lillian and Jimmy walk in. Both were giving me looks that I had seen before that always meant they were up to something. Curious, I pressed first. “Wha’ iss ih dis time? We getting’ a puppy?”

Both laughed and then kneeled down to me. “No, sweetie. Maybe one day, but we’ve seen a few other couples do something and we thought we might give it a try.”

Jimmy nodded. “That’s right. So, we have a question for you… would you maybe be willing to be an older sister?”

I guess I should have expected this, but I was still thrown a little off by the question. The Jeffersons down the street had recently adopted a new brother for their toddler-aged Little, Harry. Harry had been lonely and prone to mischief, but as soon as he became an older brother, he had nearly transformed overnight. I might have been nervous that my new parents thought I was similarly misbehaved but a quick glance over at my reward chart with nearly all smiley faces seemed to prove otherwise. Still, the proposal did seem tempting.

“I guess… iss dat wewe you all been goin’ to a’ nigh watewy?” I asked, trying to put everything I knew together.

Jimmy smirked and held up his hands. “Oops. She caught us, Lillian.”

Lillian rolled her eyes at her husband’s silliness but then looked tenderly back at me. “That’s right, Emma. We just wanted to see if there was even a Little that we figured could fit into our lives. Turns out, we found another portal Little. Was even a teacher like you from Arizona as well.”

I immediately started to feel an excitement bubble up in my chest. I was an only child growing up, but I had always wanted a younger brother or sister. A pain sometimes from what I had heard, but here, I felt we could form bond that would just be perfect. So, excited, I wanted to ask several questions, but one stuck out more than the others. “She have a name den?”

Lillian smiled and Jimmy retrieved a small photo and showed it to me. “Her name is Vicky.”

I looked at the photo, and flashes of my old life quickly filled my head. Her face and her name seemed so familiar from my old life, but I couldn’t place if was maybe at daycare before I was regressed or from even when I was back on Earth. Regardless, seeing her photo and hearing her name, I could only smile widely. “She’s so cute! Can we geh hew soon?”

Jimmy and Lillian smiled and pulled me into one of our now classic family hugs. “Of course, sweetie. Of course.” I just kept smiling in the knowledge that our family would soon be growing. Change wasn’t always the best in this world and dimension, but after seeing her photo, something inside of me just tickled with the knowledge that somehow, I just knew this time, the change would be for the best.

[Kat5]

22 hours ago, AlexTheAlex said:

This is such a hecking cute chapter!

It's certainly a big sigh of relief for me, the last chapter had me scared of ...y'know. Gun -> person interaction.

Wow, my bad connection ate my comment and posted it when I opened the browser now!

Thank you very much for this story. I have enjoyed it greatly and been emotionally invested in it!

[kerry]

On 5/2/2024 at 1:18 AM, LostBBoyBear said:

Good thing for those stun rounds you agents keep on you for these situations. Nancy will definitely stand up to trial now. Even here in southern Virgan, I don’t think there’s a jury within 500 miles of here who would convict her as guilty.

Shouldn't this be "find her not guilty"?

[kerry]

I know that there were moments I had issues with along the way, but really this was a very enjoyable read and a strong addition to the DD. Great work! I do have one minor question, though, that I probably should have asked back at the start:

Why call it "A Small Break..." instead of using the obvious pun "A Little Break..."? 🤭

[Blastoslap]

Poor Vicky tried to save Emma, she wouldn't have travelled to that crazy dimension for any other purpose. And now she's in a more regressive state than Emma, facing the fate of Emma's younger sister.

[LostBBoyBear]

5 hours ago, kerry said:

I know that there were moments I had issues with along the way, but really this was a very enjoyable read and a strong addition to the DD. Great work! I do have one minor question, though, that I probably should have asked back at the start:

Why call it "A Small Break..." instead of using the obvious pun "A Little Break..."? 🤭

You have a point, but I also felt it might have been too cliche as a title for this. 

Also, thanks for the editing bit previously.

[dmavn]

awww… When she got to the part of her making a wish i was like.. Please wish for dave’s, me,.. to walk through a rift and become my new baby sister.. stupid rifts.. waaaaa..

[Guilend]

I definitely enjoyed the story.

[Guilend]

I'm curious how Nurse B feels about changing her friend's diapers lol. I wonder how she treats Nancy, if she'll help her grow up so she doesn't need diapers or just enough to be embarrassed and humiliated at wearing diapers as an adult Amazon lol.