What do you do when you look seven years old but you’re actually a college student in your late teens? For Kathleen’s entire life, she had fought against people treating her much younger than her actual age. Feeling obligated to grow up fast to show people she wasn’t the age of her size, Kathleen never let her inner child out. Tired of fighting against the world, she explores the adult submissive world. What she finds, however, is an enjoyment of regression. Had she made a mistake? Would life be better if she just let people treat her the way she looks at seven years old?

Author note: Teek and my muse have not been seen for weeks. The last fully written chapter is 69. All of these chapters have been roughly edited by Teek.

Katie was dreaming in her sleep. The setting appeared to be right outside the auditorium of Washington Elementary School. She had just started walking back to Mrs. Schneider when she was spun around. She began to shake in fear when she felt the loving hands of her best friend. The next thing she knew, she was running through a field of daisies with Stacy in her dream.

Christmas Eve morning, which was a Sunday, Katie tried to sit up when the room got bright, but Stacy was holding her down. She reached over and tickled her best friend. The one attempting to keep sleeping tried to roll over, but the regressed girl kept tickling.

Stacy complained, “Stop! It's too early.”

Katie looked at the other bed, “Stacy, I smell breakfast and Elizabeth has already got up. Should I tickle you more?”

Sitting up, Stacy rubbed her eyes, “Fine, I am up. Evil best friend.”

“You love your evil best friend,” a smirking Katie sat up but immediately had to protect herself from Stacy returning the tickle torture. Through the giggles, Katie got out, “Fine, we even. You can stop now.”

Katie got out of bed and dragged her friend out. The two girls went downstairs to the kitchen.

Aunty Sara looked at one very awake child and a sleepy one entering the kitchen, “There are my two little girls. It sounded like you were killing each other.”

“We were just waking each other up with tickle torture,” Katie explained.

“You started it,” Stacy protested. “I just returned the favor.”

“Have a seat. I will bring each of you a pancake in a bit,” Aunty Sara said as she poured some batter onto the skillet.

Soon after Katie sat down, she was rewarded with a plate-sized pancake. Once breakfast was done, all three girls were ushered upstairs. Stacy and Elizabeth were each handed gold dresses to put on. Aunty Sara quickly swapped the diaper for a dry one before handing the regressed girl tights and her own gold dress.

After zipping Elizabeth up, Aunty Sara buttoned the youngest girls up before directing them downstairs. Once on the ground floor, the three girls were handed their shoes and coats. The two younger girls were directed to Uncle Sam’s car.

When they got to church, Elizabeth met up with the seven-year-olds. Stacy grabbed her cousin's hand as they walked inside. After a quick stop to greet Katie’s Daddie, the three girls went to where Becka and Heather were standing.

Heather said, “That is better; matching dresses this time. And who is this?”

Stacy squeezed her cousin’s hand, “This is my cousin, Elizabeth. But before we get into that, we need to have a discussion. Right, Katie?”

Katie meekly answered, “Right.” She knew this had to happen, but she was having second thoughts. She directed the four other girls to a quiet corner where they could talk privately.

Katie questioned the girls softly, “What is my true age? Heather? Becka?”

The two friends answered, “Seven.”

Katie looked at Elizabeth, who answered softly, “Not seven. I am not sure. Older than me.”

Katie sighed, pointing out quietly, “I ran into Heather and Becka last week at the Zoo. You two have been my friends for about three months. You deserve to know the truth.”

Becka looked at Katie with a quizzical expression, “When did I run into you and know what?”

“I hid from you Wednesday at Kid’s Korner,” Katie mentioned with a blush.

Becka looked at the girl and asked, “Why hide from me?”

“Because of what I’ve been hiding from you and Heather,” Katie meekly explained. “I am not really seven. I regress to seven, but that’s not my real age.”

Heather was confused, “What does regress mean?”

Stacy very quietly said, “It means she acts younger than her true age of nineteen.”

“Nineteen!” Becka exclaimed.

“Quiet,” Katie looked around to see if people were looking over at them. “We don’t want the whole Church to know.”

“But you can’t be nineteen,” Heather pointed out. “You’re tiny like us. Nineteen-year-olds are big like Mommy and Daddy size. And you were in line to see Santa. I saw you there. Teenagers don’t go sit on Santa’s lap. They just write Santa letters or something.”

“I have dwarfism,” Katie explained. “As for Santa, there are times I act my size instead of my age. It’s hard work being a nineteen-year-old when I look like a 2nd grader. . .”

Becka interrupted, “What is dorkism?”

Elizabeth held back a giggle while she listened, hopefully finally understanding what all the adults had been talking about when Katie came up in discussions.

“Dwarfism,” Katie corrected the mispronunciation. “It is something that causes me to grow slowly and stop growing early. When I was in second grade, like you, I was the size of a three-year-old, wearing size 2T and 3T clothes. My doctors say I’m probably not going to grow anymore, so I’ll be this size the rest of my life.”

“Is that why you are still in diapers?” Elizabeth asked.

At the same time, Becka said, “You never explained why you were hiding from me on Wednesday.”

Stacy smirked, looking at Becka and then at Katie, “I bet I know why she was hiding from you on Wednesday. Can I say?”

She just shrugged toward Stacy, “Don’t mind.”

“If what I saw her wearing on Tuesday is anything to go on,” Stacy explained. “She was wearing an elf costume volunteering at the Zoo.”

“Yes,” Katie smiled and acknowledged. “You see, I wasn’t visiting the zoo. I’m a volunteer helper there. On Wednesday, I was working in my favorite area in the Zoo, Kids’ Korner. You happened to visit while I was supposed to be dragging another bag of food to the booth. I wasn’t ready to explain how I was a worker at the zoo, so I hid in the barn until you left the petting zoo. But since I ran into Heather Monday and you Wednesday, I decided you both deserve to know the fact that I am nineteen going on seven.”

“Why is the Zoo Kids’ Korner your favorite?” Becka asked.

Katie looked at Becka like she grew another head and pointed out, “Because I am a little girl.”

Heather interjected, “But you aren't really.”

“Trust me, she is,” Stacy added. “I have interacted with both ages, and they both act the same. What you see is what you get. The only difference is the nineteen-year-old goes to college instead of 2nd grade and gets to be a zoo helper.”

While the girls were thinking about all that was said, Katie added, “‘Lizabeth, I wear thicker underwear because I have to be actively thinking about my bladder to not wet myself. It’s better to wear protection than risk a potty accident. Since I can't be babysitting my bladder at night, I will wet the bed if I don't wear protection. I would rather have a dry bed than a wet one.”

Heather put in, “Yeah, I have to wear something at night, too.”

Becka thought for a moment before asking, “Who knows?”

“It is better to say, who doesn’t know?” Katie gestured out to the room full of people. “Most of this church doesn’t know except for the people close to me.”

Heather looked out at the room and stuck a finger out for each person or group she listed, “Your Daddie? Stacy’s family? Your family? Your cousins that were here on Thanksgiving?”

Katie answered, “Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.”

Becka interrupted, “Are the cousins your actual cousins?”

Katie scrunched her mouth around before saying, “They are all cousins to the seven-year-old. Heidi is the nineteen-year-old’s niece. Along with Bobbie Jo, who you may have seen. Mike, Megan, and Tina are Daddie’s nieces and nephew.”

“Who is the mysterious Mommie you talk about from time to time?” Heather asked.

“That is complicated,” the regressed girl started. “Most of the time, the person I am talking about doesn’t exist. When I say I’m with Mommie during the week, I’m not with a Mommie. I live in a dorm at college. Sometimes, when I talk about Mommie, I’m actually talking about my older me’s mother. You actually may have met her since she was here on Thanksgiving. I called her Granny Telgenhof.”

“How should we treat you?” Heather asked.

Katie smiled, “Nothing changes, just that you will know the truth. Treat me like your friend. Like you always have.”

Aunty Sara walked up to the girls and hugged Stacy from behind, “It looks like a serious discussion is happening here, but it’s time to go to the sanctuary.”

Katie looked up at Aunty Sara, “We were telling Becka and Heather about both of my ages, Aunty Sara.”

“Welcome to the trusted list, Becka and Heather,” Sara smiled at the girls and over at Elizabeth. “And you too, Elizabeth. We never formally informed Elizabeth, but we also didn’t hide it from her. Girls, this is Katie’s secret to tell people, not yours. You can tell your parents, but no one else, okay?”

All the girls nodded.

“Now get to the sanctuary, you five. The service is about to begin,” Aunty Sara smiled at the girls and followed behind the group.

The three Bullards were directed to a pew that contained the Bullard extended family and Katie’s Daddie. Elizabeth scooted in first next to her Mommie. Katie and Stacy went in next in order before Aunty Sara sat on the end.

Pastor Greggory announced, “Our girls and boys may be excused to Children’s Church.”

The three girls in gold dresses were released into the aisle before following the crowd to the classrooms. Katie followed Stacy as she directed Elizabeth to the third/fourth-grade classroom. After that was done, they headed to Mrs. Fowler’s classroom. The regressed girl sat next to Jenny. Her best friend joined the other two at the same table.

Mrs. Fowler said, “Welcome to class. We are going to open with a little game. I want you split into teams of three.”

The three girls at the same table decided to be a team like they were during Halloween. Mrs. Fowler continued, “Great. Now, please pick one of your teammates.”

Stacy smirked and whispered to Jenny. Together, the two of them pointed at Katie. The chosen one just shook her head. The teacher handed the other two a closed paper bag.

Mrs. Fowler instructed, “The group member you picked is your Christmas tree. When I say go, open your paper bag and use that to decorate your tree. … Go!”

Stacy opened the bag and found two different colors of garland. She and Jenny started to wrap Katie with the green garland. The girls next wrapped the red garland around the Christmas tree, Katie. They were laughing up a storm as they did it. The three girls weren’t the fastest team, but they had a blast anyway. They, however, were fast enough to win the third-place prize of a small bag of Christmas candies for each of them.

After everyone was done, the teacher said, “Unwrap your tree and return the garland to the bag, boys and girls, and sit down, please. We are going to learn about the three wise men.”

When the class was over, the two girls gathered Elizabeth before heading up to the common area. They passed the adults and headed to the cookies.

Aunty Sara said like usual, “One cookie, girls.”

Heather soon joined them.

“Where is Becka?” Stacy asked, looking around for her.

“She and her folks left right away for a family Christmas Party.”

Before the girls had finished eating their cookies, Daddie came to the little group, “Katie, Stacy, and Elizabeth, get your coats on. It is time to go.”

As Stacy was getting her coat on, she asked, “Are we riding with you, Uncle?”

“No, I am dropping you and Elizabeth off at your Dad’s car, sweeties.”

After dropping the two girls off, Katie was led to the Escalade. When the door was opened for her, Katie crawled onto her lavender child seat and Daddie strapped her in. She happened to notice the back of the SUV had luggage in it. Examining it more, she noticed wrapped Christmas gifts. He followed Uncle Sam out of the church parking lot. The girl was confused when they followed the car all the way to the Bullard’s house.

Katie asked, “If we were going here, why did we have to be split up? What is the luggage for?”

Daddie explained, “We are just picking up Jess and the rest of your items. You stay here, I’ll only be a few minutes. I will leave the car running to keep you warm, Princess.”

Katie slapped her head; she had forgotten about her doll. She really did want her. Daddie came back and opened her door. She was handed Jess before he shut the door again. He put some more items in the back before getting in and driving away again.

About twenty minutes later, they came to a stop. Katie looked around and realized she was at Grandma and Grandpa Olsen’s house. After Daddie released her from the child's car seat harness, Katie held onto Jess and crawled out of the car. Katie walked to the front door by herself and rang the doorbell.

Grandpa opened the door and let Katie enter the house. Looking out at the car where Daddie was playing around in the back of the SUV, Grandpa yelled, “Do you need help, Adam?”

Daddie hollered back, “I will gladly accept it, Dad.”

After removing her mary janes, Katie went to find Grandma. With Jess held tight, Katie looked in the living room before finding her in the Kitchen.

“You are just in time to help me bake some Christmas cookies, Princess,” Grandma gave Katie a hug. “Put your doll and coat in the children's room.”

The regressed girl did as she was told and was quickly back in the kitchen.

Katie was handed a brown apron that looked like a gingerbread girl, “Let’s tie this apron on you to protect your pretty dress. Step on this stool to wash your hands.”

With the little baker all prepared, Granny directed, “Now, move the stool with your feet over here. Up you go. We need two and three-fourths cups of filtered flour. Here is one cup and the sifter.”

Katie turned the hand crank on the sifter. While she was doing that, Granny dropped another cup into it. Another thing of flour soon joined in the sifter that looked like it had been well-loved.

After they were done with the flour, Katie was handed three measuring spoons of various sizes containing different things to add to the flour.

“Mix the salt and baking soda into the flour with this spoon, but please keep it in the bowl and not on the counter.”

Katie quickly stuck her tongue out at her Granny.

“I saw that. I will deal with that when we are done baking. Set that bowl aside. Now, in this bowl, we need to add the peanut butter, the butter, and the shortening. Here is the peanut butter. You probably need to use this spatula to get it out. … Here is your butter … The shortening. Again, you will need to use the spatula to get it out.”

Katie was handed the mixer. She looked at it and mentioned, “I can barely get my hand around this. You want me to use this and keep your kitchen clean, Grandma?!?”

The older lady laughed, “I was planning on helping you.”

While Granny stabilized the mixer and held down the bowl, Katie mixed the bowl until it was smooth. She was directed to set the mixer on the side of the bowl.

“Now we need to add the brown sugar. Now, back to mixing for a few more minutes. … That is a good job, Princess.”

“Set the mixer on the side of the bowl again. Do you think you can break two eggs into the bowl?”

Katie responded by grabbing an egg and cracking it on the counter. She added it to the bowl. She repeated the same thing with the second egg. She was handed a measuring spoon and a bottle of vanilla.

“A spoonful of vanilla needs to be added next. Then it is back to mixing again.”

And mixing is what they did until it looked like the eggs were well mixed in. Granny set the beater aside. The little girl was then handed a bag of peanut butter chips to add next.

“Do you think you can fold in those chips with this wooden spoon?”

“I can try, Granny.”

Katie made a rough attempt to fold in the chips. Granny praised her before folding it in some more. The older lady then got out two prepared baking sheets with parchment on them.

Katie was handed a small scooper and told to fill the baking sheet up with small balls of the batter.

Daddie walked into the kitchen, “Looks delicious in here.”

He stuck his finger on the dirty mixer attachments and placed the sweet dough into his mouth.

“Daddie!”

Granny glared at “Adam Dale, that is the baker's reward, not yours. At least it is after I spank her for being cheeky with me earlier.”

“Yeah, my reward.” Katie glared at Daddie while slowly processing what was said. With a shocked look, she exclaimed, “What! Granny, no spanking!”

“You have a task to do, little girl,” Grandma said, coming over with a bowl of unwrapped chocolate kisses. “Put a kiss on top of each ball, squishing it down in the process. … Excellent, step down from the stool. After I put these in the oven, I will help you out of your apron.”

“Grandma, can you also help me with a different issue so I don't have a rash like Thanksgiving?”

Granny removed the apron before directing Katie to the kids’ bedroom.

When Grandma passed Daddie, she paused to give him a quick swat on his bottom, “That is for being a dough thief.”

In the bedroom, Katie was helped to lie down on the bottom mattress. Once the wet one was removed, the girl got a quick spanking on her bottom.

“Ouch!”

Grandma tried to keep an upset look on her face, but she was really smirking. “You have to learn to keep that tongue in your mouth, you little cutie brat.”

She wasn't really upset with the tongue being stuck out, but she did want to discourage it as much as possible.

When done in the bedroom, Katie was directed to go to the table in the kitchen. As she was sitting there waiting, the apron was dropped over her head again. She was then handed one of the beater attachments. Katie smiled as she made sure there was not one tiny speck of the delicious dough left. When Katie handed the ‘cleaned’ attachment back to Granny, the apron was removed. Katie turned to go back to the kids’ room to play, but she didn't get far before her hands and face were scrubbed.

Safely in the kids' room, away from the adults, the regressed one investigated her activity bag. Katie found her new princess play set. She hadn't been playing with it for long when little three-year-old Tina walked in wearing her green Christmas dress.

“Tina,” Katie smiled. “Where is your sister or brother?”

“Megan will be here soon. Grandma baked today, and she is cleaning one of the mixing thingies.”

Katie sat up proud, “Actually, I baked. Grandma helped me.”

Tina pouted, “I wove doing that with Granny.”

Megan soon entered the room wearing her red Christmas dress and looked at what Katie was playing with, “Ooooo, I not seen dat here before.”

“It was a Christmas present from Stacy,” Katie moved aside so Megan could play, too.

The girls hadn’t been playing long before they heard Aunty Alexa call from down the hall, “Girls, time to eat!”

At the dining room table, the three girls found they had assigned seats. Katie was between Daddie and Grandma. Megan was on the other side of Granny, with her Daddie next to her. Tina was in a highchair between her Mommie and Grandpa.

As they sat at the table, they found the pinafores from Thanksgiving around their necks, with Granny explaining, “We have to make sure we keep those pretty dresses clean.”

After grace, everyone was served a portion of breaded meat covered by white gravy and a side of brussel sprouts. Even though the children’s portions were smaller than the adults, Katie still discreetly made a face at the brussel sprouts.

Megan pointed at the food, “What is this, Granny?”

“It is called chicken fried chicken, Princess.”

As Daddie was cutting up Katie’s food, she noticed her drink looked suspiciously like eggnog. As she grabbed it, she heard Daddie say, “Two hands, Buttercup.”

When the meal was over, the kids were released to go play in their bedroom.

About an hour later, the girls were told to clean up the toys and come to the common room. They were directed to sit near the tree. Grandpa Olsen, dressed like Santa minus the beard, walked into the room saying, “Ho Ho Ho, my granddaughters.” He did not attempt to hide that he was Grandpa. He also didn’t disguise his voice. Katie looked and noticed that Grandma was dressed as Mrs. Claus. She also didn’t attempt to hide that she was Granny.

Katie laughed, “Oh, Grandpa.”

She was ignored, and Santa Claus handed each of the girls a present, “Just a gift of gratitude to each of you for the love you give us.”

Katie opened her gift to be rewarded with a card on top of some tissue paper. The card was addressed to Katie / Kathleen. She set it back to uncover what the tissue paper was hiding. She pulled up a Christmas dress. It was red with nutcracker scenes on the bottom. Since the inside back of the collar of the dress was visible, she noticed that the maker tag was “Made with love by Nancy Olsen.” She glanced at the other girls' presents, which were also dresses just like hers but with different fabric patterns. Megan’s was blue with snowmen around the bottom. Tina had a red one with skiing penguins around the bottom. Thinking back to last Thursday, she realized that it was Megan’s dress in pieces in the sewing room when she was measured.

Katie turned to the envelope. She found a card that said, “Welcome to the Family.” Inside was a handwritten message:

“Dear Katie,

Welcome to our family, my dear granddaughter! We are thrilled to have you here with us. You are a special and sweet little girl, and we can't wait to watch you grow and thrive as a part of our family. We hope you always feel loved and cherished, and we promise to be here for you through all of life's ups and downs, no matter what your age is. We are excited to make many happy memories with you and to see all the wonderful things you will accomplish. We are wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year full of joy and blessings.

With love,
Grandma and Grandpa.”

She dropped the card and turned to hug Grandma. Once released, she hugged Grandpa. After the hugging was done, she noticed Daddie reading the card. She smiled at the one who changed her life.

Her cousins came up to Katie, holding envelopes with their names on them. They asked her to read them their cards. Katie took Megan’s first and read it.

“Dear Megan,

Merry Christmas, our dearest granddaughter! We love and cherish the brave and beautiful child you are becoming. We will love you no matter which name or gender you decide to be. May your holiday season be filled with laughter, love, and the warmth of family. Always be true to yourself and know that you are valued and accepted. We are wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year full of joy and blessings.

With Love,
Grandma and Grandpa."

Turning to Tina, Katie had the three-year-old sit on her lap to hear what the card said.

“Dear Tina,

Merry Christmas, our dearest granddaughter! We love and cherish the brave and beautiful child you are becoming. May your holiday season be filled with laughter, love, and the warmth of family. Always be true to yourself and know that you are valued and accepted. We are wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year full of joy and blessings.

With Love,
Grandma and Grandpa."

Katie whispered in Tina’s ear, “Go give Grandma and Grandpa big hugs and kisses for your new dress.

Once the girls were done saying Thank You, it was story time. The three little ones sat on the floor in front of Santa Olsen as he read ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas.’

When the story was done, Aunty Alexa directed, “To the bedroom, girls, it is time to get ready for bed.”

Daddie turned to follow the stampede of girls, but Alexa told him, “No, brother. I got her.”

Katie heard Daddie say to Grandma, “Katie has been having nightmares nightly since the attack. She might wake us up in the middle of the night screaming.”

Katie didn’t hear any more as Aunty Alexa scooted the girls away from the adults and down the hallway. Before entering the bedroom, Megan was told to use the potty. While she was gone, the two other girls were stripped of their dresses and tights. Tina’s bottom was changed, and she was dressed in a snowflake covered pink footie jammie.

Five-year-old Megan entered the room just as Tina’s jammies were being zipped up. Her Mom immediately went to work switching Megan’s dress for a Princess footie. Katie was last. She got a dry bottom before being dressed in her Christmas-footed jammies. All three girls were sent across the hall to brush their teeth. Aunty went with them to help.

On their way back to the bedroom, Alexa yelled down the hall, “Hey, Brat, if you want to help tuck in your daughter, now is the time.”

Daddie walked into the room, “Big Sis, you’re the brat, not me. I’m the handsome little brother that everyone loves.”

Alexa just shook her head and rolled her eyes as she went to work, tucking her two daughters into the lower bunk. The regressed girl in the top bunk was handed her Minnie Mouse by Daddie and given a kiss on her forehead. The two adults left the room with the last one turning off the light.