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Chapters 15 and 16
by Sofia Hammerstein
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'Little Hope' continues the story of Stacy's journey from 'Exchanged.' Stacy is a young college student who chose to travel to a new dimension to study their advanced computing technology at a prestigious university as an exchange student. Stacy thought he knew what he was getting into when he traveled, having visited before with his family and pre-arranged a sort of Amazonian foster family to take him in. Shrinking more than he had on his previous visit, he finds himself the size of a tiny Amazonian baby instead of the near Betweener size he had hoped to be. A further misunderstanding on his gender due to his name resulted in the need for a radical change to make him match the gender the university believed him to be, to maintain his scholarship. Having survived the initial CARES exam, now she and her adopted parents work to make sure she's ready to begin orientation at Emerson University. Can Stacy survive this new world? (Story set in the Diaper Dimension)
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Available for Purchase as
E-book |
 Kindle Book Priced $5.95 |
Please visit Sofia's Author Page |
The Legal Stuff: Exchanged © 2017-2024 By Sofia Hammerstein
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.
Chapter 15: Charmed
I SHOOK MY head and realized that Amanda was pulling down her shorts while I was still in the sling. It was profoundly weird to hang there as she took care of her needs, but with the sling, she must have decided it left her free to not have to put me down while she went. Then, just as we returned to the gate, Fred said, “they said they’ll be boarding families in five minutes.”
Amanda nodded, and I pretended to not understand. ‘They must not have the security problems we have back home,’ I thought to myself, ‘we always had to be at the airport way earlier!’
While we waited, we people watched around us. I was happy I didn’t recognize any of the people around us from the security checkpoint earlier. Instead, I watched as professionally dressed men and women talked on phones or typed on their computers. Couples of all ages spoke quietly, and quite a few families hung out together playing games. Three Littles seemed to be traveling on their own, and all of them seemed to be constantly looking nervously from side to side for threats.
One family near us included the poor embarrassed girl from the bathroom. She was still blushing bright red and sat with a sullen expression with her head down. Her hands were kept firmly on her skirt, trying to keep her diaper hidden from view. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to her, the back of her very pink diaper was now showing above the skirt since her shirt had ridden up a tiny bit. A boy about the same age as her loudly asked his mom, “Mom, why is that girl wearing a diaper? Is she like Lanny?”
I looked at them along, with everyone else close by, as the boy pointed out the poor girl and drew attention to himself. I felt terrible for looking! I noted a Little woman, who seemed a bit older than Kacey, nervously sucking on a pacifier with nothing but a onesie and her sagging diaper on. She was nervously hopping from foot to foot next to him.
“Now Nick be nice, she might be, and if so, she can’t help it any more than Lanny can?”
Nothing else was said to him, but the poor Amazon girl burst into tears, and her mom cuddled the large girl gently in her lap. I felt terrible for her and wished I could do something to get him back for her…
“Ladies and Gentlemen Flight 1430 to Selegnasol will begin boarding now. We’d like to ask all families with children under the age of eight or others with special needs to begin boarding at this time.”
Amanda stood up and helped Fred gather everything. From my perch in the sling, I felt secure but involuntarily whined nervously as she began leaning forward. The motion swung me away from her body a little and made me nervous. “Shh, baby,” she told me with a squeeze. Fred gave the lady at the gate two boarding passes.
“You have a great flight with that little cutie!” The lady said with a smile at me.
“Thanks,” Amanda said.
Once we’d made it down the gangway, Amanda and Fred were given assistance by an airline stewardess to put everything away above the First-Class seats that they directed us towards. “Now, when we take off and land, you will have to loosen your sling, ma’am, you can keep her in it, but it’s for both of your safety that it’s not tight.”
“Thanks,” Amanda told her.
Amanda fiddled with the fabric for a moment, and I felt myself become less attached to her through the sling, but fortunately, her hands took over and held me comfortably. I was lightly bounced on her lap, and she began pretending to play patty cake with me. After a bit, she played some other baby games with my hands as the other passengers came on. Several businessmen frowned as they saw us sitting in First-Class with them. An odd thing occurred, though, as a blonde-haired Little came to stand by the outside seat next to us. She stood out because she was dressed in a perfect fitting and professional-looking, suited skirt set. It made her look a bit more mature, but nothing she could do would make her body look busty or that much different from my own body shape. Compared to the Amazons, she would always look like a small child. It also definitely did nothing to hide that she was at least four feet shorter than the stewardess.
The lady sighed as a stewardess said, “Let me get that booster set up for you, sweetie!”
I watched in curiosity as the lady helped the Little into the booster and slid her hand up the girl’s skirt, “Why aren’t you wearing protection, Little girl?”
“I’m an adult; I don’t need it. My panties are currently dry, are they not?”
“But all Littles…” She sighed, “Ma’am, I’m taller than the required diaper height for flying by two inches. I have on dry panties; would you please leave me be?”
The stewardess huffed, “Well, I hope you can keep them dry; if not, we’ll just have to help out with a nice thick diapee, won’t we?”
She walked away, and I saw the Little shudder a bit. She looked around her and smiled at me before frowning when she noticed Amanda paying close attention. “Wouldn’t it have been easier to just wear a pull-up or something?” Amanda whispered.
“Easier?” The lady sighed, “Probably… But it’s so degrading!”
Amanda nodded, “I can see that. You might want to be careful with her, though…” she whispered.
The girl looked suspiciously up at Amanda but nodded, “Hi, I’m Isabel,” she held a hand out.
“Mandy,” she said as she reached down and took the offered hand, “this is my husband Fred,” she said, pointing towards him, “and this is Stacy,” she spoke the last part in her mommy voice and waived my hand.
I wanted to scream but smiled instead. Isabel had really pretty green eyes that looked terrified of talking to a giant holding a baby.
“Nice to meet you,” Isabel said politely, her voice shaking.
Amanda leaned down, “I can probably get a diaper from the airline that will fit if you need it to meet the law requirements and out of her hands?”
I looked in shock as I realized Amanda was trying to help this girl.
“I should be good for now… thanks, though,” she said.
“Let me know if you change your mind,” she hesitated, “she’s giving me a very aggressive and dangerous vibe,” Amanda told her.
The girl looked more nervous then but simply said, “I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.”
Before long, the stewardess came by and smiled at me as she moved to the front to do the safety demonstration. Then, just before we started moving down the runway, Amanda shifted me in her arms to her breast. I was confused for a moment before realizing she was following the ticket lady’s advice. I didn’t have to be told twice to latch onto her! I had just begun rhythmically nursing as the plane took off down the runway, and as she switched me to her other breast, I couldn’t help but begin to get sleepy.
I MUST HAVE slept quite a while before I stirred and heard the stewardess again, “Here, you haven’t drunk any of your milky, sweetie.”
“Umm… no thanks, ma’am, I’m not thirsty,” Isabel told her.
“But milk is good for you!”
“No, thank you, ma’am,” the girl said again.
I looked blearily from the position I was in Amanda’s lap at the girl being offered a sippy cup. When the lady shoved the spout in the girl’s mouth, she opened her eyes wider and gave in, and began drinking from it. “There, now is that so hard?” The stewardess told her, “Now just be a good girl and drink it all down. We’ll get you all taken care of after that.”
I watched in horror as the girl followed the directions and feared she was about to be turned into another Kacey. I thought for a second and realized Amanda had still put my charm bracelet on me this morning. I looked up at Amanda’s own concerned face and ripped off the pacifier charm. The second she was able to put down the cup, I whispered, “Swallow this quickly; she probably spiked that milk!”
The girl looked shocked I had spoken and horrified by the thought. “But…”
“It’ll keep an accident from happening.”
She looked terrified at me but grabbed at her stomach as it began cramping. Then, looking back at me, she made a decision and grabbed the offered charm from my hand and swallowed it. I looked around to see if anyone had noticed my meddling. From what I could see, the businessmen across the aisle had headphones on and were in their own world, so I doubted they noticed. I watched relief flash across her face as the medicine in the charm worked as Fred said it would. Amanda looked down at me, both proud and worried at the same time and the little girl relaxed her body a little, “Thanks,” she whispered curiously at me.
Amanda leaned over, “my husband came up with those… be warned, you will need some laxatives to go for the next week.”
“She’s…?” she looked at me curiously then.
I nodded and smiled around the pacifier that had been placed back in my mouth.
“Why would you let her have…?”
“Not everything is quite as it appears with my little girl,” Amanda whispered.
A few minutes later, the stewardess came back and said, “Well, little girl, do you need to go potty before we land?”
“No, thank you, ma’am, I’m fine,” Isabel said.
“Well, that seems odd! I’d better check to see if you’ve had an accident!”
“Ma’am, I’ve got this in hand,” Amanda said to her. To Isabel’s and my horror, she unbuckled the safety belt and then pulled the girl’s skirt completely up past her panties - exposing the lacy black panties to the world.
Fortunately for her, they were dry and clean panties.
“How…?” The lady said, concerned.
“I think she must actually be one of those rare big girls, don’t you think, Miss?” Fred spoke up.
“But, we’ve been talking about her hard life, and I think we’ll be taking care of her now,” Amanda said with a smile. “Of course, as long as she’s okay with that?”
Isabel gulped but nodded at her, “that would be fine.”
I groaned a bit internally, wondering if I had just gotten a ‘sister’ without anyone intending to do so. Isabel had actually given Amanda permission to take her home and adopt her with that statement! The stewardess scowled and walked away towards the front.
“I don’t want to take you home for real, but it might be a good idea for you to let me at least hold your hand out of the airport,” Amanda told her. “Where were you going?”
“I’m supposed to have a meeting with a client in Selegnasol… at least I think I do.” But then, she seemed to think more, “I wonder if this was all a setup, though?”
“Might have been. What hotel are you supposed to stay at?”
I listened as she and Amanda had a quiet conversation and watched for the stewardess, who seemed to be having her own private conversation upfront with a woman dressed in an expensive-looking dress. The more Isabel said about the client meeting, the more it did sound like a setup. “Damn, I need to go pee now,” Isabel said after they’d discussed her situation but stared at the two conspirators by the door. “How do I get past them?”
Amanda said, “Can you make it a minute more?”
Isabel nodded and stared at me, no doubt wondering if my diapered fate was about to become her own. Amanda leaned over and whispered with Fred for a few moments, and he nodded. My head was close, but I could only make out a few words, “temporary… pretend… diaper?”
A few moments later, she pulled me from the sling and handed me to Fred, “we’ll be back,” she told us and kissed me on the forehead. Fred squeezed me lightly and whispered, “We’re going to try and help her… the last thing we want to see is her going to those ladies.”
Amanda surprised me by picking up Isabel like a toddler and walking up to the front of the plane. “Do you happen to have a spare diaper for my new baby?”
Isabel’s face went red, and she looked angry, “I don’t need… I’m not…!”
“You gave me permission, little girl. Now hush before I spank you!”
I quivered a bit and felt urine shoot into my diaper then as she sounded way too much like Chloe! It was scary how angry she looked!
“But… We… Here,” the stewardess stumbled over the words, and the other woman looked furious. A large white rectangle was handed to Amanda, and she stepped into the lavatory with Isabel for a long while. Before I knew it, Isabel was being proudly carried out of the bathroom in Amanda’s arms with just her blouse and the diaper proudly displaying her new status. A pacifier was lodged in her mouth, and I just hoped this was all being faked. Amanda still held her skirt and panties in her other hand, so I thought that might be the case. Isabel, though had a tear-stained face and buried her head into Amanda’s shoulder. It looked like she was a raccoon from her makeup running.
She was still being held tightly in Amanda’s arms as she sat down next to where Fred and I remained. I felt a hand touch my diaper, and Fred said loudly, “Amanda, you want to pass baby Bella to me and go change Stacy?”
“You can’t even do one diaper?” She huffed, “Fine, but first stinky one that Bella gives us you’re changing!” She said playfully back. “Here, use these wipes to take Baby Bella’s play makeup off her face.” We were traded, and Amanda sat me down on the seat next to them for a quick moment while she dug for a diaper, wipes, and a changing pad before carrying me into the bathroom.
As she made quick work of my diaper, she whispered to me, “Stacy, I’m a little nervous about those two… Isabel was in real trouble, and we probably should have just left well enough alone. I’d rather not see that fate on someone again if I can help it. So we’re going to try and just get Isabel to our hotel and then fly her back home when we go and let her go...”
“If that plan doesn’t work?”
“Well, you may just have gained a big sister then,” she told me with a grimace, “I’m not really wanting a second little to figure out what to do with. You can be legally enrolled in school, but as long as you’re adopted, you can’t work. She’d have to give up her job as a clothing designer due to the child labor laws.” She sighed as she put the second tape of my diaper on.
“What does she think?” I asked.
“She’s terrified of those two,” she paused, “and just as terrified of me… if you hadn’t helped her, she wouldn’t even be willing to trust me. Not that it matters now, she gave permission, and I’ve got her in a diaper – no one would ever say anything. I could treat her as bad as Chloe treats hers, and no one would gripe a bit.”
I gasped, “You wouldn’t, though!” I squeaked.
“No, of course, I wouldn’t, but that stewardess and her cronies would, I’m sure.”
She snapped the onesie closed and then put the sling with me back together just as a ding occurred, and the captain told everyone to prepare for descent. Amanda took a quick moment to situate us and said, “I want you to nurse again as we go down. I’m going to leave you hanging there while Daddy gives Bella a bottle,” she paused and added, “Please don’t judge me badly for this, it’s her only real chance.”
I nodded, “I know, Mommy,” I told her.
Back at our seats, I hung from the sling as Amanda put the wipes and the changing pad back into the diaper bag. She dug around for another moment and pulled out an insulated cooler bag and a bottle that looked like it had her milk in it. My eyes opened… if Isabella drank her milk and had the same reaction as I did… I squirmed my hands for it, and Amanda laughed, “This is for Baby Bella; Mommy will give you your milk in just a moment!”
“Here, Daddy, let’s go ahead and give Baby Bella her milky in a baba this time. I’ll try and give it to her fresh later if Stacy leaves anything.”
“Feeding two babies might be too much?” He suggested as he took and turned her away from his shoulder where her face was hidden and placed her in a typical newborn feeding position. I noticed that in his arms, she looked like a two-year-old at best, so as the bottle reached her mouth, I couldn’t help but feel like she was, in fact, doomed. She squirmed for a moment, but his persistence got the nipple into her mouth, and like me, once she had one pull from the bottle, she started hungrily nursing.
I didn’t have much time to even think of how to say something while trying to pull off the three-month-old act when my own head was placed at one of Amanda’s breasts, and I similarly found myself nursing.
Chapter 16: Please?
I DEFINITELY DOZED off in a milk-induced haze because the next thing I was aware of was the steady footsteps of Amanda as she walked down a corridor. It was dark, and I guessed I was hidden behind the sling’s fabric. As I wriggled a little, I heard, “Hold on just a second baby… Mommy will sit you up so you can see,” and she rearranged me into my sitting position within my sling. I could feel I had a diaper that would need to be changed again soon, but I ignored that and looked around to see where Fred was. He walked beside us with Isabella on his hip, nursing one of my pacifiers. I could see we were approaching a baggage claim area down the hallway.
“Got yourself one on the flight?” A woman cackled not far from Fred.
“My wife and I decided that she needed a little more help than she was getting – of course, the best part is that she gave her permission so we could give that to her!”
“Well, I’m sure once you have her in her jammies and tucked into her crib tonight, she’ll feel right at home.”
“I hope so,” Fred said while hugging her and bouncing her on his side. I watched the frown around the edges of Isabella’s mouth and felt terrible for her.
Amanda idly bounced up and down with me for the next few moments until she saw our suitcases and my car seat coming through. Thanks to the sling, she could begin gathering it together while still holding me. I watched as Fred grabbed three other small bags after Isabella pointed to them. I was still in a state of shock at how quickly Amanda and Fred had turned from sweet parents to now seeming like the crazy kidnapping type… I knew what she said in the bathroom… but the idea of that poor girl being forever stuck in baby mode was beyond sad to me.
Just as Fred was loading things onto a rented cart, the stewardess came up with a police officer, “That’s them, sir.”
“Excuse me, but there’s been a complaint that you may have forced this free Little to go with you even though she didn’t want to?” He said, looking towards Fred holding her.
“That’s not true, sir… I asked them to adopt me,” Isabella said, taking the pacifier out of her mouth, “I was worried someone not as nice might do it otherwise.”
“So, you intend to make everything legal?” The officer asked Amanda and Fred.
“Honestly, officer, I told her we would have a feeling-out period. I’m quite happy with my baby girl here, but I couldn’t leave this Little one in distress. So we’re going to give it a couple days and see how she feels,” She moved closer to Fred and gently kissed her forehead.
“Hmm… That’s unconventional…?” He looked at Amanda skeptically, “but not illegal. She definitely seems like she’s in capable hands with you two as parents.” He looked towards the other lady, “I don’t see any problem here I can act on.”
The stewardess fumed, “But…!”
“Sorry, she beat you to her ma’am, got to be faster next time,” he told her bluntly, knowing what the real problem was.
She literally stamped her foot and turned away towards the other direction, where I could see the other lady standing within ear reach.
“Ma’am, good luck with your new baby girl there.” He paused and quietly added, “I would get her chipped as soon as you can; something about that lady doesn’t seem right,” he said and left us alone.
By that point, my nerves had caused me to lose bladder control again, and I could tell my diaper was not going to last much more before leaking. Then, to my shock, I saw Isabella seemed to have had a similar reaction with a fairly soggy diaper of her own on a show for the world to see. “Come on, Fred, we need to get the rental car and then stop by the store for some things for Bella.”
I noticed that the stewardess seemed to be jabbering with a man and another lady I remembered seeing on our flight. The tension and anger in their body language scared me as we passed them to get to the rental car counter. By the rental counter, Amanda said, “Here, hand me, Bella, why don’t you go take care of the rental, and we’ll wait here with the luggage.”
“Okay, Mandy,” he said and handed Bella to her. Amazingly she held her on her hip and me in the sling seemingly effortlessly.
“Don’t forget to rent a booster seat, too,” she said.
“You mean a car seat, right?” Bella said quietly.
“You would rather have a car seat?” Amanda asked quietly.
Bella nodded, “they’re comfier if I’m stuck in one.”
“Make that a regular car seat, Fred,” she said.
“Okay,” he said.
Then it was just Amanda with her now two’ babies?’
I looked at Bella, “Sorry,” I told her.
“Are you kidding?” She whispered, “Sorry doesn’t need to be said from you. I’m sorry I was dumb enough to fall for the meeting with the client. That guy she was talking with over there was the guy I’ve spoken with over video conferences… It really was all just a setup to get me here and kidnap me...”
I saw another tear go down her face and held a hand out to her, “hopefully, they don’t do anything stupid.” Amanda said softly. “Thankfully, Bella, you’re not that babyishly adorable to be worth much to them. Although I guess your hair and eyes might be…?”
“Worth much?” I asked.
“Shh…” Amanda said, “remember what Doctor Nimitz suggested doing with you?”
I gasped, and Amanda took that moment to shove a pacifier into my mouth and tickled my chin. “See what a good baby looks like, Bella?” she told her.
We both were bounced up and down for a while as Fred completed the contract. Eventually, he came to pull our luggage cart as we followed a clerk out to the rental car lot. A large mini-van-like vehicle automatically opened its doors, and a less than new car seat sat strapped in already. “Let’s get you both in the van and let Daddy get everything loaded,” she said to us.
Bella was first up as she placed her into the forward-facing car seat and buckled her in with the harness. “Comfy?” Amanda asked her nicely when she was done.
Bella shrugged and grumbled, “I’m wearing a soggy diaper and nothing covering it… hard to be comfy?”
“Shh…” Amanda said and kissed her head, “It’ll be okay.”
Fred had already begun working on latching in my car seat next to Bella’s, and before I knew it, the doors were closed.
“What is going on?” I asked, pulling the pacifier out from my mouth. “You’re not really…?” Even though I couldn’t see anyone but Bella from my seat, I protested.
“I don’t want to, but we may have to for Bella’s safety Stacy,” Fred said.
“Stacy, I don’t think this was a small-time operation. We may have just made targets out of ourselves,” Amanda said.
I felt my eyes widen, “What are you going to do?”
“Well, first, we’re going to ask Bella what she wants us to do,” Fred said. I heard the doors lock as he began driving away.
“What do you want us to do, Bella?” Amanda asked, “We can put your skirt back on and drop you off at your hotel… Then, we could try and get you on a bus somewhere…?”
She was quiet for a long moment before asking, “Do I have to leave you guys?” Her voice trembled, and I could tell she was terrified.
“You don’t just want to be some mindless baby, do you?” I asked in shock.
Bella smiled at me and said, “No, I don’t, but it seems my time of freedom and being an adult is gone. This trap that they’ve sprung means they’ve probably already got my place under watch for when I go home. I’m not sure they believed that you all were really adopting me… The second I go into an airport or somewhere by myself, I’m probably going to be picked up. If I can’t go home, that means I’m homeless… and as a Little, that means you immediately get shipped off to an orphanage or an etiquette school.”
Tears were streaming through her eyes, “Surely you understand that? You are actually a Little too, right?”
I nodded, “Sort of… I’m not from this dimension, though.”
“Huh… That’s weird,” Isabella said, “I guess it explains how tiny you are.”
“Isabella, if we adopt you… you know you can’t work anymore, right?”
She nodded, “I get the feeling though if I’m going to be adopted by some random Amazons on the street, I would rather it be you guys.”
“I want to hear what you want from you clearly before we do anything, Isabel,” Fred said to her kindly.
I watched her face, and the tears stream, “Would you please adopt me?”
Fred sighed heavily and groaned, “I don’t see that we have a choice, Mandy.”
“Fred, let’s stop at a store then and get her something appropriate to wear, diapers that fit her, any other supplies, then we’ll go to the hotel and check-in. I didn’t think we would make it to the park today anyway.”
“Park?” I asked.
Amanda sighed, and Bella looked at me incredulously, “You don’t know what Selegnasol is known for?”
“No, I’ve never heard of the city…?”
“You’ve never heard of Looney World?”
I thought for a second, “Daddy, you said Walt Disney didn’t do theme parks, right?”
“Right, sweetie,” he said when I felt the vehicle come to a complete stop.
“So, another company has a massive theme park?”
“Theme park, waterpark, and much more,” he said as he opened the door.
“Is it cool?” I asked Bella.
“It’s supposed to be. An unadopted Little would never risk going there, though, so I’ve never been.”
“Oh,” I said.
Amanda opened her door then, and Fred opened mine. She didn’t put the sling back on, so I assumed I was just going to be placed in the cart. As Fred picked me up and felt my diaper, I saw that we were at a Babies’r’us. “Mandy, Stacy really needs a change.”
“So does Bella, sweetheart. Can she wait until we’re doing getting stuff for Bella?”
I squirmed a bit as he felt the padding in my diaper, “Probably shouldn’t? Definitely not a long time?”
“We won’t be that long. Just a couple packs of diapers that fit Bella, wipes, bottles,” she sighed. “Stacy, do you think it’ll hold that long?”
I looked a Bella and her diaper dripping a little onto her leg. She didn’t have another diaper to be changed into yet, so I just smiled, “I’ll wait until Bella can be in a new diaper too.”
Bella smiled at me with a look of thanks before pacifiers were pushed in both of our mouths. I wasn’t sure why Amanda was carrying Bella, but I was feeling a little bit of jealousy before we arrived at the carts, and we were both strapped into a double-seated cart. Amanda pushed the cart forward, and I groaned as the greeter said, “I see you have a new addition to the family; anything I can help you find?”
“No, thank you, we’ll be good on our own.”
“Let us know if you do! We understand how hard the initial transition is! Always the worst when they think they’re big girls! Don’t forget a good paddle and shock collar!”
“Thanks for the advice,” Amanda said curtly and kept moving. The first aisle we passed was the punishment aisle he suggested, and I watched Bella stiffen up in fear. I leaned over and put my arm around her. She jumped a bit but then returned the favor as I leaned against her, and we breezed right past the aisle that Amanda would never shop in.
I believed Amanda was genuinely planning on making a record-setting trip through the store as she went first to the diaper aisle. “How much do you weigh?” Amanda gently asked her.
“Eighty-nine pounds…” she sniffled around the pacifier.
Amanda kissed the top of her head gently, and I watched her grab a package of the Pampers I wore in a Size Four, and then a box of the princess diapers I wore in a Size Three, and then they were behind us in the basket. I hugged this new stranger, sister, tighter as she began to shudder.
“Fred, honey, Bella took that medicine earlier… So she’s going to need help at some point tomorrow?”
“Probably tonight, too…” he said softly.
“Could you go find what you need to help her out?”
He nodded, “Don’t worry about the cost of anything she needs. We’re going to be fine for money this month. Buy what you want.”
“Thanks,” she said and smiled as he left.
I shuddered as I guessed what that meant about stuff to help her. My rear end hurt just thinking of this past Monday...
“What did she mean?” Bella whispered around the pacifier as Amanda shifted off a bit to get wipes.
“The charm you had earlier… I think it does its job really well.”
I watched her think, and then her face fell again even more. “Sowwy,” I said.
“It’s okay,” she said as she squeezed me gently.
‘I’ve got a contract with them… but what will Amanda do… or have to do with a Little who is real?’ I worriedly wondered to myself.
Amanda went back a few aisles to find bottles that were the size she had first bought for me, along with some bigger pacifiers. My pacifiers were a newborn size, and Bella would need at least the bigger toddler size. I looked warily at the locking pacifiers next to them, but other than scowling at them Amanda didn’t pay them much attention. She snagged some larger bibs as an afterthought in that section and then headed to the stroller aisle. “Better get a double stroller while we’re here,” Amanda said to herself. She didn’t take long before she put one that placed one baby above and behind the other.
“Might as well get a good car seat while we’re at it…” she said to herself. She found what looked like a convertible seat that, in its rear-facing configuration, I noticed would have Bella surprisingly in the weight range too.
‘She’s above the minimum height for mandated diapers on a plane but still fits in a rear-facing car seat?’ I thought quietly to myself. Then, finally, I just shook my head and looked behind us to where the cart was a precarious stacking of items, both in the cart and below the basket. That was when Fred found us.
“Honey, could you go grab another cart?” Amanda asked.
He smiled and returned with one a few moments later. The car seat and stroller were moved into that one, and he followed her and us into the clothing aisle. Happily, to me, Amanda avoided the Little aisle and went to the actual toddler styles. She picked Bella up from the cart and sat her on the ground holding a frilly dress up next to her. “That should fit you and be cute,” she said in a cheerful voice. “But we’re going to have to make sure,” she said before adding in a whisper, “sorry about this!”
I wondered what she was sorry for momentarily before Amanda pulled Bella’s jacket and blouse off of her. She stood in just her padded bra and her diaper for a moment in shock. A second later, Amanda took the bra off too, “Won’t be needing this silly thing anymore, huh?” She said loud enough for a passing lady pulling a Little only wearing a diaper and t-shirt along with a leash. Bella began crying some more, but as I stared, I couldn’t help but almost agree she didn’t need it. She didn’t have much more on her chest than I did… The pink dress was quickly pulled over her head, and Amanda fussed for a moment with it. “I think we actually need a smaller size… huh, I thought 3T would be right for you…?”
I heard Bella whisper, “Try the eighteen-month sizes,” as she turned red.
Amanda pulled the dress off and hung it back up before grabbing the smaller size available, and sure enough, it fit perfectly. Next, she pulled the dress back off of her and reached into my diaper bag for a blanket that was there that she wrapped her in before sitting her down in the cart seat. “Thank you for the blanket,” she told her softly.
“You’re welcome… Sorry I had to have you try that on. There would have been an attendant in the changing rooms that would have made it worse,” Amanda whispered. I leaned into my seatmate and watched as Amanda now shopped the racks at a breakneck pace.
When a couple dozen outfits consisting of dresses, rompers, onesies, pajamas, and swimsuits - including some that looked my more petite size, were in the cart, she looked at me and quietly asked, “What am I forgetting?”
“Bear!” I said.
“Hmm… You’re right!”
“Can I just use my bear that’s in my suitcase?” Bella nervously asked.
“Sure, you can; you sure you don’t want your bear to have a friend, though?”
Bella nodded, “She’s all I want…” she paused and blushed, “I’ve had her since I was a ba…” A tear streamed past her cheek, and Amanda gently hugged her.
“I’m sorry, Bella, but I promise it’ll be okay.”
Bella nodded unconvinced, and we made our way to the front of the store. The cashier was an overweight Betweener lady who looked at Bella wrapped in the blanket and all of the stuff in the carts, “Glad to see another one where she belongs! Can’t believe these Littles think they’re actually adults.” She shook her head, “The lot of them belong in the nursery.”
Amanda and Fred just smiled and didn’t say anything.
“I’ve got five of them at home,” she said with a proud smile. “Glad for my employee discount! Even get a corporate discount on the modifications to keep them safe!”
“I bet five would be expensive in a hurry. Babysitters and daycare aren’t cheap either,” Amanda said.
“No, they’re not, but I get some government assistance on it. Formula, baby food, daycare, and the like are all covered. Might even think about another one if I can ever get lucky to find one like your new little girl here. Make sure you get her chipped soon!”
Amanda looked at her watch and said, “yeah, I think that’s probably a good idea!”
I stared at her in horror as I realized that even though she was a Betweener, she also held her own Littles hostage… I shook my head and realized that Fred had paid already as Amanda pushed us away from the lady. “Mandy, why don’t you just change them both at the car,” Fred said, “and I’ll see if we can find a clinic to register Bella.”
Amanda looked at Bella, “Are you sure you want this?”
Bella’s eyes leaked more tears, “No, I don’t…?”
