Compromise - Chapter 37 (Patreon)

Lizzie shook her head, eyes watering, grateful that her cover story made both of those things make sense even if she truly had been sick the day before. No little wanted to have their temperature taken, especially not this way... But, as she squirmed on the changing table, watching helplessly as Lauren unsnapped her onesie, she knew that there was nothing she could really do about it.

Even if she hadn't had her pacifier locked in her mouth, there was almost no way, realistically, that she could have talked the woman out of it, so it was probably just as well that it was there to keep her from saying anything out of character in desperation. Her heart beat faster and faster while her diaper was exposed, the onesie folded up gently.

"It's okay," Lauren smiled, rubbing her back. "You don't have to be afraid... It'll be over in a couple minutes."

"I'm fine!" Lizzie tried to squeal, kicking her feet in frustration.

For a moment, she thought it might, somehow, have worked, that perhaps Lauren had so much experience listening to littles with expanded pacifiers in their mouths that she could decipher their words, until it dawned on her that, no, that wasn't it at all. Lauren had stopped, was waiting, not because of her protest, but because of her sneakers.

"Sweetie," Lauren lectured, waiting for Lizzie to stop before grabbing her by the ankle, "I know you're just itty bitty, but you have to be careful! What if another baby had come running by and you'd accidentally kicked them?"

Lizzie mumbled something about how she would have stopped, in that case, though it wasn't worth thinking too hard about when she knew Lauren would never hear it, nor likely care if she heard. Lizzie watched as the Velcro on her sneakers was ripped open, the shoes whisked away, replaced, instead, by a pair of pink, knit booties, like the kind Wendy was wearing.

"I think that's better, don't you?" Lauren nodded, Lizzie shaking her head in response. "If you can't keep your hands and feet to yourself, we have to make sure that they're safe to be around the other babies," Lauren informed her. "So I'd keep those little fists right where they are if I were you, because I'd love to have an excuse to put you in some matching mittens."

Eyes darting over to her own hands, Lizzie saw that she had, indeed, balled them up in anger, had probably been within moments of pounding them futilely against the soft, cushy surface of the changing table... In a way, she should be grateful for the threat, or else she might have done it without noticing.

Or was that the daycare worker's strategy? By putting that thought in her mind, making her more conscious of keeping herself from doing it, it was far easier to flip her over while she was distracted, slide down her soggy diaper. Lizzie squeaked, wriggling on her tummy, fighting her instinct to thump her fists against the table as Lauren stood over her, preparing the thermometer.

"I know, I know," Lauren cooed. "No baby likes having their temperature taken like this... It really is the most accurate way, though. And I'm certainly not going to take this out and let you say what you want... I have a feeling I'd have to wash your little mouth out with soap if I did that!"

Lizzie pouted, shook her head, insisting silently that she wouldn't curse, lifting a hand to her head and pointing at her ear. She didn't actually believe she'd convince the worker, but that wasn't going to stop her from indicating that there was another way she could use, if she really wanted to.

Lauren chuckled. "No, no," she clicked her tongue. "For babies as tiny as you, that way just doesn't do! Now, I want you to take a deep breath..."

Lizzie whimpered, head turning to follow as the woman stepped behind her, mouth sucking nervously on her paci. She winced, bracing herself, yet still wasn't quite prepared when the glass tube slid into her backside. Her hands curled tighter and tighter in on themselves, though she at least had the presence of mind to force them to remain still, determined not to give Lauren any excuse to put the mittens on her. 

Her feet, however, did flop behind her, probably would have earned her the booties now if she wasn't already wearing them. She wrinkled her nose, the sensation of the cold object in her rear uncomfortable and embarrassing and infantilizing, just the way it was meant to be, she suspected. It was hard to tell if Lauren was truly concerned about her being ill, or if she simply wanted to ensure that Lizzie knew who was in charge here, to help curb any future resistance, show her what could happen if she tried it. 

"Calm down," Lauren placed a hand on the small of Lizzie's back. "You have to stay still, or it's only going to take longer, silly girl. Am I going to have to sedate you for a simple little thermometer?"

It definitely wasn't comforting, the way the tone of her voice suggested it was meant to be, but it did do the trick of making Lizzie stop moving, as much as she could manage. She didn't like having her temperature taken; being given some mystery drug to calm her down would be far worse. Who knew what it would be, what the full effects would be, when, or if, it would wear off?! It wasn't a risk she was willing to take.

So, she did her best to keep from wiggling, no matter how invasive the thermometer felt, no matter how long it seemed, to her, that she was having to stay there. There was no way it took this long, that they expected actual infants to keep still this whole time... She was certain Lauren was keeping it in there extra long to teach her a lesson, show her who was boss... And it was working.

"All right," Lauren finally declared, slipping it back out, getting a sigh of relief from Lizzie, who didn't even mind, now, feeling her diaper being pulled back up, if it meant that it was really over. "Let's see... Perfect! A nice, healthy little girl!"

Lizzie rolled her eyes, wanting to point out that she could have told her that from the start, not that she would have listened, or cared, whether Lizzie had been pacified or not. 

"Guess we don't get to give you any medicine," Lauren sounded disappointed as she began to snap the onesie back up over Lizzie's diaper. "Unless... I'd hate for you to get sick again, because your immune system is still recovering from yesterday..."

Lizzie squealed, then sulked as she saw Lauren, leaning over her, giggle, realizing that she'd just been trying to get a reaction from her, and that she'd played into the worker's hands. "No, you've passed Dr. Lauren's tests," she admitted. "You can go play and be free, as long as you haven't decided you want a nap after all."

Was she actually leaving it up to Lizzie? It felt like a test, one that Lizzie didn't know the answers to. Letting herself be put down for a nap would prevent her from having to play with Wendy, or any of the other babies... It was hard to imagine any little who wasn't sick choosing it, however. Would Lauren take that as a sign that something might be wrong with her after all? Or, if she didn't fall asleep once she was in the crib, would she 'help' her with that, like she'd wanted to 'help' her be still for the thermometer?

Reluctantly, she shook her head, looking around the room to see what she'd be doing instead, while she waited for Heather to come pick her up. Wendi seemed distracted with the dollhouse, for the time being, so perhaps she could find a quiet corner and hide out, avoid her attention...

"All right, then," Lauren said, picking Lizzie up, handing her her teddy bear. "Let's go get you to your friend."

Lizzie groaned, shook her head, as she was carried straight to the place she'd wanted to stay away from, Lauren setting her down on the soft carpet next to the regressed Amazon. "Look who's ready to play, Wendi!" Lauren announced.

Wendi turned to see Lizzie and beamed. "Hi! Did you get your snack?" Lizzie nodded glumly.

"Now, now," Lauren gave the seat of Lizzie's diaper a swat, the girl flinching and squeaking behind her paci, "don't fib! You only had some milk... She'll need a real snack before long, but she was being fussy about it, so I decided to wait. Can you be a big girl and tell me if she seems like she's getting hungry, Wendi?"

Wendi grinned, proud to be given such an important task, grabbing Lizzie by the hand and pulling her over to the dollhouse. "Look, Lizzie! I got us the big dollhouse!"

Lizzie nodded again, seeing Lauren walk away, leaving her alone with the Amazon. The dollhouse was, indeed, quite large, probably meant for tweeners. Lizzie was certain they made dollhouses for Amazons like Wendi, but they would be harder to find, more expensive, not worth it for a daycare to keep on hand, usually. 

Luther had definitely bought her one, though, of that she had little doubt, even before Wendi began to chatter to her, shoving the biggest doll into her hands. "Here, you can be the Mommy... Daddy always makes me do that when I'm playing with my dollhouse at home." 

Lizzie toddled closer to the house, bouncing the doll across the floor, over to the nursery. It was the best furnished room in the house, with little, plastic versions of everything anyone could need to look after their baby dolls. It was also one of the biggest rooms, too, clearly the one where the manufacturers expected a lot of play to happen... Probably where the tweeners playing with it would either be spending most of their time in real life, or where they could pretend they were helping their Mommies and Daddies take care of a little brother or sister.

Thinking about it like that, Lizzie felt almost sad for Wendy after what she'd told her. She'd wanted to be a Mommy, and now Luther was making her reenact that with her dollhouse for his own amusement... She glanced up at the Amazon, watching her playing with the smaller dolls in blissful ignorance. At least it didn't seem like it bothered her... Or had she just gotten used to it by now?

"Come on," Wendi complained after a minute, bumping Lizzie with her padded hip, nearly knocking the smaller girl over. "Can't you see they're fighting? Shouldn't you do something about it?"

Lizzie nodded, moving the Mommy doll over towards the two smaller ones, stretching out its arm to point at them. She even gamely mumbled behind her paci, though she couldn't actually speak for the doll because of it. "'It was her fault, Mommy!'" Wendi exclaimed in a high voice. "'No, it was her!'"

Lizzie looked between the two dolls Wendi was playing as, picking one, she thought, at random, although she realized afterwards that the other one's hair had a reddish tint to it, that it was a bit smaller, making it more similar to her. The Mommy doll's outstretched arm turned towards it, Wendi letting out an upset wail. "'Mommy! That's no fair! You always side with her!'"

Unsure what to do, how to respond to that silently, Lizzie shrugged, while the other baby doll hopped for joy. "You have to punish her now," Wendi informed Lizzie. "Don't you know how to play with dolls?" Lizzie shook her head, earning a long-suffering sigh from Wendi. "You're such a baby, Lizzie!"

She grabbed for the Mommy doll, and Lizzie probably should have let her have it - it wasn't like she cared about it, like she wanted to be good at such an immature skill as playing with dolls - but some instinct in her made her pull it away, pouting, before guiding it over to the doll she'd deemed naughty, then taking them both to the rocking chair.

"Uh-oh!" Wendi giggled. "She's in trouble now!"

As scared as the idea of a spanking made Lizzie, as much as she didn't want to experience it herself, it was the easiest punishment for her to mime without the use of her voice. The the dolls seemed made for it, the little one bending just right to fit over the bigger's lap, the bigger one's arms exactly the right size for Lizzie to swing back and forth, and make contact with the tiny, plastic backside of the smaller.

It felt hypocritical, but at the same time, it was just a game... Even when Wendi handed her a little hairbrush. "Here, this fits in her hand! Can you put it in there?"

Lizzie blushed, staring down at it, squirming, feeling her onesie tugging against the soggy bulk of her diaper as she moved. If she'd been less lucky, if Heather had been a different kind of Amazon, she surely would have found herself in the same position as that doll, many times... Merely the thought of it, of someone as big as Heather was, in comparison to Lizzie, holding her over their lap, wielding a hairbrush, made her dribble into her diaper... She shouldn't be re-enacting it...

But with her paci expanded, there was no room for nuance, no way to clarify her thoughts... All she could do was play, like any other toddler. And if she divorced what was happening from any real-life counterparts, she had to admit that there was something oddly fun about it, about looking at all this miniature furniture, imagining she was the head of this household, the one in charge, in a way she knew, in real life, she'd probably never actually experience.

So it seemed like a weird sense of pride, taking the brush and clicking it into the Mommy doll's hand, proving that, of course, she was fully capable of doing it herself. She turned to Wendi with a smirk when she was done, likely wouldn't have been able to resist sticking her tongue out, if that had been an option.

"'No, Mommy!'" Wendi whined in the baby doll's voice. "'I'm sorry!'"

Lizzie gave the doll a few more spanks, then took mercy on it, unfolding it from the larger doll's lap and walking it over to the far corner of the nursery, having to bend forward to reach all the way back to put it in time out, her padded bottom sticking out, wiggling, when the worst case scenario happened.

She wasn't sure if it was the bottle of milk after all, if there had been fiber in there, perhaps something more in addition to it, or if maybe Lauren had tricked her, had slipped something into her bottom while she was taking her temperature, and she'd been too worked up from the thermometer itself to notice. Whatever it was, it had gone into effect quickly, and efficiently, barely giving her time to recognize the discomfort in her tummy before she felt herself begin to push.

She gasped, biting down on her paci, fingers curling back into fists, desperately missing the teddy bear she'd left sitting on the floor while she played with the dollhouse. This couldn't be happening again! Yet, sure enough, there was no mistaking the sensation, so similar to yesterday, yet different in its own way, the onesie snapped snugly over top of the diaper keeping it from sagging too much, holding the quickly growing pile of mush tighter against her bottom.

Like the first time, however, there was still no stopping it, nothing she could do about it as her head spun and her pants ballooned, right in front of Wendi, who, of course, knew exactly what was happening. "Uh-oh!" she giggled again, using the same tone she had with the dolls, as if that was all she saw Lizzie as. "Are you having an accident, Lizzie?"

Lizzie whimpered, shook her head, which was, obviously, a mistake. There was no fooling Wendi, not when it came to this, something she'd surely seen many, many other occupants of the daycare do, and done herself plenty, too. All her denial did was prompt Wendi to give her swelling bottom a smack, not unlike the one her Daddy had given her the day before, though Lizzie had a feeling that would have happened either way.

"Lizzie's a baby!" Wendi chanted, as Lizzie's nose wrinkled, feeling the mass squelching under the larger woman's hand. "I wonder if Miss Lauren will let me help change you."

Lizzie sniffled, stomach churning from more than all the work it was doing to evacuate itself into her padding. She'd never been changed by anyone other than Heather... She hadn't wanted it to happen here, definitely not like this, by some daycare worker she barely knew, with Wendi hovering around, handing her baby wipes, trying to be helpful, watching the whole time...

She felt light-headed by the time she finished, stumbling back away from the dollhouse, knees weak, threatening to drop her, make her fall flat onto her messy bottom. She, at least, wasn't dressed the same as Mia today, and had some idea of what to expect, so perhaps it wouldn't have been as bad, but she was still desperate to avoid letting that happen, recalling what it had done to her, how babyish it had made her feel, sitting down, letting it squish all around her...

A bit numb, she scooped up her teddy bear, giving it a big hug, not caring how she might look doing it. It helped calm her, get her panicked thoughts under control, remind her that it would be okay. Heather had been okay with changing her yesterday... She wouldn't mind it today, either, if her timing was bad enough that she came bursting in now to find Lizzie like this. She'd understand... She always did... And Lizzie was confident this wasn't her fault, that it had to have been caused by something here, at the daycare... 

"You want me to get Miss Lauren?" Wendi offered. Lizzie pondered that for a moment, debating her options, whether she'd rather stay like this, load in her pants, for an undetermined amount of time until Heather arrived, or if she should allow herself to get changed by someone else, if it meant getting into a clean diaper. Neither was ideal by any stretch of the imagination, but which would be better?

In the end, it didn't matter. Before Lizzie could decide, something caught Wendi's eye. "Cartoons!" she squealed, grabbing Lizzie by the hand, forgetting all about the excitement of getting to help with her change. 

Lizzie shook her head desperately, knowing that was the last thing she wanted to do, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. Wendi was too big, too strong, for her to pull away from. If Wendi wanted to show the cartoons to her, Lizzie wasn't going to be able to keep it from happening. She whined, seeing Lauren a few feet away, attending to another little, attempted to call out to her, this new situation making it clear that she'd rather get changed now than have to spend any time in front of the TV.

Of course, thanks to the pacifier, Lauren didn't hear her, and they weren't close enough for Lizzie to grab her clothes, get her attention that way. All she could do was continue to toddle on, struggling to keep up with Wendi, until the Amazon had taken her to a whole other room, plopping down in front of a TV that one of the workers was busy getting ready while the room filled up with eager students.

"You're gonna love this," Wendi promised, dragging Lizzie up onto her lap. Lizzie sucked harder on her paci as her mess squelched beneath her, fighting to keep from letting herself regress like she had yesterday as she clutched her teddy bear, squirming uselessly in Wendi's grip as she tried to get away before the show started, quickly realizing that there was no escape that way, that all she could do now was hope that Heather got out of her meeting, and down here to pick her up, in time...