✅ My Cousin's Keeper [NaNoWriMo 2021]

83. My Little Girls

Author's Note: I have gone back and added to the previous chapter after first posting it. If you read it before today, you should check out the new parts after the * * *
Sorry for the confusion; but once I started writing this chapter, I realised there were parts that needed to come before what I had already shared.

The rest of the day was filled with moving boxes around. Tess seemed a lot more comfortable now; more excited, almost bubbling over like a watched pot that had finally boiled. Somehow she seemed nervous at the same time, but more enthusiastic than worried. Perhaps an evening spin around the countryside was just what she had needed to wake her up; or maybe it had dawned on her that she would have a chance to be a baby tomorrow.

In either case, the necessary unpacking was finished in short order. The soft toy and pacifier that I'd snuck into her bag before she left now had pride of place on her nightstand, as if they had become prized possessions after defending her from adult thoughts for a week. A lot of her other things were still in two suitcases, but they were neatly set to one side and she said there was nothing in there that she would need for the immediate future. She was back; she was home. And tomorrow was going to be a very special day.

Tess almost seemed to be enthusiastic, but with a hesitancy that I couldn't understand. Something had happened, I was sure. Something I had said without thinking, or that Ffrances had suggested. Something she was really excited about, but perhaps that she wasn't ready to try just yet. I asked her if she would like to try regressing tonight, so that she could be feeling like a kid at Christmas from the moment she woke up. She hesitated, visibly blushing this time, and for once I was lost for words.

"I already..." she mumbled, then swallowed and tried again. "Ffrances said the trigger. The regular one, not the new one. So I'm going to wake up like a baby anyhow. We can try the new one in the morning, unless I'm still up when she gets here."

But she agreed about taking some time to relax after a long day. So she changed into some pyjamas from the selection of baby clothes I had bought her; I offered to help her change, but she said she wasn't that little yet. At least she smiled while she said it. As much as she protested at times, that nervous grin made it clear that this really was what she wanted, and that she was starting to accept it herself. And once she was properly dressed, I could sit with her in her room, watching kids' TV on her computer screen. I figured that was probably better than going back to the lounge, because I could tell she would fall asleep before long and I wasn't strong enough to carry her back without waking her. Not to mention that she was surrounded by her stuffies here, to further help her feel small. She didn't argue at all when I vanished briefly and brought back milk and cookies before bed; or a short time later when I slipped a pacifier into her open mouth.

Once the little one fell asleep, I pulled the side of her onesie slightly to make sure she was wearing a diaper. She had a BKS one on, which confirmed beyond any doubt that she wanted to be a baby now. An actual diaper, not more Goodnites, and with one of the most childish prints. That had probably helped her into littlespace as much as the rest of her surroundings. I gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead, wished her good night, and pulled the covers over her before padding out of the room and up to my own bedroom.

I was woken a long time before dawn by Ffrances slipping into bed beside me. Her shift had finished now, and she could take a break. She listened to that recording again before sleeping, so I could only assume that her negotiations with Tess had failed in the end. But still, I would have a little girl to look after in the morning. That was the most important thing. Tess had already listened, Ffrances told me. That must have been what she was doing before dinner.

I might have asked more; I always liked to know every detail about what was going on, so that I could be sure everything could be turned to my advantage. But as soon as I heard Ffrances's voice on the recording, my eyes began to close. And when it ended, my eyed flickered for only a moment, so excited as I looked forward to tomorrow, before I fell back into a deep and dreamless sleep.