✅ The Last New Start [NaNoWriMo2021]

113. Daddy Knows Best

Tess rushed up to her room, laughing all the way. Once inside she did a twirl, and only then noticed that Spike wasn't holding her hand any longer. In fact, he wasn't even in the room. She stepped out onto the landing again and saw him standing to one side of the door.

"You coming?" she said. Maybe she sounded a little hurt; it was hard to tell even for herself. But at the same time she felt like she couldn't stop laughing. She was really starting to feel like a little kid now, just because she felt so safe with Spike around. It would only be for a few minutes; she didn't want to be stuck as a toddler the whole afternoon, and they would have to go back to a more sensible age to play soon enough. But not right away; she didn't want to revert to her real age and risk making Spike feel that he'd done something wrong. She planned to enjoy the suggestion he'd given her for a while, even if it wasn't something she would normally consider doing. This day was so important to her, and she was determined that she wouldn't do anything that might make Spike any less confident, no matter what.

"I... uhh... I thought your room was a big secret," he said with a smile. "A girl's room is special, no boys allowed. And there were things you weren't ready to show me yet, I think."

"It's okay!" she said. "You're Daddy." She knew that the logic there wasn't quite right, but it didn't seem to matter. She had spent all morning trying to make sure there was nothing too embarrassing on show, just in case he wanted to see her room. And if there was anything they had missed, Tess was sure that she could explain it once she was back to being a grownup. There was no read downside to Spike coming in, and right now she was sure that she would be happier if he stayed by her side. Perfectly logical.

She went back into the bedroom, turned around to check that Spike was actually following this time, and then turned the movement into a happy twirl, like some kind of ballerina. She realised how childish that was, she could see it as soon as she started to move. But when she recognised that those impulses in the back of her mind had taken away some of her choices, that made her even more excited. It was the power of hypnosis, she was sure, and that was something she was always eager to explore in more depth. She wanted to know just how far it could take her, and whether it would be any different with Spike her to guide her imagination instead of Ffrances. She was sure it was going to be amazing, and she would have no regrets. She was going to play along, and he knew that she'd only made herself this young as a joke, so if she did anything embarrassing they could laugh at it together.

Tess took a bow, really getting into the game like she was a little ballerina on the stage, or maybe a magician's assistant. Yeah, that made more sense. So she added a little extra flourish as she grabbed the cloth that was draped over the changing table and twitched it away. Spike had wanted to see that she had diapers, so she started opening the drawers and lifting things out onto the table. There were diapers and wipes, lotion and baby powder, wipes and tissues, and other bottles that Tess wasn't really sure about the purpose of. There was even a little electric shaver that looked almost like a toy. She'd been confused by that when she first saw it, sure that a baby would never need it. But now she knew this was an adult baby's room, it seemed to make a little more sense. She lifted it out along with everything else. She wasn't sure what she needed, but now she was sure that Daddy would be impressed if she could make sure to get out everything she needed.

"Wow," he said with a smile. "That's a lot of stuff. You really like to be prepared, huh?"

"Yeah!" Tess said, and beamed. Every little bit of praise made her feel on top of the world, and she wanted to keep on playing this game for as long as he would let her now. "Did I do good? I want to help!"

"You did great," he said, and patted her on the head. There could have been no greater reward for this little girl. And then he looked at the piles of diapers. Instead of pulling one out from the end of the drawer, where they were neatly stacked, Tess had grabbed handfuls of whatever she could reach, not knowing which one Daddy would say she should wear today. She knew that she should probably have just chosen one; a sensible way, because she would only be wearing it for a few minutes while they kept up the joke. But somehow it seemed more exciting to get them all out and let Spike choose, and she hoped that he would be even more proud of her if she could find more things, rather than just one. "Now... do you know how to put your diapers on? Can you do it by yourself?"