✅ Over Protected

60. Everybody Respects Alice

"Who's a big kid this morning?" Mummy asked as she served our breakfast. Sarah scowled, and looked down at her bagel. She didn't want the kiddy cereal with little bits of popping candy in; she didn't want to feel any smaller than she already was right now. But a second later she saw the funny side, and raised a hand. It had been a week since the big confrontation now, and we seemed to have settled into something like a routine again.

"All dry this morning?" Mummy asked.

"Yeah," Sarah answered, managing half a smile. "I mean... it didn't happen often. It was just one time at Scott's, and two or three since then. I think I'm over it now."

"I hope so," Mummy said, and handed Sarah her coffee. I was too young to be allowed a hot drink at breakfast, which was a nice way to remind me just how young I was acting now. "You'll be all grown up soon, won't you?"

"Me too!" I squealed, waving my hand even higher. "I'm all dry!"

"Oh, well done, sweetie," Mummy said. "I'll bet that was really hard, wasn't it. Such a big girl."

"Don't worry, squirt," Sarah's raised hand came down to tousle my hair. "We can fix that. I mean, it's not like you're going to be dry tomorrow too."

I blushed crimson then. I'd been wetting the bed almost every day for more than a year now, but until last week Sarah had always been a little worried about me, the pity showing through in her voice. Now that she knew it was something I wanted, she could tease in a way that always cranked the embarrassment up to eleven. I couldn't help giggling just a little at that.

"I'm not sure about tomorrow," Mummy said. "I'm going to have Alice in rainbows today, so she'll be a little more clear-headed than usual. Tonight... That will depend on our little friends, I think. What do you think, Alice? Eager to see Jinny and Alanis again?"

"Yeah!" I cheered, and my eyes lit up. "I'm gonna be like..." But my mind was still just a little fuzzy after whatever diapers I'd been wearing overnight. It would probably be lunch time before I could really think clearly.

"Should I help look after the little ones?" Sarah asked. "I can, I think. But I'd rather stay with Scott."

"I'm going to be back quite late, I'm afraid," Mummy said. "Can you help to look after them once I go to work? Melania should be bringing Lyra over, so you won't be on your own. And she'll get back to her family once Monique arrives. If you can stay until supper, that would be great. But once the little ones calmed down and start falling asleep, I think you should be okay to go stay at Scott's place. So long as his parents don't mind. I'll be back before midnight, anyway. I hope."

"Okay," Sarah said, giving a half nod. This would be the third time that Monique had stayed to help with the childcare duties since we started having occasional sleepovers; and it was something that always excited me, because it seemed the whole house was filled with babies having a lot of fun. I was always so excited that I might not have noticed when Lyra's mummy went away; I only paid attention to the other babies really, especially when we were all playing silly games.

But I knew that Mummy was choosing diapers today that wouldn't get in the way of me thinking. Babij rainbows, which only acted to numb my bladder; and then after lunch she switched me to Girlzz Superior. I was vaguely aware that they had been the first brand to introduce lysentripase crystals; and that the side effects had first been discovered by a couple of unfortunate kids who were using them. They had warning labels on now, but they were pretty subtle; I didn't wear them often, because the designs were a bit less babyish and the dose on them was a lot less than any of the more-recent Babij ones; but I knew about them because they were what Lyra wore when she wanted to rebel against getting treated like a baby.

By the time Lyra and her Mummies arrived, I could reach all my big girl thoughts. I didn't want to; I let myself sit down with my friend and play with dolls like I was just a little kid. It was harder now, because every time I started being a little too silly I could see what was wrong with the things I was making the dolls say. But I forced myself not to notice, and to just have fun with my friend.

A little while later, Mummy quickly called Sarah and Lyra's mums into the hall, one at a time. She wanted to tell them she was going, without letting me get upset. Just like she would have done if I was so far into my baby brain that the absence of Mummy would be a cause for real worry. This time, I could think like a big girl whenever I wanted to. I could pay attention to what she was doing; and I really hoped it would be worth it.

"Looking forward to tonight?" Sarah asked me, a little while later. We were alone now, because Lyra's mummies were changing her diaper. A part of me wondered what she would be wearing now, and I tried to put those thoughts on one side. I didn't want to understand those things; I didn't want to know the difference between the different designs. I didn't want to think too much like a grown-up when I was trying so hard to be a baby. If I knew more, it would only get harder to feel like I wasn't in control.

"Not really," I said with a sigh. "But I'm sure we'll have fun. I need to keep the fuzzy out of my head, but I can still play along. I guess that's a part of being a kid too, just throwing yourself into the role without thinking about it."

"I appreciate it," she said with a smile. "Never thought I'd have my baby sister watching out for me. I guess it'll be pretty rough on you if you're right. Psychologically, I mean."

"Maybe," I answered. "I haven't really thought about it. But so long as I can trust Mummy, I think I'm happy. I can cope. And I hope the problems you've been having will just go away."

"Me too," she said. "But I don't think I'd be satisfied unless I know why. I don't know what I want more. An answer, or something that will let me trust Mum again." A little hesitation, and then she asked the question that I'd known had to be on her mind: "Should I invite Scott round? I mean, I should have asked Mum, but it didn't seem right tonight. He could help with babysitting, but..."

"I think it's a good idea," I said, after thinking as deeply as I was capable of for a few minutes. "Don't ask Lyra's mummies, I don't know what they'd think. Scott's secret would make a big difference, but they don't need to know that. Give him a call, but ask him to come round after they leave. That seems like the best option to me. No more questions from anybody who doesn't..."

I knew Sarah understood what I was thinking. But I couldn't go into any more detail, because the doorbell rang right then. It had to be Monique, with Jinny and Alanis in tow. I could feel my heart flutter a little when I knew that I would have more friends to play with. Even when I wasn't thinking like a baby, a part of the excitement was still there.

"I'll let her in," she said, and hurried to answer the door. I could hear the footsteps of one of Lyra's mums on the stairs too. Now there would be four baby girls here, and three mummies, plus Sarah and Scott to help them look after us all. I should have been glad to have so many people devoting themselves to keeping us happy and safe; but when I knew that there was some chance of Sarah crossing the line and finding herself on the childish side of the equation... that was more than a little worrying.

I just had to hope that the evening would go well, and that Sarah wouldn't have anything to be scared of. I could tell myself that I was living the dream, and that I didn't need to worry about anything at all. And I really hoped that all my suspicions had been wrong.