The Baby Zone

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The Baby Zone

Postby Miki Yamuri » Sat Oct 25, 2014 8:45 am

The Baby Zone

All Characters Played by: LilJennie and Miki Yamuri

Characters:

Tommy Johnson - 23yo IT professional

Judy Philips - 29yo account manager

Uncle Hubert - Deceased uncle who owned the estate

Mrs. Joleen - Executor of Uncle Hubert’s estate

Scene:

A country road.  A car.  A partly cloudy day.  A perfectly normal drive for perfectly normal reasons.  But for Tommy Johnson, a young man with a bright future is about to have an encounter with his family’s past.  You can never leave the past behind -- it’s always there, right behind your back, and even if you can’t see it, everyone else can.

“I’m sorry, Judy, I can’t talk right now -- I’m driving,” said Tommy as his car sped down the empty country road.  “I could get arrested -- they’ve got laws about it now.  I have to get to Uncle Hubert’s house -- since he passed away, everyone in the family has to look through his stuff to see if there’s anything they want before they sell the place.  I know, most of the good stuff is already gone, but it was in his will.  I’ll call you when I get there, OK?”  He hung up and set his phone down.

“I don’t get it,” he said to himself.  “She’s always calling me -- at first it was always about work, but now … if it wasn’t against company policy, I’d think she had some kind of crush on me.”  He shrugged.  “Oh well -- she can’t do anything about it as long as we both work there.”  He continued driving.

After another hour, he arrived.  The house was huge -- way, way out in the country, but it was a mansion.  The circle drive widened into what was practically a parking lot -- his was the only car there, so he parked close to the house and got out, looking up at the place, with its huge stone porch, vast front doors, columned archways, and gabled roofs.  The key he’d been sent was to the side door -- not that anyone would steal anything from it this far away from even the nearest town, but the house was locked to keep out vagrants.

Tommy got out of the car and walked the hike around the huge house to the servant’s entrance. The grass and other ivy vines and shrubs were in serious need of attention as he unlocked the door. He pushed the many layers of ivy away from the door as he walked in.

He stopped and looked around. From the looks of the thick dust on everything, no one had been in the house since his Uncle Herbert had died. He could easily see the footprints left by the others who had come into the house and gathered things. Now, it was his turn.

He took the map his lawyer had given him. Tommy shook his head at the sheer size of the house. It not only had several large underground rooms and wine cellars, But had something called the Penthouse Loft. It was there he had to go and look into all the junk his Uncle had stashed over the years.

He found the large bannistered circular stairs leading up to the lone door that entered the Penthouse. Each step made an eerie creaking noise as he climbed the long way to the lone door. He put the key into the lock and unlocked the door. It creaked open slowly. The interior of the huge room was pitch black.

Fumbling for the light switch and flipping it, Tommy was rewarded with light from a white fixture on the ceiling that was decorated with yellow stars and red balloons.  Had this been a child’s room at one point?  It was difficult to say, because now it was packed full of dusty chests and boxes.  He walked between a gold-clad black trunk and a stack of cardboard boxes and brushed away a cobweb that bridged the gap between them.  A splash of color caught his eye -- a bright white toy chest, also decorated with a motif of red balloons and yellow stars.  Its colors were dimmed a bit by dust, but his eye was still drawn to it.  He knelt down and opened it.

Inside there were children’s toys, a stack of colorful children’s clothes, and a photo album, its cover a yellowed white.  He picked up the album and carefully opened it.  Had Uncle Hubert had kids?  He hadn’t thought so, but then he didn’t know much about his uncle.  The family said that he’d sort of withdrawn from the rest of them over the years.  Tommy’s mother had said that Hubert had met a woman, but she’d only met her twice, and only briefly each time.  Had they gotten married?  Had they had children?  Perhaps the photo album had answers.

No … these were just black-and-white photos of Uncle Hubert at different locations -- Tommy had seen photos of him elsewhere.  Here he was at what appeared to be a zoo, standing in front of a caged giraffe.  The next one showed him at what was apparently Yellowstone, next to a sign about Old Faithful.  Another one showed him at some kind of amusement park, holding a balloon, a carousel and Ferris wheel in the background.  It looked like a book of vacation memories.  Uncle Hubert looked as if he were in his thirties in these photos.  Tommy turned the page.

Here was a photo of Uncle Hubert and a woman, who was holding his hand and looking lovingly at him, at some sort of restaurant.  Aha -- so there had been a woman in his life.  Other pictures in the album also showed her with him, sometimes hugging him, sometimes tousling his hair, once wiping his face with some kind of cloth.  But no photos of any children, and still no explanation for the child’s room or the toy chest.  Well, perhaps the previous owners of the house had had children, and Uncle Hubert and his wife had kept the room as it was, hoping that they would also have them someday.  But who was this woman, and where had she gone?  Had she passed away before Uncle Hubert?  Nobody in the family talked about her.

He found a small wooden case with a small latch. He flipped the latch and opened the case. Within, was one of the prettiest Snow Leopard Snuggle Toys he had ever seen. He removed it from the case. It was soft and cuddly just like a plushy doll should be.

He rummaged around more in the chest and found many outfits that seemed were for children, but were adult sized. He shook his head as he dug deeper into the box. He had managed to be bent over the box reaching deep within it when he heard a voice behind him. It was female and cooed softly, “Oh, my. Who’s little girl are you sweet heart? How did you get in here without a key?”

Tommy backed out of the chest and looked around. Mrs. Joleen, the executor of Uncle Hubert’s estate, was standing there with a quizzical expression on her face.

Tom said, “Hi, Mrs. Joleen. I didn’t hear you come up. I was looking through this stuff to see if there’s anything I want to keep before the Estate Auction.”

Mrs. Joleen’s face took on a really surprised expression as she said in a stumbling way, “Oh … Tom … I didn’t think …” She looked around the room behind the cases as if she expected to find something.

Tom asked, “Is, something wrong?”

The woman said in a really concerned voice, “For just an instant before you turned, I could have sworn a little girl was in that chest.”

“Er, no, sorry, there’s just me here,” Tommy said.  “Lots of children’s toys in it, and some odd clothes.  Say -- how well did you know Uncle Hubert?  Was he married?”

“Not well,” she said, having taken off her glasses and begun cleaning them with a cloth.  “At one time … I hoped to.  We were … good friends back in college, at Penn State, but then we graduated and went our separate ways.  I had no idea that he was even living in the area until his attorneys contacted me.  Apparently I was on his short list for executor.  But no, I’ve got no idea whether he ever married.  Though there are signs that someone else lived in the house with him, someone female.”

“Someone shows up in a lot of pictures with him,” said Tommy, holding the photo album up.  Mrs. Joleen looked at the pictures.

Mrs. Joleen looked through all the album and the loose pictures that were easily accessed. In them all that had the woman in them, She was either holding Herbert by the hand, buckling him into an amusement park ride, feeding him food, or otherwise Herbert in the child's position with her in the Adult position.

Mrs. Joleen muses more to herself than anyone else, “He seems to be acting like a child when he posed for these.”

Tommy took a closer look at the pictures. True enough, he remembered when he had pictures taken with his mother, she was usually in the exact same poses, more or less.
Tommy said, “It might just be a coincidence.”

He did notice that the snow leopard plushy doll in the case was in his hands or very close by in each photo.  He picked up the toy and held it up in front of one of the photos ... yes, it was clearly the very same.

“Oh, my, Sweetie,” Mrs. Joleen gasped suddenly, “what are you doing up here?  You shouldn’t play up here -- it’s not safe!”  She grabbed Tommy by the hand and said, “Come on, I’ll take you downstairs, and you can play in the yard with your …”

She trailed off.  Tommy had been so surprised that he had dropped the plushie toy; it had fallen back into the toy chest.  “What?” he asked, rather stunned.  “What are you talking about, Mrs. Joleen?”

Letting go of his hand immediately, she put her other hand to her forehead.  “I … I’m not sure,” she answered.  “It must … I must be coming down with something.  I think my head feels a bit warm.  I … I should go.  I’m sorry, Tommy.  I thought I saw … something that wasn’t there.  Feverish delusions.  It must be.  I’ll just let myself out.”

“But Mrs. Joleen,” Tommy said, “at least let me help you to …” but she was gone.
Tommy picked up the plush snow leopard again and looked at it.  “Looks like you were one of Uncle Hubert’s favorites, anyway,” he said.  Actually, he felt quite an attraction to it.  It was very cute, and its presence had a calming, reassuring feeling to it -- he felt as if, as long as it was around, things would be just fine.  “Well, why don’t I just take you with me?” he asked it.  “You’ll help me unravel the mystery, won’t you?”  

He put it in its case and picked up the entire toy chest, setting it aside to take down with him.

After several hours of rummaging through the many large trunks and boxes, Tommy came to the conclusion that Uncle Herbert collected children’s things. Tommy shook his head, for a man that had no children, it was more than obvious he spent lots of money on toys for them.

The strangest trunk he had found, was filled with very expensive and very cute outfits for a little girl. Only issue with that, however, was the clothing was large enough for even Tommy to wear.

He carried all the items and a large trunk he was going to take with him. He loaded it into the back of his car and got in the driver’s seat. he placed the latched wooden case with the plushie doll inside in the passenger seat and started the motor.

It was like he had flipped a switch, the sky grew very dark. Lightning lit the surroundings as it flashed. As Tommy drove out the estate gate, a huge crash of thunder, and a super heavy torrential downpour. Even with the wipers on high, and the lights on bright, Tommy couldn’t see well enough to drive down the winding gravel and dirt drive.
Tommy managed to make it back to the Manor house and into the large living room. He was drenched to the bone. Fortunately, Tommy remembered where all the linens and towels and things were kept. They were exactly where they were when Herbert lived here.

Tommy managed to find an extremely large and soft towel and started drying off as he wandered around the huge downstairs of the house. The grand ballroom was as big as a football stadium. The formal dining room could seat at least 100 comfortably. The library was huge and contained tomes from civilizations long forgotten by history.

He leaned against the mantle as he started a fire with the very dry wood and paper lying all over. As he used the ledge of the mantle to help steady himself, one of the ornate carvings seemed like it broke as it moved. There was a loud clunking noise and a whirring sound, and a small panel in the wall next to the fireplace opened. Within, all Tommy could see was darkness.

Tommy turned on his flashlight and peered in. The passage was very narrow and lead to another door off in the dim distance.

The thunder rumbled outside, and somewhere high above him the rain pattered on the roof, but Tommy slowly made his way down the narrow, dark passage, brushing aside cobwebs with one hand and holding up his flashlight with the other.  When he reached the other end, he turned the small metal doorknob and pushed the door forward.  It creaked open to reveal a room that was small, but with a very high ceiling.  Its walls were decorated with some sort of strange pattern.  Tommy found the light switch and turned it on.

There was nothing in the room but a pedestal in the center, on which rested a large book.  He looked around at the complicated pattern on the walls, which made them seem farther away than they really were, and it seemed to continue onto the floor, and up to the very high ceiling, which made him dizzy to look at, as it seemed to go on forever, making him feel very small.  He wanted to look away from the ceiling, so it was with some relief that he glanced at the book instead.  

It was open to a passage of some sort of poetry, which said:

Alone in the clan shall be one called the Child
Who shall e’er be a Child unto all he has met
And one toy is the sign that shall clouden their mind
To this room they shall come, but then they shall forget

“What does this mean …?” Tommy asked himself, but then he started to feel faint … the swirling patterns in the walls seemed to spin around him … he felt as if he were spinning through space …

He awoke in the living room.  He was in an easy chair -- he must have sat down here in the night while waiting for the storm to pass.  Well, now it was obviously morning; the sun was shining in through the cracks between the curtains.  It was time to go.  He was hungry, and there wasn’t any food in the house, so he would have to drive to a nearby town for some breakfast.  He remembered nothing of the secret passage and the strange room.

Tommy felt really strange as he drove the long way back to the small town. By the time he had arrived at the nearest diner, it was well past 2pm in the afternoon. The waitress at the diner kept looking at him strangely the whole time. As Tommy looked around, he noticed the patrons all stealing glances in his direction. He knew something must be on him or a nasty smudge on his face or something. He went to the men’s room and looked at himself in the mirror.

For the fleetingest instant, Tommy thought he saw a faint image of a very young little girl with bright red hair and freckles, before the image returned to his own features. Tommy washed his face in cold water before returning to his seat. Breakfast went quietly, except for the strange glances everyone gave him.

He finally was back on the road, and traveling home. It wasn’t long before he had another problem spring up. He felt a warm wetness form in the front of his pants and spread around his bottom. It got so uncomfortable he had to stop and get out of the car.
If he didn’t know better , he would swear he had wet his pants totally. After inspecting, however, they were still dry. He walked around for a few minutes to stretch his legs before getting back in the car and continuing his journey.

When he got back to his apartment, it was night again, and he just wanted to go to sleep.  He parked his car and went up to the building …

“There you are!” said a familiar voice.  “You don’t know how worried I’ve been!  I don’t know whether to be happy you’re OK or mad at you for making me worry so much!”

She walked toward him from the front door, where she’d apparently been ringing his doorbell.  It was Judy, her short dark hair shining in the moonlight, and her blue eyes glittering intensely at him.  “Tommy, you … you drive me crazy!” she added.  But then she relaxed.  “I guess you had a lot of work to do at your uncle’s house,” she said.  “It looks like your car is absolutely full!  Here, let me help you carry things in.”

“Uh, no, that’s OK,” Tommy began, “I was just going to go in and sleep; I’m so tired …”
“Nonsense!” Judy interrupted.  “Leaving all those valuables out here on the street?  Someone’s gonna break into your car and steal everything!  We’ll bring it in.  I’ll help!  It’ll take half the time.”

There was no arguing with Judy.  They soon had all the boxes and trunks, and even the toy chest, inside Tommy’s apartment, where they took up a lot of his already scarce living space.  He’d have to figure out what to do with it all.

Setting down the toy chest, which had been the last thing they brought in, Tommy wiped his brow with his shirt sleeve, but right away Judy was fascinated by it.  “Now, what is that?” she asked.  “It looks like a little kid’s toy chest!  Were these your toys when you were little?” She knelt down, looking more closely at it, reaching as if to open it up.

“No, those were … I’m not sure … Uncle Hubert’s, I guess …”  He didn’t want her to see the photo album; so much about it was unexplained.  “You see, I’m not sure whether he had a wife or girlfriend -- he was so distant from the rest of the family.”  Tommy opened the chest before Judy could.

Judy suddenly stood up.  “But … you … I … how did … now look here, it is way past your bedtime, young lady, and there’s nowhere decent here for a girl your age to sleep, but we’re just going to have to make do!”  She reached for the case containing the plushy toy as if she knew exactly where it was, opened it up, and gave it to Tommy, who took it in the confusion.

“Judy, what --?” Tommy began, but Judy went right on.

“Let’s get you out of those dirty play clothes and dressed for bed,” she said.  She reached toward his shirt, pulling at it.  She had to take the plushy away from him for a second, and for that second Tommy felt oddly bereft, as if he were going to cry, until Judy gave it back to him, and everything was all right again.  He held the toy close to him, so happy to have it back that he didn’t notice that Judy had unfastened his pants until she had them down around his ankles and was lifting his feet to get him to step out of them.  

“What’s this?” she asked him.  “Those training pants are way too thin for a little girl your age!  I’m sorry, but I’m not sure you’re even big enough for regular ones.  Well, don’t move a muscle; the diapers are right here.”

“D-diapers?” asked Tommy.  

Judy went straight to a trunk and opened it up, taking out some thick, white cloth diapers, along with some large pins and … plastic pants?  How had Judy known exactly where to find those?

“Now, lie down on here,” Judy said, leading him by the hand to his bed and pushing him down with a hand on his chest, “and we’ll get you all taken care of.”

He lay in total amazement as he was lifted by his ankles, then had his hinny placed in a thick, soft diaper. Judy powdered him well, then pulled the diaper between his legs and fastened it on with large locking diaper pins.

Judy coos softly as she helps him stand back up, “Now be a good little girl and step into your plastic panties.” Judy held out an adorable pair of powder blue panties with cute white ruffles.

Tommy didn’t have a clue what to do about any of this. Judy smiled as she looked at him expectantly. Tommy shrugged and placed a hand on Judy’s shoulder to steady himself, then stepped into the panties. It felt really strange as Judy pulled them up and made sure the elastic on the legs didn’t chafe.

Tommy said with incredulity obvious in his voice, “Judy! Just what in this earth …”  He didn’t have time to finish as Judy placed a large pacifier with a glow worm design in his mouth.  

This was overwhelming.  He was so confused.  He held the plush toy close to him and only after a few moments, when he’d calmed down a bit, did he realize that he’d been sucking intensely on the pacifier she’d given him.

During those moments he hadn’t realized what Judy had been doing -- she had opened up some of the boxes and found a light blue footed sleeper that matched his panties.  It looked as if it would fit him -- why were all these clothes, which were clearly styled for small children or even babies, sized to fit adults?

He didn’t have time to think about it, because Judy was quickly fitting his legs into the sleeper, then reaching through one of its sleeves to grab his hand and pull it through, then taking his plushie to quickly transfer it to his other hand and pulling his other hand through the other sleeve just as deftly.  In seconds he was in the sleeper, and she was zipping it up in back.

“There, now, aren’t you cute and snugly?” she asked him.  

He looked in his bedroom mirror and saw someone he couldn’t believe was himself, because it looked like a baby in a pale blue sleeper and obvious thick diapers underneath it, holding a plush toy and sucking on a pacifier again.  Wait, what was embroidered on the front of the sleeper?  It looked like a picture of the plush snow leopard toy.  Part of him suddenly felt happy about that -- it meant that even if he dropped the toy, it would still be with him.  And just at that moment he thought he got another glimpse of himself changing in the mirror -- for a second it looked as if his face was pudgy and freckled, with red hair in pigtails, but then the vision faded again.

“Now, Sweetheart, I know you’re tired, so let’s put you down for some sleepy-bye,” said Judy in a cooing sing-song voice, as she turned down the covers on his bed.  “This isn’t the right kind of bed for a little baby girl like you, but it’s all we’ve got.  I hope I’ve got enough diapers on you so you won’t leak, because there’s no plastic sheet under the mattress.  And I’m going to have to tuck you in good and tight, because there are no crib sides to keep you from falling out and getting hurt!  We’re going to have to do something about that!”

“Judy …” he tried to protest through the pacifier as she shoved him under the covers and tucked them in around him.  “Notta … baby …”  

He was so tired, and holding his plushy and sucking on his pacifier was so relaxing, and his diaper and sleeper were so comfy … soon he was deeply asleep and dreaming.  In his dreams he was a happy baby girl, delightedly playing in a huge playpen full of wonderful toys, free of all care.  Occasionally part of him would complain that something was wrong, but it was just so happy; what could be wrong about it?

Tommy awoke slowly. He felt a cold, clammy wetness around his loins. He turned over and opened his eyes. His room had changed since he went to sleep and looked more like a little girl’s room now than his. Most of the items in the large trunk were decorating the room. The trunk now served the function of a toy box … which was over filled with toys for a little girl.

Tommy sat up and looked around more. He saw a Little BoPeep Lamp with adorable little pink sheep around it. He could see several of the dolls he had thought to be antique porcelain sitting neatly lined on top of the chest against the wall.

It was about that time he realized two things. First, he had obviously wet his pants during the night. This highly embarrassed and humiliated him. The second … he spit the pacifier from his mouth.

He starts to get out of bed when Judy walks in. She was dressed in what looked for the world like a classical mommy dress and blouse.

Judy said in a loud voice, “Baby! You will not get out of bed until an adult is here to make sure you don’t get hurt or into trouble.”

Judy walks quickly up to the crib and takes Tommy by the hand. She unsnaps between his legs and pulls open the back of his panties and diaper and looks in.

Judy coos softly, “Aww, baby must want a bath and changing.”

Tommy had had almost enough of this. He said sharply, “Judy! This has gone on long enough. Stop it already. It was sort of fun in a weird way last night, but now it’s more than irritating.”

Judy stops and looks at Tommy. Her eyes were hard and steely. Judy said with tone in her voice, “Baby will not be disrespectful to her elders.”

Quick as a striking cobra, Tommy felt himself being pulled into Judy. She held him in such a way, his hinny was exposed. She swatted him once on his thickly diapered behind. Even with the extra padding provided by the thick diaper, it still stung.

It was about that time also, that Tommy dropped the plushy doll. Judy stops suddenly and blinks. A strange expression comes over her face as she looks at Tommy.

As Tommy bent to pick up the snow leopard doll, Judy gasps out, “Tom! Just … what are you wearing?” Then everything went back to the way it was moments before as Tommy picks up the doll.

Tommy replied, “I’m wearing what you dressed me in last night, Judy.” He frowns at her.

Judy giggles, “Of course you are. A baby your age is too young to dress themselves.”  She left briefly to start a bath running in the tub in the bathroom, but she was soon back.

Tommy’s mouth falls open in shock as Judy once again had assumed the role of mommy.  She quickly undressed him and put his drenched diaper into a diaper pail that had not been in his room the night before.  

“There we go, out of that wet diaper and into the tub!  We’ll get you all clean and back into some nice dry diapers and more cute clothes for the day.”  She took him by the hand and led him into the bathroom.  “Now, Ms. Kitty can’t come in the tub with you but don’t worry, she can keep you company right here on the counter top,” said Judy.  

She popped another pacifier into his mouth, then took the plushy toy from him and set it on the counter by the sink, right across the bathroom from the bathtub.  He felt a pang of loneliness, wanting the toy back, but then felt better again -- it wasn’t until he looked in the mirror that he realized that he’d started sucking on the pacifier.  He also realized that this pacifier had a little image of the snow leopard on it.

“Come on now, Sweetheart,” said Judy, holding him by the arms and motioning him toward the tub, “time for your bath.”

“I can wash myself,” said Tommy through the pacifier, but Judy would have none of it.  She felt the water, then moved him farther toward the tub, until he had no choice but to step into the water and let her lower him into it.

“Theeeere we are,” said Judy, “and now it’s time to get all clean.”  She rinsed his hair with baby shampoo and washed him with soap that smelled just like baby powder.  The scent was almost intoxicating; it was strongly evocative of times long ago when his mother had taken care of all his needs, and it hadn’t been difficult because his needs were very simple.

Judy generously applied a baby powder smelling depilatory to his body. It felt soo good, Tommy almost forgot how weird Judy was acting and this very strange situation. Judy applied the depilatory thickly all over his body. She rubbed another type of cream all over his face after that. The only hair left on his body after rinsing, was his scalp, eyelashes, and eyebrows. All the other hair was gone.

Judy held out a super thick towel as she cooed softly, “Now, be a good girl and climb out of the tub so mommy can dry you off.”

Tommy hesitated for an instant. There had to be a way to reach Judy … or had the whole world gone nuts in the last few hours?

Judy dried him vigorously. Then his hair. After she had done that, she powdered his body all over with baby powder. The smell of it permeated the air like a drug.

Judy led Tommy from the bathroom back to the bed. She diapered him in a triply thick and very soft cloth diaper. Judy then dressed him in a pair of cute lime colored rumba panties with a matching babydoll top. As she tied the last bow on the crocheted booties she put on his feet, she quickly pushed him onto his back, lifted the top and exposed his tummy, then gave him a loud, intense, and very pleasant raspberry.

Tommy giggled in spite of himself, because of course this tickled a lot, especially now that his skin was bare of any hair.  But before he knew it, she had maneuvered him into some kind of wheelchair, shaped almost like a baby stroller, and buckled him in with a harness.  There were plenty of baby toys in reach, and his pacifier was clipped to the collar of his babydoll top in case it came out of his mouth somehow, which was unlikely given how intently he was sucking on it.  Then Judy gave him back his plush toy, which he embraced like an old friend.  With all that had been happening, it was like the only point of stability in what had become a crazy existence.

Then Judy started pushing him toward the door.

“Buh Judy,” he said through his pacifier, “evwyone’s gonna see me!”

“And they’ll all think you’re the cutest baby in the world,” she said, opening the door and pushing him out into the hall in the stroller.  He tried to unbuckle the harness that kept him in, but he couldn’t figure out how to do it for some reason.  It suddenly seemed very complicated.

Judy got the door closed and locked and headed for the elevator.  He was praying that no one else would see him, but sure enough, one of his neighbors came along before the doors opened -- Jim, who was some kind of writer or another.  “Dzim!  I can esplain,” he said through the pacifier, very nervously.

“Oh wow,” he said to Judy, “she knows my name!  I bet she’ll be talking up a storm before long.”

“They do grow up so fast, don’t they?” Judy responded.  “Sometimes I just wish she could stay at this cute age … forever.”  The elevator arrived, and they all got in -- Jim held the door open so Judy could roll the stroller inside.

“She sure is adorable,” said Jim, “so I can definitely understand.  Going to the lobby?”  Judy nodded.

What was going on?  Jim acted as if he saw some baby girl when he looked at Tommy, not a grown man.  Tommy didn’t know what to do, so he just nervously held his plush toy and sucked on his pacifier.  What was next?  Where was Judy taking him, anyway?

Judy pushed him from the building and down the walk. There were many people. Tommy saw many of them look at him and smile. Several even stopped to admire the ‘baby’ and tweak her cheeks. By the time Tommy realized she was taking him to that … Baby place, Babies of all Ages Inc., he realized he no longer could help himself when it came time to go. He felt the warm wetness as his trickled down and around his bottom from the front.

Tommy was incredulous over this. he hadn’t wet his pants since … Tommy realized suddenly he not only was seen by others as a baby, he was starting to act just like one. The pictures of his Uncle with that strange woman no one seemed to know, started to make a lot more sense to him. What if he too were caught in this weird zone somehow and everyone thought he was a baby too?

Tommy came from his deep thoughts as he felt himself being released from the sort of stroller he was in. Judy lifted the back of his babydoll top, pulled open the back of his panties and diaper and checked him … right in front of everyone. To Tommy’s amazement, no one seemed to take any particular notice. All everyone saw, was a mother checking her adorable little baby girl’s diaper.

Judy coos softly, “Baby needs a change. Your diaper is totally soaked.” She stood up and looked around before she said loudly, “Can anybody tell me where the changing room is? My baby is wet.”

Tommy’s face turned beet red. He was so humiliated and embarrassed he didn’t know what to do.

A sales woman approached and said, “Follow me, Ma’am, I’ll show you where it is.”
“Thank you so much,” said Judy and, fastening him back into his stroller with his wet diaper under him, pushed him down the hallway to a door with a poster of a big pastel teddy bear on it.  There were several other doors in the hallway too, each with a similar juvenile poster on the door.  All the doors had a small light above them -- some of the lights were on, and others, like the teddy bear door, were off.

“Here you go,” said the saleslady.  “Just let us know if you need anything.  Babies of All Ages carries every baby and baby support product you could every need!  But I won’t bother you any longer.  Just go right back down the hallway when you’re done, and we’ll see you shortly!”  She turned and walked down the hallway, the clicking of her heels fading into the distance as Judy opened the door.

Inside was a small room with brightly colored wallpaper all around, full of bold reds, blues, yellows, pinks, and greens -- there were lots of yellow duckies, white bunnies, red hearts, blue cars, and pink baby dolls in the design.  Tommy’s eyes were immediately drawn to it, and he wanted to reach for it, even though he knew it was just a printed pattern.  Judy had unbuckled him and was holding his hand, motioning him to lie down on the room’s changing table.

“There we go,” Judy said.  “Who’s all wet?  Baby’s all wet!  But don’t worry, she’ll be all dry soon, won’t she?  Won’t she?”  She tickled his tummy with her fingers, and Tommy giggled and felt his diaper suddenly get warmer.  He’d had no warning at all that time, and actually it hadn’t occurred to him to do anything to stop it until after it had happened.

She lifted up Tommy’s lime green top and took down his matching panties.  Under them were separate plastic panties, followed by his diaper, which she removed and cleaned him up quickly.

“Judy?” he asked.  “Aren’t we supposed to be at work?”  But she ignored him and got his skin all lotioned and powdered, setting the wet diaper and plastic panties aside and taking out fresh ones from her copiously-supplied diaper bag.  The sensation as she pulled the thick diapers up between his legs was indescribable -- he knew there was no way he’d be able to walk normally, but at the same time it didn’t seem to be much of a sacrifice compared to how totally safe and protected he felt, not to mention comfortable.  The plastic panties were elasticized at the legs and waist, true, but they didn’t chafe at all.  Then came the lime green rumba panties, and he was done, stepping off the changing table as Judy held his hands and lowered him back into his stroller.

“There, now,” Judy said.  “Now we just have to put this in a bag,” she added, picking up the wet diaper and plastic pants and putting them in a plastic bag, setting it in the storage compartment beneath the stroller.  She opened the door and went back into the hallway.  Had it changed?  It was white, decorated with wallpaper featuring small pastel animals that were cute and made him giggle, but they could have been there before.  Judy pushed him down the hallway and back out into the store area.

The store had everything a baby or its caregiver could ever need.  There was a toy section, of course, and Tommy found himself wanting desperately to go there, but there were also sections containing clothes, bedding, furniture, electronics for baby monitoring, feeding equipment and food, diapering supplies, decorations, books on baby care, and just about anything one could think of.  

The sales lady came back and said, “Ah good, you’re back -- now, is there anything I can help you with?  I’m happy to help you and your baby in any way.  Making your baby happy is our job!”

Judy smiles and said, “Yes, I was looking for a nice crib for my baby. One with a mobile and an activity center. I think I would need sheets and a plastic mattress protector as well.” Judy looks around for a second, “I also want one of those bouncy chairs. I think my daughter would like that.”

The sales lady nods, “That kind of chair helps baby strengthen their legs and even aids in coordination.”

Judy had gathered several truly adorable footie jammies for him. One appeared to be a chipmunk, another a bunny rabbit. There was even one that said Glow Worm in large green/yellow glow in the dark letters across the front.

By the time Judy had finished shopping, she had to make delivery arrangements. The sales lady was more than happy to arrange a large truck to make the delivery in the next hour. Judy paid for her purchases and left, pushing Tommy down the crowded sidewalk for all to see.

By the time Judy had arrived at the apartment building, a large truck with the Babies of all Ages logo had parked in the loading zone. The driver was writing on his delivery order pad as she approached.

She said, "Hi, there. I see the delivery was early.”

The man looks around and smiles warmly as he said, “You must be Judy. Yea … it was quick to load the truck … and I really didn’t have anything else to do.” He opens the door and climbs from the large delivery truck.

“Are you sure you can handle that all by yourself?” asked Judy as the delivery man opened the cargo door at the back of the truck, climbed in, and pushed a large, heavy-looking box out toward the door.

“Oh, don’t you worry, Ma’am,” he said, “I’ve got a dolly.”

For some reason the first thing that came to Tommy’s mind was not a wheeled delivery cart -- he held up his plush toy toward the delivery man, who noticed and laughed.  

“Haha!  She’s got a dolly too, and she wants to help!  That’s so cute!”  

Tommy realized what type of dolly the man had meant now, and he blushed and held his plushie close again, but he wondered what was happening to his mind now.

It didn’t take long for the delivery man to make the trips up to the apartment, with the help of his dolly -- the kind with wheels -- and the elevator, and after that he made short work of assembling Judy’s purchases.  

“You’re so good at this!” Judy said.  “No wonder everyone recommends your store.”

“I do this every day, Ma’am,” said the man.  “I hope you and your adorable little girl get lots of enjoyment out of this crib and walker.  Now, if you can just sign here to indicate that everything was received in good shape … right on the line there … thank you!  I’ll be on my way to the next delivery.”

“He was a very nice man, wasn’t he, Sweetheart?” Judy asked without really asking a question.

Tommy had finally had some time to collect his thoughts while the delivery man had been assembling the crib, so he finally asked, “Judy?”
“Yes, Honey?”

“Why am I your baby?” he asked.  He was hoping to ask some obvious questions that would make it clear that none of this was making any sense.

“Why, because I’m your Mommy, Sweetheart!” Judy answered, and hugged him happily.

As nice as that was, he pressed the issue.  “No, you’re not,” he said.  “My Mommy and Daddy live in Schenectady.  Here, I’ll call them.  Phone, call parents.”  There was a sound of the ringing of a telephone on the other end of a connection.  Judy looked confused and couldn’t find the sound.  Tommy had a voice-activated phone system, and he called his parents frequently.

“OK, well, I’m not your natural mommy, of course,” said Judy, “but I love you just like you were my own little baby daughter.”

“Hello?” said a woman’s voice on the other end of the speakerphone.

“Hi Mom,” said Tommy.  “You wouldn’t believe the kind of day I’ve been having.”

“Oh, is that little Wendy?” asked Tommy’s mother.  “Did she call to say hello?  That’s so sweet!  Dear, come listen, it’s Wendy!”

This wasn’t right.  “Are you calling to say hi to Mommy?” said his mother.  “Are you, Wendy sweetie?”

“No, Mom, I’m not a baby, and my name isn’t Wendy,” he said, although he did remember his parents telling him once that Wendy was the name they’d picked out for him if he’d been born a girl.  “It’s Tommy, and I’m starting to get worried.”

“Well, aren’t you cute?” asked his mother.  “Doesn’t she sound adorable, dear?”
“She sure does,” said his father’s voice, chuckling.  “Our little princess.”

Judy had been listening to this, at first with a look of amazement on her face, but now with a nod of understanding.  “See, Wendy honey?” she said, “you’re everyone’s favorite little baby girl!”

“But I … he said, looking down at his body.  Aside from the diapers and clothes, he still looked like he always had.  His hands were the same.  His legs were the same -- well, without any hair now, but they were the same as always.  But somehow everyone else saw a baby girl when they looked at him -- and heard one when they listened, too, it seemed.

It had all started at Uncle Hubert’s house.  Somehow he had to go back there and undo whatever had been done.  Maybe it had been something he had brought with him, somehow.  Maybe …

“Is that you, Judy?” asked his mother on the phone.  Tommy was stunned.  To his knowledge, his parents and Judy had never met.  “So good of you to take care of our baby girl.  She sounds happy, so you must be doing a wonderful job!”

“Well, she’s just so beautiful,” Judy answered, “just a little angel, that I just can’t help falling in love with her!  I’ve just gotten a crib and walker for her.  I only want her to be happy!  Maybe one day I’ll adopt her -- someday soon, I hope!”

“Well, I couldn’t think of a better mommy for her,” said Tommy’s mother, “other than myself, of course!”  She and Judy both giggled.

“OK, well, we’re going to say goodbye now, because I think Judy needs a diaper change and a nap, but it’s good to talk to you both!” Judy ruffled Tommy’s hair.

“OK, then, well, thank you for calling, and bye bye Wendy!  Talk to you soon!  We love you!” his parents said before hanging up.  It didn’t sound as if they’d understood a word he was saying, just like everyone else.

“Well, Cutie Pie, time for your nap, after a diaper change,” said Judy.  “It sure was nice of them to call.”  Wait -- it was he who had called them.  Didn’t she remember?  What was messing with Judy’s mind?  Was she on drugs?  It wouldn’t surprise him.  She’d always been intense in a stalker-like way.  Her grasp of reality had always seemed tenuous.  But how did that explain his parents?  He pondered this as he sucked on his pacifier and held his plush toy while Judy changed his diaper.

This was another thing.  Judy could obviously tell that he was a boy, not a girl.  He did still have boy parts under his diaper, and she did clean them off with baby wipes -- it wasn’t as if she was pretending they weren’t there.  She was very thorough and made sure he was all clean, but she still insisted on referring to him as a baby girl.  There were so many ways this didn’t make sense.

After Judy cleaned and rediapered Tommy, she tucked him into his new crib. The new smell of the sheets and plastic lining made him feel so … strange. As he moved around, he found the mobile. It was simple, just a collection of glow in the dark farm animals that wiggled all over as it played a soft lullaby.

“There, now,” said Judy softly.  “No falling out and getting hurt, and if your diaper leaks the mattress is waterproof!  Baby Wendy is all safe and sound for her trip to dreamland.”

Tommy lay in total shock as he sucked his pacci furiously. It suddenly came to his mind … the plushy Snow Leopard! He remembered at his Uncle’s house … and Mrs. Joleen.
He looked at the doll with different eyes for a minute before he dropped it over the edge of the crib rail. As soon as it hit the floor, Tommy felt a seriously miserable feeling rising up within him. He couldn’t help himself as it built until he felt the tears start. Totally against his will, Tommy began to cry like the baby everyone seemed to see him as.

Judy rushed into the nursery and asked in a concerned voice, “What’s wrong baby? Did you get scared?” she noticed the plushy on the floor and picked it up. “Aww Wendy, here’s your friend back. See? It didn’t get hurt at all.”

Tommy grabbed the plushy and hugged it tightly. A feeling of total relief filled his soul as he rocked side to side slowly with the doll in his arms. Judy smiles as she coos softly and reassuringly to her baby.

Tommy watches as Judy leaves. Whatever it was that was on his mind before his dolly fell out of the crib … he couldn’t seem to remember for the life of him.  He tried to think of what it had been, but his thoughts just grew cloudier and sleepier, and in moments he was fast asleep.

When he woke up something smelled good.  Maybe Judy was making dinner.  It had been a long time since he’d eaten, and it occurred to him that he had no idea what Judy’s cooking was like.  But whatever was happening to him, making her see him as her baby, at least it was making her want to take good care of him.  It could be worse.  Wait, what was he thinking?  He was an adult, not a baby!  He was old enough to work in an office and drive a car.  He … had on a soaking wet diaper.  And he had a pacifier in his mouth that he was sucking intently, and he was clutching a plush toy with a desperate death grip, remembering how upset he’d gotten last time he’d let it slip away.  Yeah, those were very adult things, weren’t they?

“Looks like my little sweetie is awake again,” said Judy in a singsong voice, peeking in the door.

“Judy?  Do you remember how I became your baby?” he quickly asked.  It was another one of the questions he’d thought of that would challenge this new reality everyone seemed to believe in but him.

“Well …” she said, tilting her head to one side in thought, “I remember going to the adoption agency a lot, hoping that the ideal baby would show up, and then one day there you were!  I hope they’ll let me adopt you for real soon!”

“But there was no adoption agency …” he said.

“What?” asked Judy.  “Silly baby, of course there was.  I went there every day, for a long time, until I met you.  And then I kept trying to get them to let me take you home with me, but you just weren’t ready.  But then one day you were!”  

Obviously her memory of reality had been totally skewed.  They had worked at the same office, which she was clearly turning into an “adoption agency,” and the day he’d been “ready” must have been the day he came home from Uncle Hubert’s house.  Something had happened there.  He just knew it.  He had to get back there.

“But this isn’t your home,” he said.  “It’s my apartment.”

“You know,” she said, “you’re right.  I should start looking for a place where I can take care of my little angel properly.  This apartment just doesn’t have enough space.  I’ll think about it.  But right now I have to get back to cooking dinner, before the casserole burns!”

Tommy flopped back in his new crib and sucked on his pacifier furiously as he thought deep thoughts. What ever happened had to have happened when he was at Uncle Herbert’s. Exactly what it might have been, he couldn’t seem to quite remember.

He rolls over. The sound of the new plastic mattress liner crinkling loudly in his ears. His eyes fell on the activity center hanging at the foot of the crib. A wonderful feeling of awe ran through him as he looked at the steering wheel with its red rubber push horn.
Tommy couldn’t help himself as he crawled to the end of the crib, sat back on his thickly diapered hinny, and began play driving his crib. He made motor noises with his mouth as he pushed the red rubber center of the wheel. It made an adorable Beep Beep sound. Tommy giggles happily as he discovers the slide. As he moves it back and forth, it makes a ringing tinkling noise. Tommy giggles again as he claps his hands.

Tommy realizes suddenly exactly what he had been doing. He is totally mind blown that he is so easily  getting distracted and lost in … baby things. He had to find a way out of this mess. It was then … he remembered Uncle Herbert … just long enough for his tummy to start to feel like there were butterflies in it.

Small waves of sensations began to move through him … and suddenly his eyes get big … and Tommy once again shows his adorable poopy face that all babies have.

He gasped.  “Oh nooooo,” he said aloud.  He wasn’t about to … oh yes he was.  His body would not be denied.  He strained and exerted himself but try as he might, he just couldn’t do anything -- he could feel it coming out of him and into his diaper, wave after wave, and nothing he did even slowed it down.

“What’s wrong, Sweetheart?” asked Judy, coming into the room, but she immediately knew from the look on his face and the smell in the air.  “Awww, poor little baby.  I’ll bet she’s not happy.  We’d better get that taken care of -- let me turn down the oven so dinner doesn’t burn and I’ll be right back!”  

In a short while she was back, and Tommy was on the verge of tears, wanting desperately to get out of this uncomfortable diaper -- it didn’t matter that he’d be put right back into another diaper; it would at least be a clean one that would be much better than this damp messy one that smelled bad.

Judy returned shortly and took Tommy by his hand. Tommy felt a whole lot better now that his mommy had come to fix stuff. Judy led Tommy to the potty room.  She plunked the pacifier in his mouth before taking the plush toy out of his hands so she could undress him to his messy wet diaper.  She carefully undid the locking diaper pins, then cleaned him gently with a sweet smelling baby wipey, then another, then another to be sure.

Judy coos softly and reassuringly, “There we are baby. Nothing at all to worry over. Mommy fixed that messy diaper and has baby’s hinny all clean.”

She pats Tommy’s hinny lovingly as she spreads a super thick crawly diaper on the padded counter. Tommy couldn’t help himself as he climbed on the counter. Judy lifted him by his ankles, then placed his hinny in the warm, soft embrace of the super thick diaper. She powdered him well. The wonderful smell of baby powder permeated the air. Judy pulled the thick bulk of the diaper between Tommy’s legs and fastened it on with the locking diaper pins.

Judy lifts Tommy from the counter to his feet as she coos, “There we are baby.” she hands him the plushy snow leopard doll, “all better now sugar plumb?” She bends and hugs Tommy as she pats his hinny softly.

He really did feel so much better.  He hugged her back and said, “Thank oo Mommy,” in a very small voice through his pacifier.

“Oh, such a little sweetie you are,” Judy said.  “Now, dinner is almost done, so let’s get you in your high chair and I’ll finish it up.”  She washed her hands quickly, then took him by the hand and led him to the kitchen, where she buckled him into the padded seat of a chair that wasn’t all that high, but at least its legs were tall enough that his own legs couldn’t reach the ground, and it had a tray that she fastened in front of him.  He swung his legs and watched Mommy and smelled the good smells of cooking and …

… and realized that he had fallen deeply into the role again.  Had he called her Mommy?  He thought he might have.  And he had been trying to be careful, too.  It was just … yes, that was it.  It was when his body betrayed him that he had lost it.  There was no way to pretend to be an adult when he was upset because of a wet and messy diaper.  At that moment, there was nothing to suggest that he was an adult; every sensation was screaming at him that he was a baby.  It was no wonder that he had slipped into that frame of mind.

Judy came back in with an appropriately sized baby bowl that was divided into 3’s.Tommy saw some green glop, some orange glop, and some brown glop, each in its own 3rd or the plate. Nope! Tommy shook his head vigorously side to side. He wasn’t gonna eat nonena that.

Judy played the little choo choo game as the spoon made a winding approach to Tommy's mouth. Tommy began to giggle as Judy coos, “And heeeeeeerrrreee comes the train into the station. Tommy lost it about that time and gleefully opened his mouth so Judy could feed him. Of course, as with all babies, some of it did manage to get into his mouth, although a lot of it went onto his bib and the tray of his high chair.

When Judy had put the final spoonful in his mouth, Tommy came back to his right mind for a bit. He couldn’t believe how easily Judy managed to make him into a baby. He was basically helpless to stop it.

Judy cleaned Tommy’s hands and face as she cooed softly, “That’s a good girl. It’s time for baby to play in the playroom some.”

Judy undid the tray and lifted it over Tommy’s head, then undid the harnesses and helped him to his feet. Tommy was having serious difficulty trying to keep his mind together as Judy seemed to know just what to do to make him more infantile.

She led him back to the bedroom, where there was a large playpen set up.  She opened the side and led him in, then walked out and closed it again.  The floor was soft and colorful and full of toys of many shapes and colors.  It was  … very interesting … he wanted to look at that red one … and in moments he was sitting on the floor, picking up a red plastic car and trying to put it in his mouth, finding a yellow hat and trying to put it on his plush toy’s head, and otherwise playing just like the baby everyone believed he was … except, occasionally, himself.

Meanwhile, Mommy was in the other room, and he knew it because he could hear her typing on her … what was it?  She wiggled her fingers on the buttons and it made things happen in the picture it showed her.  He tried to think what it was called, and he had a vague idea that he should know, but he just couldn’t think of it.  Anyway, he heard her voice too, talking to someone about something, but he couldn’t hear her very well, and the words he heard he couldn’t make sense of.  Something about “in-hair-it” and “pro-bait” and “tasty mints.”

Before he knew it, she was back, preventing him from playing by lifting up his arm and pulling him to his feet.  “OK, time for my baby girl to go to beddy-byes!” she said.  “Let’s check your diaper and … yup, all wet!  It’s OK, Honey, all babies wet their diapees; it’s what they’re for!  But let’s get you nice and dry for bed, OK?”

It was starting to get routine, being changed into a dry diaper, especially in this frame of mind.  He was barely able to remember for just a moment that he wasn’t actually a baby this time; she cooed over him and talked so sweetly, and he was getting so sleepy, but he remembered her saying, “We’ve got a big day tomorrow, Wendy honey, we’re going to go look at a house that might be just the right place for Mommy and baby.  If it’s the right place, why, we might just stay there … forever!”  

Something worried him about how she said that, but she quickly tickled and raspberried his tummy, sending him into gales of giggles, and soon he wasn’t thinking about that, or much of anything at all.  She got him into a super-thick nighttime diaper and a soft comfy footed sleeper, gave him the plush toy again, and tucked him into his crib, saying, “Goodnight, Sweetie.  Mommy loves you so much!  Mommy loves her baby Wendy.”

Tommy’s eyes became so heavy, he didn’t even realize when he had entered this very wonderful dream. A unicorn had come into the field and brought a pet cloud. All baby had to do, was sit in the cloud, and it would fly her to the most wonderful magical places ...

Judy saw the most favored plushy snow leopard sitting on its side by the crib. It had managed to get smudges of dirt on it. She picked it up and took it to the laundry room and began to wash it by hand. She smiled as she thought of her adorable daughter waking up to a fresh clean doll.

While Judy was occupied cleaning the doll, Tommy had awakened. He wasn’t real sure what had happened as he lay in a daze for a few minutes. When his mind cleared, he sat up and looked around. OMG!! he had to escape this madhouse.

It was easy enough for him to get out of the crib, being mostly an adult bed made into a crib. He rushed to the front door. Just as he was about to open it, he looked down and realized all he had on was a super bulky diaper and a cute footie jammie that looked like a chipmunk -- and it zipped up the back, and he couldn’t reach the zipper.

He scans the room quickly and spies the large dust cover over the sofa. He grabs it, wraps himself in it, and heads out the door … to run right into the arms of Lucy, one of Judy's best friends.

Lucy looked at Tommy with a strange expression as she asked, “Is … something wrong Tom? Why … are you wrapped in a toga?” she giggles.

“I, uh … I ran out of clothes,” he said.  “I forgot to do laundry.  I have to … uh … go buy a couple of things to wear so I can at least go to the laundromat.”  

She did bring up a good point -- where was he going to go?  He could go to the police, he supposed -- they might have a good laugh at his expense, but surely there had been other kidnap victims who had escaped wearing ridiculous clothes their tormentors had dressed them in.  Actually, that might be the best idea -- If she tried to give him drugs or however she was doing what she’d been doing to his mind, the police would be right there and could arrest her.

He ran past her and down the stairs, not wanting to wait for the elevator, and passed by a number of incredulous people, though there were a few who didn’t even pay attention to a man wrapped in a sofa dust cover.

Where was the police station …?  Oh right, a couple of blocks this way and one block this way … the feet of the pajamas really weren’t made for running on concrete, but it wasn’t that far, so his feet were hurting by the time he made it, and he was out of breath, but he wasn’t injured.

“Help!” he said, bursting in the door of the police station.  “I’ve been --”

“Hey, Toga Man,” said someone waiting at the front desk, “take a number.”

“So, Ma’am, you say your apartment was broken into?” an officer at the desk was asking the woman at the front of the line.

“You don’t understand, I’ve been kidnapped, and I’ve just escaped,” he said.  “She’s a crazy woman and she’s probably coming after me.  I think she used drugs on me.”

“Whoa, whoa, wait a sec,” said another officer, coming out from behind the desk.  “Let’s get you to a chair so you can sit down.  That sounds pretty serious.  Can you give us a statement?  Are you hurt in any way?  If we get you to a doctor, maybe we can take a blood test  or a urine test for evidence of drugging, OK?”  
He led Tommy into the squad room, to a chair next to a desk, where Tommy sat down.

“OK, first things first,” said the officer, taking out a form.  “Name?”

Tommy gave out all the pointless, mundane information he asked for, then finally was asked to make a statement.  “Well her name’s Judy Philips,” he began.

“She’s known to you?” the officer asked.

“Yeah, she works for the same company.  She’s been kind of pseudo-stalking me for months.  I haven’t been encouraging her, but she won’t give up.  Anyway, I’d come home the night before last, and there she was at my apartment.  She was nice at first, helping me carry some things up.  But then things got weird.  She started calling me her baby, and my head started to feel funny.  I’m not sure how, but maybe she slipped me something.”

“Her baby?”

“Yeah, she’s much crazier than I thought.  She actually thought I was her baby.  She took my clothes off, put diapers on me, put me down for a nap, and I went right to sleep.”

“Sounds like a nutcase, all right,” said the officer.

“Like that one guy on Riverside last year,” said a female officer at the next desk.  “Only, you know, reversed.”

“OK, well, anyway, she’s been keeping me captive in my own apartment since then,” Tommy said.  “I managed to slip away this morning.”

“Well, that’s pretty serious,” said the officer.  “Are you hurt in any way?”

“No, at least there’s that,” Tommy said.  “She hasn’t been violent.”

“But there’s the possibility she used drugs, so we should take you to get tested, if that’s OK.”

“That’s fine, sure,” Tommy said.  “You wouldn’t happen to have any … clothes I can change into, do you?”

“Yeah, I think we can find something,” the officer said, “but we probably want to take some photos first, for evidence.”

“Ummm, well, I suppose that’s OK,” Tommy said, blushing as he remembered how he was dressed.

“OK, wait right here and let me get a camera,” said the officer.

“Wendy?” came a woman’s voice from the lobby.  “Wendy, are you here?”

“Oh no, it’s her,” said Tommy.

The female officer said, “What?  She actually came here looking for you?  Does she want to get 25 to life?”  She paused.  “She thinks your name is Wendy?”

“I’m just looking for my baby girl,” said Judy’s voice, amid all the other voices in the station.

“No baby girls here, Ma’am,” came the voice of an officer.

“You don’t go by Wendy?” the female officer asked Tommy.

“I have never gone by Wendy,” Tommy answered, “but yes, that’s what she thinks my name is.”

“Hey, Teddy Bear lady, take a number,” the voice of the man waiting in line said.

“Suspect is named Judy Philips,” the female officer was saying to two other officers quietly.  “Her escaped kidnap victim has identified her by voice.  She’s not known to be armed and not known to be violent, but she’s mentally unstable and delusional.  Let’s arrest her and lock her up, then get a shrink in here to evaluate her.”  The other officers nodded silently.  “OK, let’s go.”  They left Tommy sitting in the chair and went out into the lobby.

“OK, if you’ll just stand over here,” said the first officer, who had returned with a camera, “I’ll take your photo for evidence.  What you’re wearing is gonna be important to help tell your story to the jury in court.”

Tommy imagined telling this story to the jury.  He sighed.  Well, the process had already begun.  “OK,” he said.  He stood up, still clutching the sofa cover around him.

“Ma’am, you have the right to remain silent,” the voice of the female officer said, out in the lobby.

“All right,” the officer with the camera said, “now if you can let go of that wrap thing so we can get some shots of what she made you wear.”  

Tommy did so, and the officers in the squad room saw the chipmunk sleeper he was wearing, complete with hood and tail.  Some of the ones farther away were trying to stifle their laughter, he could tell.

“That would be very cute in other circumstances, Mr. Johnson,” said the officer, taking more photos, “but I know that for you it was a living hell.”  He said this last part a bit louder, perhaps trying to make sure the cops in the back of the room heard him.

“Mostly it was all a blur,” said Tommy.

Then the door opened, and they brought Judy in, in handcuffs.  “I just want to see -- my baby!” she shouted as soon as she saw Tommy.  

“Here you are!  The nice officers kept you safe for me!”  She tried to rush toward Tommy, but the police were holding her back.

“Take it easy, Ma’am,” one of them said.  “You don’t want to add more charges to your sheet.”

“Charges?” Judy asked.  “What charges?  What have I done that’s illegal?  I just want to take my baby girl home with me!”

“Delusional,” the female officer said.  Tommy noticed that she was holding …
The plush snow leopard toy.

As soon as he saw it, that plushie suddenly became the one thing Tommy most wanted in the universe.  He longed to hold it so much that his chest hurt.  He couldn’t help himself.  As if in a trance, he walked over to the female officer and …

She pulled back.  “Now, hold on a moment, Mr. Johnson,” she said.  “Your trace evidence is probably all over it already, but this is evidence, and we don’t want it getting contaminated by post-arrest contact any more than it already is … Mr. Johnson!”

He reached around her and, just for a moment, touched it. Instantly, everything changed.

“Oh, Sweetie,” said the female officer, “is this your toy?  Here you go, Honey.  Aww, you’re just the sweetest thing!”  Tommy was clutching the plush toy close to him, almost desperately.

“I told you,” said Judy quietly.  “I told you all.”

“Ma’am, we’re sorry,” said the officers, unlocking her cuffs.  “She just wandered in here.  You must have taught her well, to go to the police when she needs help.”

“I’d better take her home,” said Judy.  “I’m sure she’s wet and needs her diaper changed, and she hasn’t had her breakfast yet.”

“Awww, there’s a bottle at home with your name on it, isn’t there?” asked the female officer with a singsong in her voice.

“Well, Kid,” said the officer with the camera, ruffling Tommy’s hair, “we’re gonna miss ya, but at least you’re goin’ home to your ma.”

“That’s it then, Ma’am,” said the officer who had handcuffed Judy.  “You’re free to go.  Sorry about the misunderstanding.”

“Oh, it’s quite all right,” Judy said, “as long as my baby’s coming home safely.  Have a good day, officers.”  She left, holding Tommy’s hand, and Tommy followed behind, clutching the plush toy tightly with the other hand.

“Aww, what a cute baby,” said the impatient man in line as they passed by.

“OK, well, where were we?” asked the officer with the camera, looking down at his desk.  “What’s this?  Kidnapping?  Tommy Johnson?  Who’s that?  Anybody ever heard of a Tommy Johnson kidnapping?”  Everyone else in the squad room looked at each other blankly.  “OK, look, people, these forms are for serious police business, not practical jokes.”  He pulled the sheet of paper off the pad, crumpled it up, and threw it away.

Tommy didn’t realize how close he had come to being free … that is until they returned home and he was sitting in the playpen. Just as Tommy was about to stack his next block, his mind cleared for a moment. He looked around … and can’t believe he allowed himself to be retaken … over that …

Yes, that had to be it! That cute doll. Tommy’s absolute favorite doll. The one he would pine away for hours over losing. Judy came into the room and placed a large plastic kind of cover on the playpen. Tommy could still stand up, with the new top on it, but getting out with the rails up would now prove impossible.

The rail to the playpen suddenly came down, Judy reached in and took hold of Tommy and gently pushed him on his back. His tummy was exposed and Judy’s wet raspberry sounded loudly as massively wonderfully intense thrills ran all through him. He giggled and squirmed as he kicked his feet. He was, for all intents and purposes, the infant everyone saw him as.

She changed his diaper and said things to him in that singsong tone of voice that she used whenever she talked to him, and he had totally forgotten the fact that she had more or less forced herself into his life and taken advantage of the strange occurrences that had been happening ever since his visit to his uncle’s house … or had the strange events taken advantage of her, snaring her in their net just as surely?  One thing was sure -- Tommy had no idea what Judy had planned for the day, because right now he couldn’t understand a word she was saying.  His mind was just too far gone.  He could only giggle with delight at the musical sounds she was making.

Soon he was freshly diapered and dressed in a lovely yellow sundress with a matching bonnet that did nothing to hide or cover his diaper, not that he would need more clothes on this beautiful spring day.  She buckled him into his high chair and fed him his breakfast, consisting of baby cereal and a baby bottle of milk.  Then, after cleaning him up, she removed him from the high chair, strapped him into his stroller, picked up a large, well-stocked diaper bag and strapped it over her shoulder, and rolled him right out the door.  

Everything was happening to Tommy now; he wasn’t deciding anything for himself -- just as with any other baby.  It didn’t occur to him that anything was odd about this -- as far as his confused brain was concerned, things had always been like this.  It didn’t even occur to him that she was treating him like a baby girl and calling him by a girl’s name -- he had no idea that there were such things as boys and girls, let alone what the difference was.

He felt the warmth that he didn’t know was the sun on his face, he heard the whooshing sounds that he didn’t know were cars driving by in the city around him, he felt the warm sensation in his diaper that he didn’t know was him wetting it yet again, and he felt his mommy unstrapping him from the stroller and strapping him into a child seat in the back of her car.  He didn’t understand that her car -- really a full-sized family minivan -- was packed full of all the boxes and trunks that he had brought back from his uncle’s house.  And he didn’t know where they were going, or even that they were going anywhere, until the car began to move.

The drive was very long, and Judy made several stops. No one saw Tommy as anything other than an adorable baby girl with red hair and cute little freckles scattered across her nose.

Tommy was allowed to get out of the car once. Something about the remote little gas station way out in the middle of the mountains … sparked a memory deep within Tommy. Something was very familiar about this place. He had a wonderfully strong vision of Deja Vu.

After another long drive, Tommy was released from the car seat harnesses and helped from the back seat. He stood in the front parking field of the huge manor house of his Uncle Herbert.

Judy claps her hands together as she says joyfully, “This entire place is ours, snuggle bug. You, are the adorable little baby girl and I’m your mommy.” she giggles as she looks at Tommy with sparkly eyes, “We are gonna be so close.” Judy snuggled up to Tommy and rubbed, then kissed his nose softly.

Tommy giggled and toddled after Judy as she led him by the hand to the front door.  Mrs. Joleen opened it wide for them.  “Everything’s ready,” she said.  “The house is all set up to have a baby in it -- the first new baby in a generation.  It’s very happy to see little Wendy -- I can feel it.  I’ve always been able to feel it, ever since Hubert brought me over that one time when we were dating in college -- of course, he wasn’t the baby then; the baby was his aunt Dora.  But the house … it needs helpers sometimes, and it protects those who help it.”

“House?  Helpers?” asked Judy.  “I just want to make sure Wendy’s safe.”

“Oh, she’s as safe as can be now,” said Joleen.  “The house will do everything in its considerable power to make sure of that.  Speaking of which, there’s a special room you should visit soon.  There’s a book in there that will explain … everything.”

“Well, I should know everything about our new home, so I can be a good mommy for my baby,” said Judy.  “Let me just make sure Wendy’s playing happily and can’t be hurt -- oh, look at that lovely playpen.”  

She had turned the corner into a beautiful parlor, with an exquisite red carpet on the floor and polished hardwood built-in bookshelves, but also with a large, comfortable playpen, obviously sized for babies of Wendy’s proportions, taking up a quarter of the space, full of toys.

Tommy’s eyes lit up as he saw it, and he toddled unsteadily toward it, wetting his diaper again in excitement.  Judy led him inside, then turned around and left him inside, closing it behind her.  Tommy happily sat down, unaware that there was even a way for him to get out -- and as the sides were as high as his shoulders, it would take considerable effort anyway, or the ability to open the gate, which at the moment he just didn’t have.  He sat down on the playpen’s soft, waterproof floor and started reaching for the toys, giggling.

“There we go,” said Mrs. Joleen.  “She’ll be safe in there, and perfectly happy until you get back.  It’ll only take a moment.”

“Are you sure?” asked Judy.  “I wouldn’t want Wendy to be hurt …”

“I’m perfectly sure,” Joleen answered.  “No baby has ever been hurt in this house, from the moment they became the house’s baby occupant until the end of their natural life.”

“Well, that’s good to hear,” Judy said.  “So where was this … instruction manual you mentioned?”

“It’s just through here,” Joleen said.  “We’ll just open the door like this …”

Tommy heard their voices getting farther away, but he was too absorbed in playing with all the new toys -- new to him, at any rate.  They were wonderful classic antique toys that had been enjoyed by generations of his family’s babies -- both the small kind and the large kind.  He was so absorbed with them that he set down his plush toy snow leopard and started trying to stack the toy blocks and animals as high as he could -- and as his contact with the plushie waned, he started to realize that something was very wrong.

He was … in a sundress?  And a very wet diaper?  And in a playpen?  And … was this Uncle Hubert’s house?  Wait, that was right, they’d come back here for some reason, but why?  And where was Judy?  “Judy?” he called out.  “Judy?  Where are you?  Anybody?”
He tried to stand up in the playpen, but it turned out that it had a low netting ceiling that wouldn’t let him stand up completely.  He tried to push against it, to reach the gate that would let him out, to escape, but somehow he just couldn’t open the door.  He pushed and shook at it, but it seemed much stronger than he was.  “Anybody?  Help!  I’m stuck!  I can’t get out!”

Judy and Miss Joleen entered the nursery. Judy lowered the side rail, took Tommy by the hand and led him towards the potty, “Hush sugar pie. Mommy’s gonna change your diaper, then you and me and Miss Joleen have a place we have to go and something we have to hear.”

Judy quickly changed Tommy’s diaper. It seemed the one he was placed in this time was even more bulky than the last as Judy pulled his cute rumba panties over the large bulky diaper.

Miss Joleen came into the potty at this time and said softly, “Follow me. We have to complete the task.”

Judy looked at her questioningly as she asked, “What task?”

Miss Joleen smiles as she pulls a very large, and very old Book from a satchel she was carrying. She placed it on a counter and opened the book.

Miss Joleen’s eyes glazed over and her voice took on a depth … an ethereal sound that intensified the eeriness of the situation.

She said, “From the time of the origin, until the end of all chronos … the house demands an infant.” Joleen points to Tommy, “You, are that infant from now on. You are a little girl as chosen by the house. Everyone sees and hears only that and none shall find you. The plushy doll will be with you until the end.”

“But … but I’m not a baby … or a girl … I’m …” Tommy began, and then his thoughts began to become cloudy.  Who was he?  “I’m not … not ‘posed to … be here … not inna play pen … orra dwess … orra diaper … amma … big … gwown … gwo … goo …”  What was wrong?  Something was wrong.  He wasn’t sure what as he lost the ability to speak and his thoughts began to be only those of a young infant everyone saw him as.

“‘There shall always be a baby in this House, who shall remain an infant until the end of her days.  All shall see that it is so, from time immemorial unto the end of all things,’” Joleen read. “‘And the baby shall always have one to care for her, for babies cannot care for themselves, and to ensure that the talisman remains with the baby until the bond everlasting is forged.’”  

Judy was barely conscious that she was reaching into the playpen to pick up Wendy’s plushie and give it to her -- she knew Wendy was a baby, and babies need soft, comforting toys.  This one was obviously her favorite, and she would make sure Wendy always had it near her, because it clearly made her happy.

In Tommy’s head the dwindling light of comprehension was finally snuffed out.  Upon seeing the plush toy it was as if he was seeing it for the first time.  He gasped with delight and clutched it tightly to him.  He would never let it out of his sight again, and even if he did, for babies make mistakes, Judy would be there to make sure he had it -- or something with its image on it, which was almost as good.  He made happy nonverbal sounds and completely ignored the fact that his diaper had just gotten warmer again.  Nothing was wrong.  Everything was fine.  Wendy was a happy baby who had her favorite toy in her arms and her mommy close by.

“Oh, such an adorable little girl you are!” Judy gushed.  “I’m going to keep you my baby forever and ever!”

Mrs. Joleen smiled, because she knew the transformation was complete.  She now clearly saw a tiny freckle-faced red-haired baby girl, and that was what everyone including Wendy herself would see from now on -- even in photographs, until the end of her natural life.  And when that day eventually came … the house would choose a new baby.  

Mrs. Joleen breathed a sigh of relief, because the book had made a promise to her.  She looked at the book and read the promise again.

“To those who help, much will be given: lasting health, lasting wealth, and lasting peace their long lives through.  This the house promises, as long as a baby lives within.”

Her doctor had been amazed -- along with every expert in the world he had believed that her cancer was inoperable and that she’d had only months to live, but all the tests had suddenly shown the growths receding.  They’d seen nothing like it before, and Joleen felt better than she’d felt in years.  She was glad she’d come to the house in response to the mysterious letter.  And already she began to relax, because looking at that beautiful baby and her mother, she could almost believe that real happiness did exist in the world after all.  They were … she imagined for a moment that something was wrong, that they weren’t as they appeared, but then she dismissed that silly thought and just smiled.  Her job here was done.

In a place beyond places where time, matter, and energy mean nothing, a being sat at a strange table. The surface appeared to be liquid as it rippled and coalesced. Closer observation showed the ripples to be energy waves disrupting the very fabric of reality.

A being old when the universe was born sat and pondered the images he saw within. He sat back from the strange table, and removed the black hood of his robe from his head.  His head was totally bald and his feminine features appeared to be a youthful agelessness.

With his blacker than black eyes he seems to gaze off into space towards others that were gathered within the chamber.

He said in an ethereal voice, “Here, for your inspection and approval, we have 2 young people; a man and a woman, who have inadvertently stepped … into The Baby Zone.”

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~~ The End ~~
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Miki Yamuri
 
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Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 3:06 pm

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