Published: September 14th 2022, 12:00:06 pm
"Oh!" Courtney's eyes opened wide, her exclamation muffled by the spoonful of oatmeal in her mouth, sending some of it flying out to sprinkle down her face and onto her pajama shirt.
"Courtney!" her mother scolded, shaking her head, setting down her coffee to grab a washcloth from the sink. "Do we need to get you a bib now, too? Or should Danica be feeding you? Honestly..."
Courtney blushed, swallowing down the bland mush and setting the spoon back in her bowl. At this point, she was surprised, on top of everything else, that Danica didn't do that, but she supposed it was because she had been deemed a toddler rather than a full baby, old enough to handle that one thing on her own, if not much else... And, after that display, even that might be called into question.
She couldn't worry too much about that right now, however; speaking of things she needed help with, there was a far more pressing concern, which was what had caused her to make the mess in the first place. "Danica!" she squealed, squirming in her chair, staring up at her nanny frantically.
"Uh-oh!" Danica cooed. "I know what that means! Come on, sweetie, let's get you to the potty."
Courtney's mother look puzzled for a split second before she nodded, recognizing what was going on. "Of course," she chuckled, watching as her daughter scrambled down off of her chair and was escorted to the living room by Danica, who pulled down her sleep shorts, ripped open the tapes of her nighttime diaper, and helped her onto the potty chair, right on time.
Courtney wished she could fuss about not being taken to the toilet, but with as little warning as she'd gotten, she doubted she would have made it... She'd barely been able to hold it long enough to get to her potty. If her mother hadn't been there, hadn't been able to stay for a few extra minutes this morning before heading to work, she wasn't sure if Danica would have taken her, or left her to fill her diaper at the table, so, despite the humiliation of both of them standing there, taking in the show, she knew she should be grateful.
"Good girl!" her mother encouraged. "Look at you go!"
"M-Mom!" Courtney blushed bright red.
"No need to be shy," Danica patted her on the head. "As rarely as this happen nowadays, it should be celebrated!" Courtney groaned; all that had happened was her making it to the potty on time! As an adult, that shouldn't be anything special... So, she hated that, in her case, her nanny was right, and it was definitely becoming that. Her potty training chart was an absolute nightmare, something even a real toddler would be ashamed of... She had to be on alert at all times for any sign that she might be about to use her diapers, any distraction usually enough to guarantee she'd have an accident, especially if she had to pee.
"All done?" Danica asked, Courtney nodding quietly, letting herself be helped up off the potty. "Great work, sweetie! Let's go get this taken care of, and then we can get you into a new diaper!" She knelt down, reaching for the shorts around Courtney's ankles, and, for a moment, Courtney assumed she was going to pull them up her legs, which would be, in a way, the closest she'd come to wearing panties since all this had begun. She did, now and then, get to try Pull-Ups, though that never lasted long, but those were still far thicker than underwear, at least from what she remembered of them... Having nothing at all between her and her pants would definitely be a more similar approximation, and one that some grown-ups made anyway.
Instead, Danica ordered, "Feet up!" and yanked the shorts off altogether, leaving Courtney to toddle, half naked, through the house to stand in the bathroom door and watch Danica empty the potty into the toilet and flush. It was humiliating, absolutely, although only she seemed to believe so... Her mother - and everyone else around her, for that matter - treated her so much like a toddler, it was like they thought that was what she was for real, and nobody cared that much if a toddler got a bit naked for a couple minutes, as long as she was put back into diapers, where she belonged, before she had an accident.
From there, they went to her room, where Danica gave her a sparkly happy face sticker, sending her over to her chart to place it, feeling a little rush of adrenaline to see a whole row of them, on an otherwise very cloudy chart. "Look at that!" her mother exclaimed, clapping her hands. "That's a full week where you didn't have any messy accidents during the night! Congratulations, sweetie!"
"Congratulations!" Danica echoed, getting out the changing supplies. "I didn't want to say anything, because I wanted her to see it for herself first. Look at you, Courtney! You're really making some progress!"
Was she? Compared to where she'd been before all this, it felt like she'd taken a few giant leaps backwards... She shouldn't be filling her pants in her sleep at all, much less proud that she'd made it a whole week without it happening! Not to mention that her diapers had definitely been wet every morning... And that it was only during the night that she'd stayed clean when she'd been asleep; her naps hadn't all gone as well.
Still... She couldn't deny that she was a little proud, no matter how embarrassing it was. Really, she'd accomplished it last night, and she'd been sleeping, so she couldn't take any credit for it... At the beginning of the chart, Danica would count any accident that happened before Courtney's nighttime diaper was changed as happening overnight, though she hadn't had to fudge the numbers like that in quite a while, Courtney's potty training have devolved enough to make itself look bad without any help. She had been awake this time, and distracted by being in the middle of eating her breakfast, so it wouldn't have been unusual for her to have an accident before she realized she even had to go, but she hadn't, so she was willing to accept the praise.
"It's all thanks to you, Danica," her mother said. "I don't know what we'd do without you!"
They wouldn't be in this situation without her! Sure, she'd had some accidents now and then, which was why Danica had been called into begin with, but before her meddling, they were only every now and then... And never messy ones. Courtney bit her tongue, however, kept silent, sure her mother wouldn't agree, would scold her for trying to blame this on Danica, even if it truly was her fault.
"I'm just doing my job," Danica declared meekly, starting to wipe Courtney's crotch clean.
"We're still grateful," Courtney's mother told her. "It hasn't been much, but any progress she has made is because of your hard work." Courtney glowered, the earlier congratulations feeling a little hollow now that her mom was attributing it all to the nanny. "If you can keep this up, she'll be ready for that preschool you recommended in no time!"
Courtney froze, as if the cool touch of the baby wipes on her skin had spread throughout her whole body, turning it to ice. "P-Preschool?!" she squeaked. She couldn't go to preschool! She was a college graduate! Not only that, she'd graduated years ago! She was far, far too old for preschool!
"That's right," her mother smiled. "What was it called, Danica? Sunnydale Preschool?" Danica nodded, gesturing towards the bed, then pulling Courtney down onto it when she was still too stunned to move under her own power. "Danica knows the owner, and she thinks it will be a great opportunity for you to work on your social skills, and be around peers of your own emotional age."
"I-I don't need...!" Courtney sputtered. "I-I'm not...!"
"We agreed that you should at least be able to control your poopies first," her mom told her. "That would really show that you're prepared."
Was that going to be her reward?! Not having to run around in messy pants, and wait for Danica to change her, would be a reward in and of itself, but she'd hoped that, somehow, that would show she was growing up again, that she didn't need to be treated like a baby... Maybe preschool was a step up from what was going on now, though not by much. If they wanted her to go to preschool after that, it meant they'd still see her as a toddler... And she doubted Danica was going to give up her job, either. She'd likely still be around to take care of her when she wasn't in school. They couldn't really think she was this immature, could they? So much so that she belonged all the way back in preschool?
"Don't look so fussy," her mother chuckled, taking a sip of her coffee. "We know you know all the educational material, but it would be a great place for you to make friends, and all the social and interpersonal skills you learn there will hopefully help you out once you grow up again."
That was a spark of hope, however dim... Courtney didn't think she needed any of that, but at least her mom had mentioned her growing up, even if it was as some distant, far-off possibility.
"And," Danica added, snapping open a pair of training panties, "Shana goes there, too! Isn't that nice? She's at a more advanced level than you would be, of course, though I'm sure you'd still get to see her and play with her sometimes!"
Courtney couldn't bring herself to comment on that, to say anything about the idea of attending the same school as a three year old, and having that girl be her upperclassman. She was pleased, however, to let Danica pull the trainers up over her feet, dangling from the edge of her bed. "Pull-Ups?" she smiled happily, glad that she wasn't going to be spending the day in diapers for once.
"That's right," Danica nodded. "I really hoped you were going to make it last night, sweetie, because I planned a little surprise for you to celebrate a whole week of no messies. We are going to the zoo!"
As annoyed as she'd been about being treated like a child, Courtney couldn't hide the excitement in her eyes at that announcement. She hadn't been to the zoo in ages! It was something she associated mostly with being a kid, but it wasn't as if adults couldn't go there, too... And being allowed to wear Pull-Ups on top of it only made it better.
"How fun!" Courtney's mother beamed. "I wish I could join you! I'd better get going, though. Have a great day, you two!" She gave Courtney a hug and a kiss on the forehead, heading out while Danica chose an outfit for Courtney.
The sound of the doorbell came so shortly afterwards that Courtney assumed it must be her mom, that she'd forgotten her keys, and spent a few minutes looking for them before slinking back inside to admit defeat. Danica left to answer it, but when she returned, it wasn't with her employer at all...
It was with Jordy. "Wow!" Courtney's former boyfriend exclaimed, while Courtney squirmed on her bed, tugging at the hem of her pajama shirt, still not used to him seeing her this way, no matter how many times he'd come over to visit. "Pull-Ups, huh?"
"She's had one whole week with no nighttime poopies," Danica told him, Courtney turning bright red.
"Great job, Courtney!" Jordy smirked, his praise feeling far less sincere than Danica's, or Courtney's mothers, making Courtney much more self-conscious about how happy she'd been with her success. "Is that why we're going to the zoo?"
Courtney nibbled her lip, fidgeting in place... Was Jordy coming along, too?!
"Don't give me that look," Danica told her. "The zoo is a big place, and I don't want to risk losing you, so Jordy is going to help me look after you. You can think of him as an extension of me... You can come to either of us if you need to go potty. I expect you to hold one of our hands at all times, unless we give you permission otherwise, and if you don't, I'll have to put you in your child harness. I want you to listen and be a good little girl for us, okay?"
Courtney stole a glance at Jordy, hating how amused he seemed at all this. It wasn't fair! At one time, Courtney had been the one in charge of Danica, the one babysitting her... And she and Jordy, not that long ago, had been equals, boyfriend and girlfriend... Now, they were both very much the ones in charge, and she was nothing more than a toddler, totally at their mercy if she didn't want to have an accident in public, and hope that her Pull-Ups would hold it... Though, even if she succeeded, and proved her potty training was getting better, what was she going to get for it? An enrollment at preschool? "Y-Yes, ma'am," she answered quietly, feeling a bit overwhelmed as it dawned on her how far away she was from her former, adult life, and any hope of getting back to it.
"Very good," Danica smiled. "Come on, Jordy... You can help me find a cute outfit for her."