Published: August 30th 2023, 12:00:02 pm
Janet let out a yawn, tiny body stretching outwards as far as it would go... Which was not that far, she realized, even before her eyes opened and she saw the mobile spinning lazily over the bars of her crib all around her, where her hands had bumped into them. She whimpered, nose wrinkling, thumb slipping instinctively into her mouth as the memories of the night before came filtering back, reminding her why she was here.
She was still a bit numb from the humiliation of pretending to be Ingrid's baby while they were out at dinner, having to play that part with someone she'd never met before, who was part of her family, who she'd hoped to impress... That, perhaps, was why she couldn't remember anything past being taken outside, buckled into Ingrid's car. Clearly, she'd made it home, however, and presumably Ingrid had put her into this pink sleeper she was now wearing, tucked her into her crib.
How much more of this could she take? It was a constant struggle, trying to maintain her life as an adult, to prove to herself, and seemingly everyone around her, that she deserved her maturity. It was especially hard when she'd been treated like a baby for so long, those instincts feeling as if they were constantly hiding the back of her mind, waiting to take over...
Like they did now, as she felt her tummy begin to hurt, full from dinner last night, presumably, and, without warning, her diaper began to fill. "N-No!" she groaned, squirmed helplessly, unable to do anything about it as her padding swelled, warm mush relentlessly invading it. The infant side of her took over again, and she burst into tears, wailing in frustration and discomfort.
"Aww, what's wrong, baby?" Janet sniffled, bleary eyes peering upwards. "Let's get you changed."
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Why had she done that? It had all felt so natural at the time, and the way the girl had been acting, it seemed like the right thing to do, but now, the next morning, as she laid in bed and thought about it, Ingrid couldn't help wondering if she'd made a mistake. There had to have been some other way to get Janet out of the mess at the restaurant without humiliating her... And putting her to bed in a nursery? Harrison was going to kill her!
She really ought to get up, to go check on her, let her out. Would she know how to open the crib on her own from inside of it? Could she manage it, as small as she was? If she told Harrison that Ingrid had left her locked inside, he'd only be more upset with her.
Before she could brace herself to face the poor girl, however, her phone began to ring, and she picked it up, wincing to see Harrison's name, as if her fears had summoned his attention. "Good morning," she answered. "How nice to hear from you."
"Hi, Aunt Ingrid," he replied. "Did you make it in all right."
"I did, I did," she nodded, debating how to bring this up delicately. "I actually had dinner with Janet last night. She is... such a sweet little girl."
"Thanks," Harrison said. "I'm glad you like her. I'm sorry I can't be there with you!"
Ingrid frowned, pondering if she ought to bring it up directly, rather than hoping he might take the bait. It was odd that everything in the nursery fit Janet so well, but why would it have been for her? And if it was, why hadn't Harrison reacted to her calling Janet a little girl at all, from what she could hear? Perhaps Janet had set it up on her own, was planning on asking Harrison to have a baby, or adopt one, and hadn't brought it up yet. If that was the case, she wanted to be there for that conversation... And it might have been extra insulting for the girl to find herself stuck in that nursery, so she needed to go remedy that as soon as possible.
"Any updates on your flight?" she checked quickly.
"Right, yes," he told her. "That's what I was calling to let you know. Hazel got on an earlier flight, and I should be home a little sooner than I thought, though, of course, if you need to leave before I get back, I understand."
"Oh, we'll see," Ingrid said. "I'll see you soon, hopefully, Harrison. Safe travels!"
It would depend, she supposed, on how upset Janet was with her, if she wanted to let her stay until Harrison returned. She hurried out of the bedroom, back towards the nursery, where she could hear a voice. In her panic, she simply worried that meant Janet was up, that she was already trying to get out of the crib, and quickened her pace, not recognizing, until she opened the door, that the voice didn't belong to Janet at all.
"What exactly do you think you're doing?!" she demanded, as sternly as she could manage, stopping the strange woman as she unzipped Janet's sleeper. She jumped, turned, glancing back towards Janet, and then at Ingrid again.
"I was changing her diaper," she answered, as if that were the most natural thing in the world. "Who the hell are you?"
"I am the aunt of the person who owns this house," Ingrid informed her, crossing her arms.
"Well, I'm the maid of the person who owns this house," the woman shot back with a smirk.
"Then I'm sure you know that's his wife," Ingrid replied. "And I don't think he'll be pleased to find his maid treating his wife like a baby." It was a bit of a gamble, trying to pass the blame off on her, though it did seem odd that the woman had apparently just accepted that Janet was in here, that she needed a diaper change in the first place. Perhaps it was just maternal instincts taking over.
"I heard her crying," the maid shrugged. "Sorry, do you want to change her?"
Ingrid locked eyes with the maid for a moment defiantly, then saw, beyond her, Janet, tears running down her cheeks. "I'll take care of it," she said guiltily. "How about you go do your job, young lady?"
The maid nodded, hurried off, Ingrid closing the door behind her and returning to Janet to finish what the girl had started, unzipping the sleeper. "I'm so sorry, Janet," she cooed. "I took it too far last night... Please forgive me."
Janet's eyes seemed a bit dazed, staring up at Ingrid as she lifted her out of the sleeper, thumb firmly in her mouth. Ingrid was surprised by that, though not nearly as much as she was by the state of her niece-in-law's diaper. She did her best not to show it, however, certain that was her fault, that she shouldn't have left her trapped in the crib.
"I'm sorry, dear," she said again. "You know, I thought we could go shopping today, Janet... How about that?"
She set Janet down on the changing table, the girl's nose wrinkling briefly before she answered, quietly, "Shop...ping?"
Ingrid chuckled, pulling Janet's thumb from her lips, laying her down, ripping open her diaper to start cleaning her up. "Yes, silly... Shopping... Just me and you. I really am so sorry about all this, dear. I know you didn't deserve all this. It's just... I haven't had someone to take care of in a long time, and it was fun to get back into it, but... Well... I also know that you're trying to surprise Harrison. I'd love to help out, once you have your own little one."
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Janet squirmed, blushing as her bottom was powdered, her mind clearing a bit, now that she was out of her dirty diaper. This was such a mess... How was she going to get out of this without Harrison finding out?!
"I also know you need diapers yourself," Ingrid continued, "and that's all right... Are you still okay with these?"
Janet's face scrunched as she saw Ingrid hold up one of the baby print diapers, a part of her wishing she could say yes... She knew that she needed something more than that now, though, like it or not.
"Well, what about these?" Ingrid asked. "I found these bigger ones, too... Are they better?"
Janet blushed as she saw the extra thick diapers the Dollhouse had brought here, had left for her... Reluctantly, she nodded, even knowing that, in those, she wouldn't be doing much walking.
"All right, dear," Ingrid agreed, taping her into it, the hugely bulky diaper nearly swallowing her tiny frame and, indeed, allowing her to get only a couple steps once she was set on the floor before she fell, thankfully landing on the excessive padding to cushion the blow. "Janet," Ingrid spoke up, "I know you need those diapers, and you aren't one... But... Would you mind if I treated you like a baby again? I just think it would be... easier..."
Janet pouted, staring, wide-eyed, up at her, but she knew that the woman was right. Her bladder control was essentially non-existent, and it felt like everyone already saw her as a toddler already anyway. She didn't even trust herself to go out in a thinner diaper, terrified that she'd leak again, like last night... She'd chosen this thicker diaper for herself... She knew... "O-Okay," she said quietly.
Even so, she didn't expect the outfit Ingrid picked out for her. There would be no hiding the diaper, so, apparently, Ingrid had chosen not to try, choosing a pink dress that ended at the top of her diaper, and a pair of ruffled tights, tugged up, with much effort, over the padding, along with a pair of Mary Janes, ribbons tying her hair into pigtails, and a pacifier between her lips. With all of that, it was no wonder that, even without a car seat, she found herself falling right back into baby mode as she rode in the back seat.
It didn't help, seeing the daycare she'd been attending for the past week. She groaned, trying to protest, only baby babble escaping past her paci. Ingrid giggled, "Someone is getting into character," she observed. "Now, I know you want to surprise Harrison with the idea of you two having a baby, and I want to help. I had a bit of a conversation with your maid, Lexi, when I went to tell her where we were going, and she was kind enough to let me know what you hadn't bought for the new little one yet, so I thought we could go ahead and get that now, as my baby gift to you and Harrison."
Janet wriggled in her seat, not liking the idea of Lexi and Ingrid talking, or buying even more baby stuff... Even if she convinced Ingrid not to say anything to Harrison, to let her do it in her own time, allowing her to spend her own money on this would make her more invested in it, more likely to keep thinking about it, and, eventually, she might get impatient, ask Harrison if Janet had said anything yet...
But what could she do? The only thing that came to mind was what she did do, which was just blush, and suck her paci, and mumble, "Thank you, Aunt Ingrid."
"You are so welcome," Ingrid gushed, turning to look at her. "And so cute! Thank you for letting me do this! You stay right there, sweetie... I need to get the stroller out."
Janet sighed, though, given the size of her diapers, and her current mobility thanks to them, she shouldn't have been surprised... Had she expected Ingrid to carry her the whole time?! She sat patiently while Ingrid set up the stroller and put her into it, strapping her in, wheeling her into the baby store by the daycare, Janet's eyes on the daycare the whole time, nervous the whole time that she'd seen Bernice, or any of the workers, coming out, that they would recognize her, say something to Ingrid...
It was a relief, then, to get inside, even if it meant becoming a model for Ingrid, who put her into outfit after outfit, oohing and awwing over each one. Janet groaned, blushed, starting to wonder if Ingrid truly was aware that she wasn't a baby, as much as she'd claimed to before Janet had agreed to this. It didn't feel like it... But maybe she was just getting into character, too, the way Janet was struggling not to let herself do too much. It did seem to make Ingrid happy, caring for her like this...
"All right," Ingrid finally said, cart full of new baby clothes, "we'll go look at the furniture, and then we'll be finish, okay?"
It was impressive, seeing Ingrid wrangling the cart and the stroller at the same time, having no problem with either. She was a natural, it appeared. Ingrid steered them both onwards, until she spotted a worker stocking diapers down one of the aisles, and stopped.
Janet fidgeted in her stroller, uncomfortable already, seeing that the girl was around her age, that she was tall, developed, far more mature than her in every way... And that was before Ingrid called, "Excuse me, ma'am? Can you help us?" and she turned around.
It was Starla, from the daycare. Apparently, she worked here as well, which, Janet supposed made sense as a second job, with it being so close, both in location, and business. She whimpered into her paci, feeling frozen, wanting to hide, yet knowing there was no way to do so, strapped into her stroller, praying, instead, that the girl simply wouldn't recognize her.
"Of course," Starla chirped. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, I need..." Ingrid paused, getting out a list, Janet nursing harder and harder on the pacifier the longer it went on, the more chance Starla had to see her. "Ah, yes, a high chair, walker, and bassinet."
"We have some adorable bassinets I can show you!" Starla told her. "First off, though, who is this adorable little sweetie?" Janet's diaper had already been soggy; she was pretty sure it was becoming more-so as she squirmed, however, feeling the attention turning towards her. "Wait... Janet? Oh, my goodness! How wonderful! I thought after you were picked up yesterday, we wouldn't get to see you again, cutie! So, you must be her Mommy? She is an absolute doll! And so darling with the other babies... We all hated to see her go!"
Janet's face burned hotter and hotter, thankful that Ingrid appeared bewildered, that she didn't seem to understand. "I think you're mistaken, ma'am," she said. "This is my nephew's wife. I know she looks young, but she's a married woman. She..."
"What?!" Starla glared down at Janet. "She's... married?! She's an adult?! She's been coming to the daycare next door for a week, pretending to be a baby! I've been changing her diapers constantly! Is she some kind of pervert? Is Bernice in on this?!"
Janet nursed harder and harder on her pacifier, heart pounding as her worlds collided, as everything fell apart, praying that Ingrid wouldn't believe Starla. Unfortunately, Ingrid unbuckled the straps, pulling her out of the stroller, plucking the paci from her lips. "Janet," she said sternly, "what is she talking about, young lady? Have you been going to daycare while Harrison was on vacation?"
Janet gulped, staring up at Starla and Ingrid, feeling every bit as trapped as she had in the stroller. "Y-You don't understand," she sniffed.
"Are you kidding me, Janet?" Ingrid huffed. "Did you do all that last night on purpose? I felt so bad for you, thinking I'd... And you..." She couldn't even finish her sentences. "That nursery is yours?!"
"It was Hazel!" Janet stomped her foot.
Ingrid raised an eyebrow disapprovingly. "Are you seriously trying to blame your stepdaughter for...?"
"Yes!" Janet fumed. "She's been making me wear diapers for months, a-and when spring break came around, she made me go to daycare! I-I didn't want any of this! Please, you have to believe me!"
Ingrid chuckled, shook her head. "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, young lady... You can't even come up with a better lie than that? Just you wait until I tell Harrison..."
"N-No!" Janet wailed, trying, in vain, to push away Ingrid's hands as she began to strip her down to her diaper.
"Soaked already," Ingrid observed, giving the padding a squeeze once it was exposed, before pulling it off, too, and dragging Janet over her lap. "Such a little baby... Grown women don't act like this, Janet. Wives don't act like this. But that isn't what you are anymore, is it? I think Harrison is going to be coming home to a baby after all... A new, adopted daughter... Little Jane..."
Janet didn't have a chance to protest before Ingrid began to spank her. She was bawling in no time, Ingrid thankfully taking pity on her, not going for too long afterwards, letting her go to rub her sore, bare backside...
And then Starla picked her up. "I'm sure you have some more shopping to do," she told Ingrid. "I'll go take her over to the daycare and get her ready for you... By the time you're finished, you should have a nice, fresh baby girl to take home."
"N-No!" Janet shook her head as she was carried away.
"Hush," Starla ordered, pushing a pacifier into her mouth. "Babies don't talk. Come on... We're going to find a way to get you what you always wanted..."
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Ingrid couldn't remember the last time she'd been so upset. She was hot with anger, filled with disgust as she took out the phone Janet had brought with her, looking through the gallery at all the pictures from the past week, at all those baby outfits, of her at daycare, at the park, at a birthday party...
After how guilty she'd felt, how hard she'd tried to apologize, it had all been a trick. It would have been one thing if the girl had simply been honest with her, and maybe she should have suspected as much, from the way she was behaving, but for her to stay quiet, make Ingrid feel like she had to work even harder to make it up to her...
"There you are, ma'am."
Ingrid glanced up from the phone, seeing the worker from the store stepping back from the car seat they'd just installed into the back seat. "Thank you," she told them. "This is perfect."
Everything else was already loaded up in her car, or on its way to be delivered. All she needed now was the baby to go with it all... And for her to decide what, exactly, she was going to tell Harrison. Surely, with all these pictures, with Starla telling him about Janet's time in the daycare, he would understand... It was his wife, however, so it was hard to tell if he would side with her or not, despite all the evidence.
Starla greeted her at the entrance of the daycare with a smile. "I think you're going to be satisfied with the results," she said, leading Ingrid into the baby room, to a large bassinet in the corner.
Inside was not Janet, but a newborn version of herself, in white booties, a thick, pinned, cloth diaper, and a white baby bonnet, sucking on a pacifier, looking, for all the world, like a new baby waiting to be adopted. She even had an ankle bracelet, like she was still in the hospital.
"As you can see," Starla said quietly, running a hand through Janet's closely cropped hair, a red bow clipped into it, "we cut her hair to an appropriate length. Once you change her, you'll see that we used a cream on her to keep her from growing any hair anywhere else on her body to help remind her of what she is... We gave her some medicine, too, that will keep her a bit disoriented, and will make her mouth dry to keep her using her pacifier properly."
Janet whimpered softly, squirming in her bassinet, as Ingrid pointed down at her ankle. "What is that?"
"Well," Starla grinned, "I heard you mentioned adoption, so I made a call to some friends of mine, and we got her into the system so that you can do exactly that. Janet is no more. She truly is just Baby Jane now. Congratulations... It's a girl!"
"She's so precious," Ingrid smiled down at her. "What do you mean, though, Janet is no more?"
Starla didn't answer. Instead, she said, "If you want to go ahead and take her home, I'll be by shortly with the adoption paperwork."
By the time Ingrid got Jane home, the delivery men from the store were already waiting to be let in to start their work. Ingrid gladly let them in, while Jane sat by, listening to the men comment.
"This place is huge!" one of them said.
"Yeah," another agreed. "Hard to believe anyone would give this up to be a baby..."
Ingrid smirked, seeing Jane's embarrassed reaction. "Well, some people never grow up," she informed them. "Now, I think it's almost time for someone's lunch."
"Can I feed her?" Starla poked her head in. Ingrid gladly gave Jane over to her, sure she'd have plenty of chances to do it herself later. She was surprised when Starla carried Jane to the couch, however, settling her on her lap and lifting her skirt to expose a pair of large breasts in a nursing bra.
Jane fought it for a moment, her bootied feet kicking softly, but the other two women could see her lips pursing, instinct starting to take over, and in no time, she was nursing, falling into her role naturally, like the baby she was being forced to become.
Ingrid chuckled at the sight. "Maybe you should have married my nephew," she observed.
Once Jane's belly was full, and the delivery men had everything set up, they carried her to her nursery, her new bassinet off on the opposite side as her crib, a soft, lamb skin rug, between them. "Starla, it's beautiful," Ingrid told her.
"I'm glad you like it," Starla smiled, putting Jane on the changing table, giving her cloth diapers a check, finding them, unsurprisingly, completely soaked. "I'm sure her Daddy will, too." She bent down to get out a fresh diaper, picking up one of the ones Jane had been wearing earlier. "Where did you find these diapers, anyway? I don't think I've seen them before, and I've seen quite a few diapers in my time..."
Ingrid shrugged. "Jane had them here already."
Jane stirred, hearing her name, though there wasn't much she could do at that point, other than let herself be put into a fresh diaper, carried off to the pillowy softness of her bassinet, buckled gently into place, mittens placed over her hands before the hood was raised, and the mobile turned on, lulling her quickly back to sleep.
"These are her papers," Starla told Ingrid, once they were back out of the nursery, where they wouldn't disturb the infant's slumber. "But just so you know, once they're signed, Janet is officially no longer an adult. There's no going back. It's up to you and her husband, whatever you think is best..."
"Well..." Ingrid looked at them, knowing what she would choose. "I don't know when he's going to be back. I had been planning on going home tonight, though now I suppose it will have to be tomorrow."
"If you need somewhere for Jane to go, I can pick her up and take her to the daycare," Starla offered. "She wanted to be there so badly before, she faked being a baby... Now she truly belongs there, so we might as well give her what she wants."
Ingrid nodded, taking the paperwork, seeing the girl off. She set the forms down on the kitchen counter, headed back to check on Jane, only to hear the sound of a door closing. "Did you forget something?" she asked, expecting to see Starla return.
Instead, it was Hazel who appeared, with an enthusiastic, "Aunt Ingrid!" and a big hug.
Ingrid was glad to see her, of course, had forgotten Harrison telling her that she'd be back first. This did complicate things, she supposed... She would have liked to know what his decision would be, before involving his daughter.
So, she decided not to say anything, for now, as they chatted idly, until Hazel asked, "So, is Janet here?"
Ingrid hesitated... And then frowned, watching as Hazel headed off towards the nursery automatically, seemingly knowing exactly where it was, and that it would be where, most likely, her stepmother was waiting, without Ingrid having to say a word...